FSBO in Providence RI

[Jacob Cytrynbaum]

I am looking into selling my 4-plex on the East Side of Providence. Nothing wrong with it--I just realize it's going to be time to move on in the next 6-9 months and prices seem good at the moment with such low interest rates and low inventory in the area.. I've chatted with some realtors who seem like they will do a good job, but the 6% fee is always a big haircut to take. 

Does anyone have experience selling without an agent in Providence? Does it work well, or do the realtors have the market pretty much controlled?

Cheers

[Anthony Thompson]

@Jacob Cytrynbaum if you have a good sense of what things are going for (i.e., can do your own comps), and if you don't really "need" to sell, I think there's no harm in taking a shot at selling it yourself. Based on what I saw in the last cycle, if you can do it any time, now is the time when I think you're most likely to succeed.

As Nick said, have your attorney give you a P&S to use, since technically you are not allowed to use the RIAR P&S if you're not a licensed agent (that's why there's a copyright notice at the bottom of every page 😂)

As far as 6%, it should be easy to negotiate down to 5% these days, but I get that the 1% difference isn't going to make you want to use an agent 😀

I don't think Realtors have the market controlled or locked up at all, but just be aware that there are a lot of agents these days (happens at the top of every market cycle), and many of them have the "convert FSBOs to listings" sales training, so if you do a FSBO you're going to be contacted by a lot of agents and the first thing many will ask is, "Would you be willing to pay 3% if I bring you a buyer?" Just preparing you for the onslaught 😂

(I'll also say that many agents, especially more experienced ones, will avoid FSBOs because their philosophy is "why do 100% of the work for only half the commission?", but I think there are enough newer agents, and enough agents who have successfully converted FSBOs to listings in the past, that you'll still get a lot of calls from agents.)

I can do some comps for you if you like, and I also know someone with a 1031 exchange who own property in that area and who might be interested - let me know if I can help. (I'm not an agent and not looking for anything, not even 1% :)