How Do You Sell your Rehabs - Realtor, FSBO

[Joey Fontenot III]

I am about to sell a house that I am rehabbing in the next 3 weeks it is going to be listed for around $70k and its going to be marketed mostly to first time home buyers. It is a 1850 sqft 3/2 brick house.It is going to have new paint, carpet, updated bathrooms and kitchen, New HVAC. So it is under the price of what new brick homes are being sold for in my market. My question is how are you guys selling your rehab these days-- Market it yourself thru Newspaper ADs, Signs, website --- or through a Realtor with MLS exposure- I am trying to save some money due to the budget so I would rather not pay 6% for the realtor fee but at the same time it might be worth it?? Thanks

[Paul B.]

I've sold only five houses, but I have never gone the non-MLS route. I just can't see finding retail buyers any other way. MLS gives you massive exposure to people who are genuinely looking.

I would be cautious about using flat-fee listing services, however. Without writing a 1,000-word post, my feeling is that you may have a harder time going this route as opposed to using a full-service listing agent.

First, I think you're prone to get more low-ball offers, because buying agents will think you're not very sophisticated.

Second, I think some agents will not work hard to show a flat-fee listing because (1) they think this kind of seller is unreasonable and tough to work with (it's a sign you're trying to milk every dollar from the house), and (2) I think some full-service agents are a little concerned that their high-priced business model is in jeopardy, and they're not going to help anyone who uses a flat-fee service.

If you insist on going the flat-fee route, you might consider offering a 4% fee to the buyer's agent (or some other bonus). This will give them real incentive to show your property.

As for me, I think going forward I am going to use only full-service agents to list my properties.