RE agents fee for selling in SF Bay Area

[Avi Garg]

Looking to sell my primary residence (condo) in the SF Bay Area and rent for a while. Other condos in the complex sold within 3-4 weeks with multiple offers on each listing. Wanted to see if anyone has tips on how to minimize the expenses on selling as I want to use the proceeds to invest in rental properties (Been looking into small apt complex). Few other things I had in mind and would appreciate some input:

1. Have heard about pros and cons about FSBO. Would anyone recommend that in the bay?

2. What about finding an agent to work with on listingbidder?

3. What's the lowest commission? Other condos in the complex have sold between $500K-$600k so even a 1% reduced commission is $5k-$6k saved.  

[Robert Musallam]

Hey Avi Garg

You're right, most properties on the market do sell within 3-4 weeks but that's most likely because they have been exposed to the market by an agent and not sold by owner.

It is possible to sell by owner here, but here are some of the the problems you'd run into:

(1) the availability of real estate documents that help to protect yourself in the sale legally. If you have access to all of them, great! If not, find a provider that does and make sure they tell you which ones need to be used. The key here is that the lender will require specific docs to get the buyers loan funded. Don't expect a cash buyer.

(2) Will you pay a buyers agent to bring a buyer? Most of them will not show a FSBO to their buyers if you don't offer a commission and will only try to acquire you as a client.

(3) simply placing it on the mls and putting pictures up will not work. Buyers want to come through and look. Will you hold it open? If so, will you host it? It's always a bit awkward when the owner is around at an open house. What about repairs, staging, or decluttering? People don't really want to see photos of you everywhere. Keep this in mid and think about moving out first and hiring a pro photographer to take your photos - I can recommend someone. Get property flyers done.

(4) Get your HOA DOCS, inspections and disclosures all done and don't withhold info. Here's where you can really be held liable. Make sure it's available to all potential buyers.

(5) Do you have time for all this work?

I'm an agent, I'm not ready to say my job is so valuable that I'm the only one that can do it. You can sell your house yourself. But I recognize that for a majority of the people I work for, the idea of selling their own house would be a nightmare. And that's why they're comfortable using and paying for a professional to do it.

My .02.

Please feel free to reach out if you decide to tackle this yourself, I'll provide what guidance I can.

Good luck.