Sell my House FSBO? Convince Me to Use a Real Estate Agent!

Brad -

You are so savy!  This was a great post!  As soon as I can afford to pay someone to design my website, you are hired!  BTW, I am proud of my fellow Realtors.  Everyone was very professional and came up with many compelling reasons of why it is in a FSBO's best interest to list with a Realtor.  

Thanks for this great blog Brad! 

Hi,

Going FSBO is a do it your selfer thing for sure.  I work with lots of FSBO's in Ann Arbor Michigan in fact before I became a licensed Realtor, I started a For Sale By Owner website called www.MichiganFSBOHomes.com  (since 2000) It still is in operation, and I encourage people to post there.  But knowing what I know and seeing so many people do this, I am pretty much convinced that in the majority of cases a good Realtor can net as much or more than you can FSBO, without the hassle and without the potential pitfalls.  Where I have seen problems recently is in a falling market where opportunity is lost and now the home is worth less.  It is probably better to do FSBO in a rising market.

Andy Piper, Ann Arbor MI 

Living in the top selling market in the USA certainly couldn't hurt!

Forbes Magazine: Raleigh best place to sell a home

This is the post that will never die.  Lisa, it sounds like you and your agent need to have a heart to heart.  If you've had 50 showings where Realtors haven't shown up I would like to know how many have.  A house that is generating that much attention must have good reason be it marketing, condition, or price.  I would say if you're getting that many showings and no offers marketing has to be good and either the condition or price is off.

It sounds like your agent is doing a good job of marketing your home, it doesn't sound like they are very good at giving your open and honest feedback.  I apologize for Realtors who don't have the common decency to cancel appointments.  Not to worry, they won't be in business much longer.  That problem is correcting itself daily.  As this market is handed back to professionals the level of service you receive for Realtors should be on the rise.

Don't forget Owner Financing!

When it comes to selling real estate, one of the biggest obstacles sellers face is a so-called “depressed” market. Even when a property is highly desirable, it can be hard to get the price you want in this real estate environment. You could end up losing a lot of time, money, and opportunities, waiting for a “perfect buyer” who may NEVER materialize! The traditional solution is to drop your asking price. But this common strategy doesn’t always work in your favor. In fact, it can work against you, making your home seem undesirable and your position seem weak. But there IS a way to turn this challenge into a profitable opportunity! I am trying to let every Realtor know that I can increase your sales and my bottom line. It does not cost anything. Please visit our BLOG for more information. I am not selling anything. I am in the business of paying cash for mortgage notes and trust deeds. http://realestatefunding.smilingdogenterprises.com http://twitter.com/sgriecci

Creative Financing Journal How to Sell Your Property Fast - At The Price You Want!

The Inside Secrets To Seller Financing When it comes to selling real estate, one of the biggest obstacles sellers face is a so-called “depressed” market. Even when a property is highly desirable, it can be hard to get the price you want in this real estate environment. You could end up losing a lot of time, money, and opportunities, waiting for a “perfect buyer” who may NEVER materialize!

The traditional solution is to drop your asking price. But this common strategy doesn’t always work in your favor. In fact, it can work against you, making your home seem undesirable and your position seem weak. But there IS a way to turn this challenge into a profitable opportunity! The seller finance solution More and more home sellers are turning to private financing to sell properties quickly and at the best possible price.

Why? Because it’s a great way to attract an untapped group of potential buyers looking to buy a home outside of conventional financing. Seller financing can put you back in the driver’s seat and turn ANY market into a SELLER’S DREAM! You see, there is a large percentage of first-time home buyers who cannot get approved for bank funding because of their credit situation.

These buyers will often offer to pay even MORE than the asking price for the opportunity to live the American dream of home ownership. Once you understand a few secrets to seller financing, you’ll know why these “credit challenged” folks can be your “perfect buyers” and provide a positive solution for ALL parties involved… Seller financing: a powerful tool to sell homes in a stagnant market Private financing can lead to many more home buyers Seller financing could help sellers get more money for their property Sellers could still receive the cash they need when financing the sale of their property

How to Sell Your Property Fast - At The Price You Want!

1. Seller financing can enable YOU to sell your home quickly and easily, at the price you want.

2. It gives the BUYER a chance to purchase a home that would otherwise be out of reach.

3. If a real estate agent is involved, it allows the agent to collect a commission from a sale that wouldn’t happen through traditional means. So everyone wins!

Turning the sale into cash But what happens if the buyer does not put down a substantial down payment and the seller needs additional cash to purchase another property? That’s where the beauty of seller financing comes in. It’s possible for the seller – now the mortgage holder – to turn around and sell the mortgage note for a lump sum of cash!

It’s easier and more common than most people ever imagine! As a professional Note Finder, I specialize in helping holders of mortgage notes get immediate cash for their paper asset. In fact, if you or someone you know holds a mortgage note, I can help turn it into CASH right now!

“Seller financing is a powerful tool to remedy real estate situations that otherwise look grim.” Liquidating your seller-financed notes How a Note Finder Helps It All Happen For You! There is a growing group of note business professionals known as “Note Finders” who are making it easier than ever to sell real estate notes.

These folks are individuals who help Note Sellers find a buyer. Also known as cash flow specialists or note liquidators, Note Finders collect and organize information about potential note sales so that people who buy notes can easily determine if the stream of income is right for them. Note Finders serve to inform Note Holders of their options.

They also help to streamline the process of selling a cash flow by helping Note Holders to understand the process. Note Finders know what types of note terms, interest rates, down payments, and payment schedules Note Buyers prefer, and are familiar with typical yield notes. Therefore, an experienced finder can give home owners pertinent information to structure a new note so that it sells quickly.

As a Note Finder, I have an in-depth understanding of the private note industry and I am able to approximate the value of most secured cash flows. Keep in mind that Note Finders do not act on the behalf of either the Note Holder or the buyer and do not provide counsel to either party; we represent ourselves. I can give you an idea of what makes a note attractive to buyers as well as present information about a note to potential buyers, but will not assist either party with the decision to finalize a note deal. Seller Financing: Creating A Note For Quick Sale Seller financing is a popular way to sell real estate without dropping the price.

In fact, builders will often offer financing to sell the properties they’ve built in a difficult market without having to reduce their prices. When the property owner is willing to “carry back” a note many advantages can result:

1. The Seller can get a higher selling price.

2. The property can sell faster.

3. The overall sales closing ratio can increase.

4. The note can generate a steady payment stream for long-term income.

But in order to sell a Property this way, the home owner needs to market the property to a different type of buyer. Attracting “credit challenged” buyers requires a different strategy to reach a different demographic. The seller must use a more targeted marketing technique, designed specifically for the “unconventional buyer’s market.” And the most effective advertising methods to tap into this distinctly separate pool of buyers might surprise you!

Seller Financing: Creating A Note For Quick Sale How much is a note worth? When deciding to liquidate a seller-financed note the first step is uncovering how much the note is worth. To do that, it’s best to get inside the head of the Note Buyer. Note Buyers always want a good deal, so most of them will usually begin by conducting a quantitative evaluation of the numbers on a cash flow. The two factors that buyers look at first are the note term and interest rate.

How term affects note pricing To illustrate, consider these two similar notes with different terms. Assume that both notes have a balance of $100,000, with a fixed interest rate of 8 percent. The first note has payments of $733.76 per month over 30 years (360 months), while the second note will be paid off in 10 years (120 months) at $1,213.28 monthly – a term three times shorter. For this example, assume that the buyer is looking to yield 15 percent on the remaining payments. If no payments had been made towards the $100,000 balance, the buyer’s offer at 15 percent would be $58,030.25 for the 30-year note and $75,202.55 for the 10-year note. Based on the figures alone, you can see that the second note with the shorter term will receive a much higher offer.

An “interesting” consideration The interest rate is also a important point for buyers when they start their note evaluation process. Specifically, buyers look for interest rates that are “just right” – neither too high nor too low. Interest rates that are too high will make it difficult for the Payor to meet her monthly payment obligations, making a foreclosure likely. Conversely, when the interest rate is too low, many buyers find that the amount they can pay for the note typically won’t meet the seller’s needs. As a result, many buyers will avoid making offers on notes with extremely low interest rates because past history has shown that these deals can be difficult to close. Yield vs. Interest = Discount Here is the critical point: the amount of the discounted offer that a seller gets from a prospective buyer is usually a direct result of the difference between the interest rate and the buyer’s yield.

A note with a lower interest rate forces the buyer to make up his yield from the discount instead of the interest that accrues each month. So, as the difference between the note’s interest rate and the buyer’s desired yield grows the offer to the seller decreases. This effect can be illustrated using two notes, both written for $100,000 and amortized over 30 years. The first has an interest rate of 3 percent and payments of $421.60. The second note is amortized at an interest rate of 10 percent with monthly payments of $877.57. If the buyer wants to yield 15 percent on the remaining payments (with no payments made yet), the offer for the first note would only be $33,342.72 on the 3 percent note, but $69,403.63 for the 10 percent note. Remember that the balance on each note was $100,000, so the discount is $66,657.28 and $30,596.64 respectively… simply because of the difference in interest rate. Any experienced buyer who runs these figures will realize that almost all Note Holders would find a discount of $66,000 or more on their $100,000 note very difficult to swallow.

A few buyers might consider lowering their personal yield requirements in an attempt to reduce the discount – if the note has other compelling attributes. I look forward to talk with you further about any of the strategies explained here. Please contact me if you’d like to discuss this information or for help with any of your note transactions. Visit our Blog for more articles and information.

http://www.smilingdog.net

email us

I realize I'm a little late commenting on this post...........however, have you considered the time factor? It seems you are a rather busy guy. Do you have the time to facilitate showings? Do you have the time and nerve to follow up with prospective buyers? Aside from expertise, one of the biggest assets we bring to the table is that we do this full-time (hopefully).

This is just a sample of data I have compiled. Please visit our full Blog for more articles and feel fee to comment. Just click on this link