Home buying - For Sale By Owner

[barronj]

With the age of the Internet realtors are pointless. I just need them to unlock the door for me. Just bought a rental fsbo, used a real estate attorney. Just standard paperwork nothing I was worried about.

You don't need them to unlock the door for you. You found it online, you go deal with the seller & set an appointment to open the house. Surely the seller has it on a website that you're looking at. Realtors are pointless, so you're not looking at any realtor web site, on principal, right? Go do that for every house you're interested in seeing the inside of, and then maybe it will dawn on you that it's easier to let a realtor handle the entire thing, since the seller is paying their commission, and not you.

A lot of work goes in to a sale, if you have any interest in due diligence.

It's the biggest investment most people will ever make, but if they have the internet...

If you were on point, I would think market forces/technology would weed realtors out of the equation.

[CWO]

I bought my house FSBO, title company did just about everything. Very easy transaction. We used Republic Title.

[mschmoyer]

We had a kitchen table discussion with the guy and he seems to be genuine and willing to help with the process however necessary.

The hardest part about negotiations is the fact that I don't think I can go much -- if any -- off his asking price. It looks fair, it's priced within the range of other homes that have sold in the area, and it's close to the appraisal data we've seen. We're coming in before the guy is even prepared to sell, and I really think if he DOES list this house FSBO that it will sell right away.

So does it sound crazy that I'm ready to offer him what he wants and not a penny less? I know that some places in Dallas are going for HIGHER than asking price, but here in Waco it's a bit more stable -- I think people usually can knock a couple grand off an asking price. We don't want to lose this house...we both really love it.

He's even willing to bundle a restored 1950's Plymouth into the home price -- lol.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

[barronj]

We had a kitchen table discussion with the guy and he seems to be genuine and willing to help with the process however necessary.

The hardest part about negotiations is the fact that I don't think I can go much -- if any -- off his asking price. It looks fair, it's priced within the range of other homes that have sold in the area, and it's close to the appraisal data we've seen. We're coming in before the guy is even prepared to sell, and I really think if he DOES list this house FSBO that it will sell right away.

So does it sound crazy that I'm ready to offer him what he wants and not a penny less? I know that some places in Dallas are going for HIGHER than asking price, but here in Waco it's a bit more stable -- I think people usually can knock a couple grand off an asking price. We don't want to lose this house...we both really love it.

He's even willing to bundle a restored 1950's Plymouth into the home price -- lol.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

I did a work-up of comps for what is arguably the hottest, most desired neighborhood in S. Austin, 78704, Barton Hills. I looked at the % change in list price versus sold price on 18 homes in the last 90 days (I think), and even I was shocked to find that 1/2 of them saw a price drop. 1/3 of them saw no change in price, and the last 3 saw a rise in price.

You should dial your comps in tighter & see where you are $$/SF versus the most recent solds, and/or anticipate negotiating for repairs after inspection if you do come in at ask. Of course, it can be a real challenge to get solid comp information sans realtor help, but it's worth an effort.

[kpc01]

If you really love it and think it is fair I'd pull the trigger. I'm not saying theres not a chance you could save a few grand but is it worth the worry that he'd say no or someone else would get it? If you aren't in love with it then go for it but if its "the one" then I'd say its worth it to go ahead and do it.

[Vertnut]

I did a work-up of comps for what is arguably the hottest, most desired neighborhood in S. Austin, 78704, Barton Hills. I looked at the % change in list price versus sold price on 18 homes in the last 90 days (I think), and even I was shocked to find that 1/2 of them saw a price drop. 1/3 of them saw no change in price, and the last 3 saw a rise in price.

You should dial your comps in tighter & see where you are $$/SF versus the most recent solds, and/or anticipate negotiating for repairs after inspection if you do come in at ask. Of course, it can be a real challenge to get solid comp information sans realtor help, but it's worth an effort.

Barton Hills? Shit, I grew up on Rae Dell. Where Barton Hills drive dead-ends, Barton Creek is right through the trees. Follow the creek east through Camels Hole and right into Barton Springs low-water dam. When the creek was in the flood stage, we'd cut school and tube from Barton Hills to 360. Youth is a wonderful thing...

[krazy kris]

The last few realtors I've went through absolutely sucked. We had to do everything, it was a major pain in the ass. Every house we went and looked at were ones we found. It's like they do nothing and get paid for it.

[mschmoyer]

This one is levels above any our realtor has showed us. 2 car garage, 2 car shop, big backyard, circle driveway, awesome location. I don't believe there is "the one" of anything but this house is much better than the rest and I know it will go fast.

Any other house I liked has gone under contract within days of finding it. Often not even on the market yet.

The other thing that sucks is mortgage rates have jumped 1.5% in a month...

[SVT Lurch]

The other thing that sucks is mortgage rates have jumped 1.5% in a month...

Who is quoting 5.125% today?

[Stng5Pnt8]

If you need pricing on home insurance, give me a call and I'd be glad to get a quote together for you.

817-405-2011 office
Tony Dominguez
or shoot me an e-mail
tdominguez (at) allstate.com

[GeorgeG.]

The last few realtors I've went through absolutely sucked. We had to do everything, it was a major pain in the ass. Every house we went and looked at were ones we found. It's like they do nothing and get paid for it.

It's unfortunate that agents like ^^^^ the above can cause someone to lump all agents into such a stigma.