Realtor or no realtor?

Question

I am nearing the end of a sfr flip. The home will be high quality for the market/price range. Homes are moving fast, and finding a buyer should be easy. However, I'm considering bringing in the best realtor available, in my market. My hope is that value will be added, either in time or higher price, for the cost of commission. I'm looking for imput, from others. Any good advice on finding a stud agent? I'm intrigued by the notion of a round-robin auction. Has anyone here attempted this. Thanks.

Richard McDonald · Answer

Johnathan, I understand your point. Much of the advantage is Mls access. My area has a few superb realtors, who have 5 or 6x the sales of their competitors. My logic is simply, follow the money.

Russell, my market is small enough that I've been able to monitor local home sales to determine what moves. I do like the concept of bringing in a realtor early. I see many benefits of a good working relationship.

Thanks for the imput.

John Walker · Answer

@Richard McDonald I'm an agent so I know I'm partial to looking for a great agent. As an unbiased person, I think the location/market makes a huge difference. Account Closed makes a good point about not giving 6% away but some areas the FSBO sit much longer than others. Looks like Ohio vs. Florida.

I love in a smaller market/city but the big advantage to listing a property anywhere is that the other agents see it! The could potentially have a buyer just waiting for your property but if they don't know that it's For Sale than it's irrelevant. I am not sure of your marketing plan but most FSBO will only do a sign in the yard and Facebook.

Basically, you are paying for marketing/exposure plus the convenience of letting someone else handle the paperwork. If you are in a hot market, I say try FSBO for a week or two, if it doesn't sell then you could always list it.

Good luck and hope it sells fast and for good money!

Account Closed · Answer

Depending on the market & the sales price and if you are not an out of town owner, list the property on Craigs List,  Trulia, Zillow, etc.  Put up a standard realtor sign post with a FSBO sign and hang a "Broker Protected" rider sign under the FSBO sign and if a Realtor brings you a buyer, then pay them 3%.  Otherwise, sell it for top dollar and save 6%.  Try is for 30 days and if no luck, then list it.

I've sold property this way back in the bad times of the housing meltdown.   However, if its a lower end property and you don't have time or feel it's worth messing with FSBO, and/or have a very established relationship with an Agent, then yes, list it.

If just as a Florida Mortgage Broker and experienced real estate investor, here in 2016, it's just too easy to FSBO property these days.

Think about this:

$500,000 sale of a homesteaded primary residence in Florida

x 6%      realtor commission

= $30,000 of TAX FREE EQUITY

approx. = $45,000 of the average person's Gross / Pre Taxed paycheck

Listing a property in the Menu called the MLS, which just about everyone has access to these days and then kicking back letting a buyer's agent bring a buyer in a Seller's Market and paying the equivalent of $45,000 of gross income?

Selling real estate ain't rocket science.  Have all potential buyers send you a pre-approval letter or if a cash buyer, have them send a bank letter verifying funds, have Title Company / Attorney ready to write the sales contract, take a deposit and close

Account Closed · Answer

Why would you give away 6 points / 6% of your equity in this seller's market when you can FSBO the property?

Look around, wonder why don't you see any FSBO signs these days?   Because they sell within hours!

John Thedford · Answer

Nothing wrong with FSBO. If that doesn't work ask yourself why. Price? Amenities? Location? If all these are in your favor and you still can't sell then I might wonder if it was getting enough exposure. Some properties get multiple offers on MLS and that can work in your favor if they go to highest and best.

Matt Lefebvre · Answer

Put the property up as a FSBO for two weeks.  If you don't manage to sell it in that timeframe, you're sure to get some Realtors cold-calling you looking to list the property.  After two weeks, evaluate if you should list with one of the most aggressive Realtors calling you and trying to get your business, or continue down the route of FSBO with a revised marketing plan.

Jorge Zea · Answer

The secret is to get on the MLS ... os offering a buyer's agent commission will be a must to exponentially work with all Realtors' buyers. Do not hire a Listing agent (that is 3% directly from your equity but calculated from the total sales price .. hence it has HUGE impact on your COC).

To get on the MLS hire a Flat Fee (AKA Entry Only) service ...just Google these terms. Make sure you deal with a broker licensed in your state and make sure that he(she) will be the listing agent for the property so you have control and communication. NEVER use referral services that sell your info to a Broker to list the property. Deal with the Broker directly.

Michael Miele · Answer

@Richard McDonald

Have you looked into Entry Only listings. You can search online for entry only agents in your area. Typically they charge you a flat fee for putting the listing on MLS. you handle all the calls and showing requests and negotiate any offers. You do have to offer compensation to a buyers agent, in my area people go as low as 2% to a buyers agent. In this case you get your listing in MLS and all the major websites that pull listings off MLS like Realtor.com etc... and you only have to shell out the buyers agent fee. I'm a Realtor and sell my own rehabs also and I think the more buyers you can get the listing in front of, the better chance of a bidding war you may get.

Brian Pulaski · Answer

With the brokerage firms available now to get FSBO on the MLS if your even thinking about trying yourself, I say go for it. I've had success selling my own homes, and found it to be very straight forward. I'm not in an extremely hot market, and the last two have gone under contract in a couple of days. One house had 3 showings, one had 4, none I actually needed to be there for!

Russell Brazil · Answer

I generally think it is a good idea to use a Realtor....however, I think when you are flipping a property it is a good idea to have that Realtor involved during the renovation process to consult on the flip.  When I work with flippers as an agent (I also flip myself) I like to be involved so I can point my clients in the right direction as to what finishes to pick, what paint colors to use, to help them choose or avoid what the market demands etc. That is really where their market knowledge will come in the most useful I think, and youve already gotten past that point.