Selling your own property

[Water Camper]

We will be listing our Laconia cottage For Sale by Owner shortly. Would appreciate any help from forum members who have done so themselves. Are there any lessons learned that you would be willing to share.

Thank You,
Bill & Sue

[TheProfessor]

You need a local attorney.

I sold two homes - at different times - by myself. One at a time of course.

Both I had enlisted a local real estate agent.
In RE contract you can have option of selling yourself.

I advertised in all local newspapers. Today you would also advertise online. I had my own open house. Multiple days.

All can be time consuming. There can be a lot of lookers who have zero interest in buying. Folks with just extra time and just like to look.
Sold houses by my own open house - a walk in.

Ask your attorney about deposits. As I had two offers withdrawn and refunded deposit. Long before any house inspection. They couldn't get financing or just changed their mind.

Not for the faint of heart. That is why most hire a real estate agent. Although most will state a standard commission. That number can vary.

Might be a good idea to hire a home inspection yourself to know what other home inspectors will point out.

Again, most hire a professional real estate agent because of all of the time and hassle.
Are you prepared to show home to people who have zero interest and just like to look at houses? Take all valuables out of home for sale.

Good Luck.

[Hermit Cover]

Usually a homeowner will try to sell the home "By Owner" for one of two reasons: the first is to save paying a professional real estate company a commission. The second is simply because the owner wants to do all those things a Realtor does because they have time to kill and think selling a home is open house/ad in the paper/internet and thats all there is to it. The process sounds simple but overlooks the most important part...Qualifying that buyer before he steps into the door.....or not. Open houses are great for lookers but are a pain for buyers......when a buyer is serious they wish to spend their time being with someone they can trust to educate them about the area, about tax rates, about location, about comparable sales, about financing, schools, community ammenties and on and on. Realtors do this 24/7 and have buyers waiting for a particular property to come on the market.....and about that commission. A buyer is smart enough to know why a seller is For Sale By Owner...and will discount the amount of commission off the asking price before making an offer.....The buyer and seller are both trying to save the same dollars and that makes for tough negotiation right from the start. You might consider offering to pay a buyers commission to a Realtor with a ready buyer. Oh, and good luck!

[TiltonBB]

Over 80% of buyers are shopping on the internet long before they step out the door to look at houses. You need to get the house on MLS which feeds sites like Realtor.com to catch those buyers. There are places that will do that for a minimum fee.

If you do decide that you would like to go with a realtor, don't think that you are saving a fortune to negotiate a lower realtor commission. When a buyer's realtor has a client that wants to spend a day looking at houses that fit their needs they depend on the realtor to find appropriate properties and schedule showing appointments. If there are many houses for sale with a 5 to 6 percent commission and your house is paying 3% which houses do you think will be shown?

[IslandRadio]

I have sold 3 houses myself - it can be done.....

But, like other previous posts, it does require some knowledge of the law; you should have an offer to purchase form ready, and possibly a P & S.

You have to qualify the buyers. I didn't actually find that part too difficult, at least at the time. I ask about where they live now, how much they pay for rent or a mortgage and other questions about income and expenses. A credit check is easy to do these days.

Many people will come to you pre-qualified. This is a BIG buyer's advantage. When I shop for houses, this is always in the my back pocket.

Never had any open houses - doesn't actually seem like a good idea to me. If someone's interested, let them make an appointment and you show the house - AFTER - doing some prelim pre-qualifications first.

You can eliminate the tire kickers right off by asking the right questions.

I also took the real estate agent course in my state and actually took the test and got a salesperson's license. Never used it, but it REALLY helped me sell my own houses! The course is not expensive, and is very interesting and educational. Just a thought....

[camp guy]

All good answers, and all with the same theme: Use a realtor. Even in the face of experience, a homeowner is wise to use a realtor simply to avoid the pitfalls created by changing regulations.

The timing of certain events in a sale can be critical, and a mistake could cost an owner a sale.

Let's not even talk about some of the issues associated with properties that have been in families for a long, long time and prior deeds and boundaries may be a little "cloudy".

Not only is a realtor an essential person, so is an accurate survey, a current house inspection, and, let's not forget, a lawyer. The realtor can usually coordinate these people (and other, if necessary) to make the sale happen and have both parties walk away happy.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by camp guy

All good answers, and all with the same theme: Use a realtor.

I didn't get this from the previous posts, I got that FSBO can be done, but it takes more of the seller's time and there are many considerations, among them cost.

That being said, I'm not sure if 6% is the average, but having bought two homes--one with and one without a realtor--I will absolutely say that the realtor both saved us time, money, and, most importantly, made us more confident and comfortable with the sale.

Good luck!

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

[ApS]

Originally Posted by camp guy

All good answers, and all with the same theme: Use a realtor.

Before you use a realtor, canvass your neighborhood for buyers.

.

[Diver1111]

I have bought and sold without a broker more than once. The comments so far all have merit, so with that said my simple advice is READ and UNDERSTAND the Listing Agreement-all of it. But I have alot of experience with R.E. so that helped alot.

For example the land that Burger King is on in Plymouth near Walmart was land my father and I sold directly to BK in 2002 or so-their regional Waltham, MA franchisee.

For a nice residential property I owned a few years ago I hired a well known national brokerage shop (their franchisees are in every state including N.H.) to sell a house I owned out of state. I read the Agreement line by line after making a copy of it first, then went through it line by line with a yellow highlighter. Most of the competing Agency's Agreements were similar.

Here is what I found in various clauses they had hoped I would sign off on and please note these are things I had a problem with-you may not:

1) The listing automatically added a commission would be due if I rented the place; Don't agree to this if you can't sell or change your mind and then rent it out yourself; Considering I had rented it for the prior 4 years this was a distinct possibility;

2) If you rent it out first through a Broker and the tenant eventually buys the place they will try and collect again for the sale unless of course this is addressed; Do not expect a credit for the Rental commission you paid either against the sales commission if this happens;

3) There is no such thing as a "standard" commission; "Typical" or "common" commission figures yes; You and the Broker decide what the fee will be; They may invoke the "I have to check with the Home Office position;

4) The Listing Agreement had me paying a full commission if the Broker produced an Offer that met my terms-the fee was due even if I didn't accept the Offer; I can think of several reasons why I might not accept an Offer;

5) Commission is due if within 6 months after the Listing expired if sold through another Broker who charged less-this Broker wanted the difference from me;

6) Ask for a monthly list of all Buyers with names and addresses the house was shown to; They will likely balk but you can save yourself a lawsuit (you'll be the one getting sued) when they sue you claiming they showed the house on such and such date to John & Mary Doe; If you don't have this you are shall I say, at a distinct disadvantage; Besides you will want to see the traffic generated anyway and you won't know all of the potential Buyers unless they tell you who they are; Expect blow back on this but I didn't let it go and got the list monthly;

7) My property could have been a tear-down even though it was quite a valuable home and in outstanding shape on 3 acres in a dynamite town; Some developers looked at it, and, if I had sold the property to them as the Agreement was worded, the Broker wanted a fee from me based NOT on the selling/listing price of my house (6 figures), but the selling price AFTER a Developer bought it and built a multiple 7-figure McMansion on the land; I found this clause truly absurd;

8) The Broker wanted 100% reimbursement for all "expenses" incurred or a full commission (their call) if the house didn't sell for any reason and I either withdrew it for sale or listed it elsewhere after expiration; Yes they expected to get paid even though the house didn't sell during the term of the Listing Agreement;

9) The Broker expected to get 50% of any money forfeited by the Buyer if the Buyer had to get out of the deal and I kept say, their Deposit as damages;

10) Named Exceptions: A Named Exception is a list of people you have already shown the property to yourself, or, perhaps through another Broker; Add a list of Named Exceptions to the Agreement as an Addendum so you do not owe a fee to the Broker if one of these folks comes back later to buy the place-yes it really happens and unless this is taken into account you will owe the fee-possibly two fees (one to the new Broker, one to the old Broker);

11) Auto-Renew: Many Agreements are written to automatically renew unless steps are taken to prevent it; This may or may not be agreeable to you, I'm just pointing it out;

12) I added an Addendum myself that had these points in it:

- Broker gets paid at Closing like everyone else-no sooner, no later;
- Seller's Attorney will act as Escrow Agent not the Broker;
- Named Exceptions list added;
- Indemnification: I asked for and got the same indemnification from the Broker they expected from me;

While it may sound like I'm a hard-ass the fact is I had a real problem with the Agreement as originally proposed; The changes I made were sent to the Home Office for approval and I got everything I wanted.

Furthermore I knew and liked the Broker who was forced to use the Home Office's Listing Form of course-she had no part in writing it at all. My reference to Broker actually refers in this case to the parent company-the Home Office-not the person who I worked with.

Don't get me wrong-I want people to get paid. I never challenged the commission amount for several reasons. The Broker did a good job too. And this boilerplate language was just that-boilerplate-that experience tells me they get agreement on all the time as originally written because for whatever reason people don't try and modify it.

The problem is most people don't sell often enough to get good at this which is understandable. Brokers certainly have their place and with proper due diligence on your part the commission is likely money well spent.

I hope it helps.

[colesfamily]

It's easy to sell your own property without using a real estate agent.
NH requires a real estate attorney to be involved but many states do not. In some states title companies are used in lieu of an attorney and sales agent. Even though a lawyer may not be required in the purchase or sale of real estate it's a good idea to have one working for you on your payroll as it's a lot cheaper to pay your own lawyer than to pay the real estate commission.

In NH, as well as in many other areas, 90% of real estate agents know surprisingly little about how to qualify a buyer than you could imagine. Very few agents will ever ask if the prospect is able to buy or even whether the prospect wants to buy. It's staggering to realize how many agents are tour guides hopeful for a deal to fall into their lap. Most agents make sales in spite of their abilities not because of them. I believe no one will represent your home better than you can. I'v met tons of agents that will unlock a front door and let me in to browse without asking me anything more than my first name and then never took the initiative to follow up with me later or for that matter never even asked for contact information. In NH we've sold two homes and purchased three and in the instances when we've had to deal with agents it was sometimes very challenging to get a deal worked out and to the closing table.
Shop for an agent wisely if you go that route and hire your own attorney.

Good luck

[thinkxingu]

PS If you decide to sell on your own, you might contact Merrimack Title in Concord. They were REALLY helpful when buying from someone without a realtor--it's who did all the paperwork and the closing, and their fees were very reasonable.

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[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by Diver1111

I have bought and sold without a broker more than once. The comments so far all have merit, so with that said my simple advice is READ and UNDERSTAND the Listing Agreement-all of it. But I have alot of experience with R.E. so that helped alot.

For example the land that Burger King is on in Plymouth near Walmart was land my father and I sold directly to BK in 2002 or so-their regional Waltham, MA franchisee.

For a nice residential property I owned a few years ago I hired a well known national brokerage shop (their franchisees are in every state including N.H.) to sell a house I owned out of state. I read the Agreement line by line after making a copy of it first, then went through it line by line with a yellow highlighter. Most of the competing Agency's Agreements were similar.

Here is what I found in various clauses they had hoped I would sign off on and please note these are things I had a problem with-you may not:

1) The listing automatically added a commission would be due if I rented the place; Don't agree to this if you can't sell or change your mind and then rent it out yourself; Considering I had rented it for the prior 4 years this was a distinct possibility;

2) If you rent it out first through a Broker and the tenant eventually buys the place they will try and collect again for the sale unless of course this is addressed; Do not expect a credit for the Rental commission you paid either against the sales commission if this happens;

3) There is no such thing as a "standard" commission; "Typical" or "common" commission figures yes; You and the Broker decide what the fee will be; They may invoke the "I have to check with the Home Office position;

4) The Listing Agreement had me paying a full commission if the Broker produced an Offer that met my terms-the fee was due even if I didn't accept the Offer; I can think of several reasons why I might not accept an Offer;

5) Commission is due if within 6 months after the Listing expired if sold through another Broker who charged less-this Broker wanted the difference from me;

6) Ask for a monthly list of all Buyers with names and addresses the house was shown to; They will likely balk but you can save yourself a lawsuit (you'll be the one getting sued) when they sue you claiming they showed the house on such and such date to John & Mary Doe; If you don't have this you are shall I say, at a distinct disadvantage; Besides you will want to see the traffic generated anyway and you won't know all of the potential Buyers unless they tell you who they are; Expect blow back on this but I didn't let it go and got the list monthly;

7) My property could have been a tear-down even though it was quite a valuable home and in outstanding shape on 3 acres in a dynamite town; Some developers looked at it, and, if I had sold the property to them as the Agreement was worded, the Broker wanted a fee from me based NOT on the selling/listing price of my house (6 figures), but the selling price AFTER a Developer bought it and built a multiple 7-figure McMansion on the land; I found this clause truly absurd;

8) The Broker wanted 100% reimbursement for all "expenses" incurred or a full commission (their call) if the house didn't sell for any reason and I either withdrew it for sale or listed it elsewhere after expiration; Yes they expected to get paid even though the house didn't sell during the term of the Listing Agreement;

9) The Broker expected to get 50% of any money forfeited by the Buyer if the Buyer had to get out of the deal and I kept say, their Deposit as damages;

10) Named Exceptions: A Named Exception is a list of people you have already shown the property to yourself, or, perhaps through another Broker; Add a list of Named Exceptions to the Agreement as an Addendum so you do not owe a fee to the Broker if one of these folks comes back later to buy the place-yes it really happens and unless this is taken into account you will owe the fee-possibly two fees (one to the new Broker, one to the old Broker);

11) Auto-Renew: Many Agreements are written to automatically renew unless steps are taken to prevent it; This may or may not be agreeable to you, I'm just pointing it out;

12) I added an Addendum myself that had these points in it:

- Broker gets paid at Closing like everyone else-no sooner, no later;
- Seller's Attorney will act as Escrow Agent not the Broker;
- Named Exceptions list added;
- Indemnification: I asked for and got the same indemnification from the Broker they expected from me;

While it may sound like I'm a hard-ass the fact is I had a real problem with the Agreement as originally proposed; The changes I made were sent to the Home Office for approval and I got everything I wanted.

Furthermore I knew and liked the Broker who was forced to use the Home Office's Listing Form of course-she had no part in writing it at all. My reference to Broker actually refers in this case to the parent company-the Home Office-not the person who I worked with.

Don't get me wrong-I want people to get paid. I never challenged the commission amount for several reasons. The Broker did a good job too. And this boilerplate language was just that-boilerplate-that experience tells me they get agreement on all the time as originally written because for whatever reason people don't try and modify it.

The problem is most people don't sell often enough to get good at this which is understandable. Brokers certainly have their place and with proper due diligence on your part the commission is likely money well spent.

I hope it helps.

Clearly a person who understands real estate and he chose to sell his home (out of state) through a broker after addressing some concerns he had in the contract. I'd also add that the real estate market in the Lakes Region is sluggish. If the market were hot I might see how for certain folks it made sense to go it alone but unfortunately the market is anything but hot. Based upon this and the complexities of a real estate transaction for an inexperienced seller I'd suggest the typical real estate seller is better-off trying to negotiate a lower commission with a reputable real estate broker than going it alone.

[TiltonBB]

You, or a good agent working for you, should have potential buyers pre-approved for a mortgage. Pre-approved means that the potential buyers information regarding income, assets, liabilities, and credit have been verified and approved.

A "pre-qualified" letter is usually meaningless. Those letters generally have a disclaimer paragraph in them stating that the pre-qualification is based upon information provided by the potential buyer that has not been verified.

I have sold 14 properties over many years. In most cases I used a realtor but I told the realtor I would not consider an offer unless it was accompanied by a pre-approval letter.

I would think that any reputable realtors would explain the importance of a pre-approval to the buyer before wasting a lot of time showing homes to people who could not afford them.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by colesfamily

It's easy to sell your own property without using a real estate agent.
NH requires a real estate attorney to be involved but many states do not. In some states title companies are used in lieu of an attorney and sales agent. Even though a lawyer may not be required in the purchase or sale of real estate it's a good idea to have one working for you on your payroll as it's a lot cheaper to pay your own lawyer than to pay the real estate commission.

In NH, as well as in many other areas, 90% of real estate agents know surprisingly little about how to qualify a buyer than you could imagine. Very few agents will ever ask if the prospect is able to buy or even whether the prospect wants to buy. It's staggering to realize how many agents are tour guides hopeful for a deal to fall into their lap. Most agents make sales in spite of their abilities not because of them. I believe no one will represent your home better than you can. I'v met tons of agents that will unlock a front door and let me in to browse without asking me anything more than my first name and then never took the initiative to follow up with me later or for that matter never even asked for contact information. In NH we've sold two homes and purchased three and in the instances when we've had to deal with agents it was sometimes very challenging to get a deal worked out and to the closing table.
Shop for an agent wisely if you go that route and hire your own attorney.

Good luck

We have purchased.real estate in NH without an agent or attorney. Please clarify your statement that NH requires a real estate attorney. What is the relevant RSA? Is this a new requirement?

[phoenix]

These are all good points but to me the biggest factor is the market. When the housing market is hot doing it yourself probably works. When market is weak a good realtor will be invaluable .

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

We have purchased.real estate in NH without an agent or attorney. Please clarify your statement that NH requires a real estate attorney. What is the relevant RSA? Is this a new requirement?

Who prepared the deed for your purchase?

[Major]

Originally Posted by codeman671

Who prepared the deed for your purchase?

The buyer prepares the deed. Thus, the seller technically does not require an attorney. However, unless you are familiar with real estate transfers, it is wise to have an attorney review the deed as well as the purchase and sale agreement.

[BobbyA]

Originally Posted by Water Camper

We will be listing our Laconia cottage For Sale by Owner shortly. Would appreciate any help from forum members who have done so themselves. Are there any lessons learned that you would be willing to share.

Thank You
Bill & Sue

The better way to try to sell your own property, is to put it on MLS too.
Here is one service that does that. Its better I sold my house dot com.

That way all the realtors can see it too, and you pay half a commission
Good luck Bobby

GO HERE

https://www.entryonly.com/mls_search.aspx?search=nh

[Cobalt 25]

I just sold our house in VT. Three points to consider-

One- make sure it gets posted on Zillow/Trulia, MLS, and Realtor.com. That can be done via fsbo-type companies.

Two- also use Craig'sList. Don't discount it, I had MANY solid leads and only one waste of timer.

Three- as mentioned above make sure they are pre-approved or quickly capable of being pre-approved before getting serious.

Selling it on your own makes a lot of sense if you have the time.

Peter

[kauriel]

Let us know when you post it. We are currently browsing but I just use MLS alerts to email me when new properties come on.

[polkadots]

Just wanted to inform you of a service we offer for sale by owners. I am the owner/broker of Polka Dot Properties in Alton. I have been listing and selling real estate in the Lakes Region for 18 years. Visit my page and do not hesitate to reach out if you should have questions.

http://www.polkadotpropertiesnh.com/...only-services/

[polarisman14]

Please feel free to contact me regarding selling your property as well. My wife is a Realtor for Your Real Estate Company by Professionals, LLC based in Concord. I know I am echoing the sentiments of many of the people on this thread, but it is a bit more complicated then others realize. By hiring an agent (or Realtor, as my wife is) they are assuming all of the possible legal repercussions along with helping you find qualified buyers and a host of other responsibilities most people overlook when undertaking a for sale by owner situation.

Not looking to discourage you, however, there is a reason why realtor/real estate agent is a profession. With the way the laws have changed over the last few years, it's becoming less and less realistic to sell a house yourself.

[KarenM]

From my experience, the pitfalls of FSBO include:

-Lack of research - NH law includes numerous required real estate disclosures, including information about sewage disposal system, water supply system, and insulation. Sellers are required to disclose if the property had been used for methamphetamine production (I'm not kidding!) and if the property is subject to a public utility tariff. Sellers must also disclose the danger of radon, lead paint, and arsenic. See NH RSA 477:4-a, b, c ,d, g and h. Other disclosure, although not required by law, can greatly reduce liability.

-Emotion - To some, selling a property, especially ones home, is very emotional. Negotiations can be ruined if emotion, rather than practicality, rules.

-Marketing - This obstacle can easily be overcome by using an entry only service, such as Polka Dot Properties. It can be difficult to reach prospective buyers without MLS exposure.

-Holding a contract together - Putting a property under agreement is sometimes the easy part. Inspection, financing and deed issues are common causes of contract failure.

For many reasons, hiring a qualified agent is a very good idea for some sellers. Contrary to Matt's post, however, an agent does not assume "all of the legal repercussions". An agent is liable for failing their statutory disclosure obligations, failure to disclose KNOWN material defects, or fraud. There is substantial case law demonstrating sellers liability for failure to disclose and misrepresentation. Property sellers are liable whether they sell their property themselves or use an agency.

Best wishes for a very smooth sale! From the previous comments, you just might find your buyer here on the forum!

[kauriel]

Thank you for messaging me. I saw the message on my phone but the link didn't work on my phone. Now that I am home I was able to find the info on computer but I can't pull up the message to respond to say thank you

[Water Camper]

Kauriel,

This message is an adequate Thank You, Hope you enjoyed.

Bill

[lobstadanca]

Great discussions! Please check out the above Facebook group page. It is a community to showcase or seek homes for sale or rent on Lake Winnipesaukee and area lakes.