Anyone ever sell there own home?

[godale03]

Hey Guys,

I am looking to sell my house and I wanted to do it myself in order to avoid paying over prices Realtor fees. Has anyone ever sold there own house, and if so how did you go about doing it? Thanks guys.

Tom

 

[Revo Rancher]

Tom, everything in life is negotiable. I would suggest seeing if you can find a realtor to sell it for 1.5%. Since the price of homes (particularly in So Cal) has risen so much in the past few years many realtors will cut their commission(s). In my opinion, using a realtor protects you from the many pitfalls of selling a house, unless you have a buddy that owns an escrow company. And, no, I am not a realtor or escrow company employee.

Good luck either way. My parents tried it in the mid-'80's and got so screwed it delayed them moving out so long they lost the next house they were trying to buy for retirement.

 

[FastEddy]

You can use Help-U-Sell or a similar company.
If sales in your neighborhood are swift 7-30 days Max it may be worth a shot.
If its going to take some marketing, let the pros do it.

Your other option is to market your house and pay a real estate attorney to do the paper work. There is a lot involved and the laws are strict. Disclosures are a tricky subject that can haunt you for years to come.

I recently thought about selling my house. The fees would have been around 45K I was able to negotiate them to 20K because no houses in my neighborhood stay on the market for more then 7-10 days.

 

[godale03]

You can use Help-U-Sell or a similar company.
If sales in your neighborhood are swift 7-30 days Max it may be worth a shot.
If its going to take some marketing, let the pros do it.

Your other option is to market your house and pay a real estate attorney to do the paper work. There is a lot involved and the laws are strict. Disclosures are a tricky subject that can haunt you for years to come.

I recently thought about selling my house. The fees would have been around 45K I was able to negotiate them to 20K because no houses in my neighborhood stay on the market for more then 7-10 days.

Yes, right now homes are moving fast. In fact a house down the street wasn't on the market for a whole day and it had three contracts. Now that is not to say that mine will go that fast, but right now houses in my neighborhood are going fast. I was worried about all the legal stuff, and am still just researching the idea. Still may go with a realitor. I didn't know you could negotiate the percentage down. You think I may actually get a realitor to sell my home at 1.5% ? I also do not want to pay the other realtor's fees either. Also I believe my home is pretty marketable by itself. It is only 8 years old, 3BR, 2FB and it is in a nice hood. It is a nice starter type of home and should be in high demand.



Tom

 

[godale03]

Well I guess I should give you a quick background on why I am selling. I am getting married, albeit next summer, but wanted to unload the house now, as I think if I wait till next summer things might not be as lucritive, and it will alow me to save a bit of money before the wedding. That way I might be able to help offset the costs of getting hitched. In your opinion, am I jumping the gun? Should I wait until after we are married?

 

[FastEddy]

If values are going up in your city, keep it and rent it out. If not, sell it.

One word:
Pre-Nup.

 

[Plaidfish]

property almost never goes down man....it can only go up,,,what will change is everybody being able to get low interest rates...that's when the market won't be crazy but your value is still in the home.....my land I just bought for 67,500 is next to a lot on the market now for 180,000.....I'm stoked....we'll see how well that one does...lol....anyone want 10 acres in Turkey Haven???
Ed's right if you aren't sure rent it out for a while.....save some dough...who knows next year before you get hitched it might be worthdouble what it is now

 

[Revo Rancher]

Tom, try to make your selling and buying agent the same. Then get the fess set at 3%. That is a fair amount of money these days. Why should your realtor get a 200% raise just because the market is better these days? When things were tough 7-8 years ago, they worked harder and got less.

Anyhow, I predict the market, in other states in particular, will level off, and interest rates will continue to climb, albeit very slightly. It's your call. How much risk can you take? I love risk, so I would hang onto it.

As to selling too soon, where do you plan to live after you get married? Can you two just live where you are now? If I remember correctly, you might have said you plan to live with her parents because of work or a family business. (do you really want to live there?)

As to renting, when I got married both my wife and I had condos. We sold mine and rented my wife's. Renting can be a big nightmare, especially if you are on a tight budget. Renter moves out, and suddenly you have big expenses, even if it for only a month or two.

Plaid, that is mostly true except for volatile areas like coastal SoCal. In the mid-'80's through the early '90's property dropped drastically in this area.

Where is Turkey Haven? I can buy 10 homes for 67,500.00 if I sold my house today.

FE, pre-nup?!? OK, but it is too late for me...

 

[godale03]

If values are going up in your city, keep it and rent it out. If not, sell it.

One word:
Pre-Nup.

Why a prenup? So she does not get the money from the sale? I have heard of those, but never really understood them. I don't have much that she doesn't already have..... except my RC's, and she is a PhD Physical Chemist, just built a 3200 sq ft home not including the basement on a few acres on her fathers 380 acre farm, drives a brand new fully loaded 4Runner, has some very nice investments, has almost no consummer debt and makes a whole hell of alot more than my little 50K a year. If anything I guess she should be making me sign one! LOL

 

[Revo Rancher]

Tom, you posted while I was typing, so I have some answers about where you are going to live.

Heck, with all that going on, why work? Just be her escort, damn it. Promise her the house will always be clean and you will be ready waiting for her when she comes home from the lab.

 

[godale03]

Tom, you posted while I was typing, so I have some answers about where you are going to live.

Heck, with all that going on, why work? Just be her escort, damn it. Promise her the house will always be clean and you will be ready waiting for her when she comes home from the lab.

Now were talking! She wants me to quit work and go back to school full time. She said she would pay the way. I am seriously considering it... cuz going to school at night part time sure does suck. Although walking away from 50K a year is mighty hard to do, and I don't like the fact that I wouldn't be making my own dough. I hate asking others for money..... it would be like I was a kid asking Mom for money for the icecream man!

 

[vbgagnon]

The great thing about being married is that your money is her money and her money is her money, so either way your going to be asking her for money. Gotta love that!

 

[Plaidfish]

Um I'm available to be kept at home for cheap sex and house chores......I'm cheap I know...but I've been a whol lot lower than that so I'd still be ahead of the game....

 

[Mr T-Maxx]

The great thing about being married is that your money is her money and her money is her money, so either way your going to be asking her for money. Gotta love that!

VB knows...he sent me a check for a radio and it wasn't signed by him LOL.

Back on topic:

Eddy makes a great point about keeping it and renting it...keep an eye on the market trends though as some are predicting the housing boom to fizzle soon.

Yes, realtors are negotiable...isn't everything.

I bought my first home from the owner...no realtors. I sold the same home myself 3.5 years later...no realtors. It's not that complicated. The bank handles all the tough stuff....deed search...appraisal...hiring the thug..er lawyer...calculating partial real estate taxes.

Mr T

 

[FastEddy]

Pre-Nup, Hell If she tosses one out on the table for YOU to sign, DON'T DO IT!
LMAO
Palimony is a good thing.
Make sure you have proof that she asked you to quit your job.

 

[vbgagnon]

VB knows...he sent me a check for a radio and it wasn't signed by him LOL.

Mr T

I almost fell out of my chair when I read that! LFMAO I didn't realize my wife wrote the check.

 

[rocknbil]

...Has anyone ever sold there own house, and if so how did you go about doing it? ...

I tried, but live in a small community where everyone has their hand in everyone else's pockets, or, in the case of Real Estate and government offices, up each others' asses. Basically the f***ers blackballed me and it sat on the market for a year while I rented it out. Let the realtors handle it and it was sold in a month. I hate realtors. <shudders . . sleazy f**ers>

If you're up for the bull, it can be done. All you really need to start out with is a bill of sale, a contract, advertising, then you work with the title company, etc. That part is a bit complicated - you relly need to look for a book on selling your own home.

 

[Revo Rancher]

Pre-Nup, Hell If she tosses one out on the table for YOU to sign, DON'T DO IT!

Ed, you are so negative today!

 

[SaVaGeR21]

right now our house jus went pending. we used help-u-sell and i think the fees with everything and them doing all the paper work is $4750 or somethin around that. all you have to do is be at home to show your house when you have open houses. they provide the signs and the lock boxes and everything. they do al the paper work and it saved us at least 20 thousand. jus letting you know that help-u-sell isnt a bad thought.

 

[godale03]

Um I'm available to be kept at home for cheap sex and house chores......I'm cheap I know...but I've been a whol lot lower than that so I'd still be ahead of the game....

The question is Plaid, could you arange it so that I would be able to race more? If you can do that, your hired! LOL