FSBO - Are we being ignored by realtors?

I myself will show FSBO's when my clients see one they like and if the sellers are offering my commission, otherwise it would be up to my buyers to pay me if they'd like to move forward with the home and use my services.  You have already established that you are willing to offer a 3% commission for the buyers agent.  My suggestion would be to make a flyer and take one to each real estate office in your community advertising that you will pay commission.  In addition see if those companies will let you email them a flyer to send to their distribution list for more exposure.  If you choose to have a broker open house then do the same process for the invitiation flyer to get the agents in.  In my area agent open houses will have a lunch offered or gift card drawings for gas cards or gift certificates to local shopping centers.  Best wishes selling your home quickly!

I don't think the issue is agents shutting you out. I have sold a number of FSBO homes over the years and my only complaint is that the seller sometomes does not know the steps in the closing process.  It is seldom a serious problem though, and I can't think of a one that  failed to close.  I don't know where you are located, but in my area it's just a "beauty contest happening in the middle of a price war".  Most of what is selling are pre-foreclosures or short sales. So price it below your competition and keep it in model home condition.  Good luck on your effort.

It's probably mostly the market. Buyer's have no concern if you are going to lose money or not. They are like kids in a candy store! If you need to sell now price is the issue. I find that being on the other end of a FSBO means that I often do double the work and need to make it very clear who I am representing...that said if it's the house they want I have no problems with the extra load.

The answer is YES!  the long and short of it is that Agent's are lazy.  If they are showing 30 homes then your FSBO is the last of it (unless of course its on the radar of a good agent, but as you can see on this board we are talking about maybe the upper 5% of Agents).

Lazy Agents will show what comes up on their MLS first.  Plain and simple.  what is easiest to find and show.

The price you pay for being FSBO and saving that 3% (possibly 6%) is that you are not going to be shown by as many Agents.  Its got its pros and cons.  In this market its a choice you make to sell your property.

If you are in an MLS you aren't being ignored.  Buyers are choosing not to look at it for some reason, and I can think of several:

1. Price.

2. Lack of pictures...(a one picture house is very often overlooked by buyers.  They want to see the inside of the house more than the drive by picture of the outside.)

3. Pictures are of poor quality.

4. Weak narrative on public remarks in the MLS.

Buyers choose your property, not agents for the most part.  How does your property appear to the public?

Thanks for the suggestions.  I get the feeling there just aren't any buyers looking in our neighborhood right now.  We have great photos - good lighting, in focus, good angles, we emptied about 30% of our belongings, and about 11-12 on every site (or whatever the maximum allows). Our house looks brand new, it's only 2 years old, so I can't imagine that it wouldn't look like a great house to buy.

I guess price would be the big issue.  I would be surpised at that though, since it priced below all the other comparable properties, and what the real estate agent we consulted said we should list it for.  I haven't seen any of the homes who are being represented by realtors sell and they've been on the market for quite some time.  I think we'll just toss in the towel and rent it.  If we can't get anyone to look at it, it is not likely that we can sell it.

Thanks!

I'm not sure what area you are located in or how long it has been since your last checked the list prices on the other homes in your neighborhood.  If you are going to do the work of an agent, you will have to stay on top of that just as an agent would do.  Prices are getting dramatic cuts in most areas on a daily basis and with foreclosures coming through the pipework, yesterday you could have been $8,000 under everybody else but today you could be $3000 more than the guy beside you.  Unfortunetly, that is the market right now and most people are taking losses unless they bought more than 5 years ago.  3% is a strong commisssion to offer a buyers agent so I think if someone had a buyer, they would bring them.  There just simply isn't a lot of them out there right now.  Good Luck!

If you were willing to pay a fee to get it on the MLS and you are willing to pay a 3% buyer commission and you are doing the pricing, marketing, qualifications, open houses, etc....  Why didn't you just get a REALTOR and save the hastle?  Maybe a REALTOR would have added some experince to your mix?

If you paid to list on the MLS, you sort of have an agent.  So I guess you will now have to wait until that contract expires.

Sorry......

What does being on the MLS have to do with being represented?  That's one of a million things a good agent can actually do for you and the thing that requires the least effort!  I find that people who go FSBO in this market are overwhelmingly difficult people to deal with- at least in my area- and with so much inventory wasting my time arguing with them when I know I'm going to end up doing double the work is a tough sell.  Also unless your house is a million dollars + offering .5% more than normal isn't that much of a big deal.  Try 3.5%!  If your current price isn't enough of a bargain to get you a sale in 30 days you're going to end up needing to reduce your price anways eventually which means you'll quickly evaporate the 3% you're trying to steal by not using a listing agent.  Once that is gone you're in short-sale country and at that point the bank will pay your agent's commission anyways and let you walk away debt-free. 

Another money saving tip might be to buy "the idiot's guide to dentistry" and save money by driling out your own cavities instead of paying those silly dentist's fees.  Minimum service RE companies were great when you could sell for 110% in 24 hours.  Those days are long gone.

If you're not enduring some hardship you're not going to be allowed to short-sell so based on your current situation take the property off the market and rent it because this isn't gonna work out how you want it to.

To be listed on the MLS one must deal with an agent who is a member of the local association of REALTORS to gain access to the MLS.  Most now allow a limited participation by that agent but the seller still has a agent.  (this is not a true FSBO).,

CR

i have a question. if a fsbo that is assisted by an agent on a flat fee basis is not considered a true fsbo are those sales statistics possibly not included in nar studies regarding fsbo's? 

In the area I am in- you cant work on a FSBO unless you get a one party contract signed - that either the buyer will pay your fee or that the seller will pay your fee and you have a contract so that the two cant go behind your back and put the deal together later.  You think I might be a little worried about un-loyal customers?  Well being in this business for 20 yrs I have seen it all.  So, if you want to be a FSBO - be one - but dont expect realtors to knock down your door with buyers.  If you want your home represented to more buyers- hire a person that can get it done for you.  That is why we are called professionals. 

Even though the brokerage is flat fee, this really isn't a FSBO.  The OP has representation through whatever broker he or she used to get the house on the MLS.  All houses sold that appear in the MLS are counted in NAR statistics, including FSBOs that have been entered into the MLS for comparable purposes only.

You should "test" your MLS listing. Do an email/phone call inquiry as a potential buyer. We did a flat-fee MLS and nobody ever answered from that ad. After months on the MLS, i decided to test it. Well i got an email response (11 days later) from an agent they forwarded it to and she sent HER listings (totally ignored the (my) property that i had inquired about). Also got an email right away from a mortgage broker offering services. Nowhere in the contract did it state any interested buyer would be pushed to one of their agents and shown other listings!! In fact it stated buyers could call the toll-free number and would be sent to our mailbox. I assumed the email inquiry (which is what most folks use) would be the same. It is a big scam. Save your money and use craigslist and owners.com for FREE; we have had much more success with those. Good luck!

I thank all the realtors for their insight.  I'm sure we are losing out on some helpful things and a lot of networking from not having a realtor.  Unfortunately when we met with a realtor, at the price he suggested we sell the house, and after fees and commissions, we would come out losing $2000 - and that was if the house sold quickly at the asking price.

I do feel like there are some realtors who are purposely not showing us, we've had proabaly a hundred calls at least, from realtors who want to represent us and say they have buyers they represent, but then we hear nothing from them again after we don't sign up with them.  I hope that's not the case, because we aren't trying to shun realtors - we're willing to pay them for pointing buyers in our direction.

I think Scott Newman shows there is a lot of resentment toward people trying to make it work without full representation from a realtor.  And I really don't appreciate his insults, I am neither trying to 'steal' a commission, nor am I an idiot.  Personally I don't equate the profession of realtors to that of dentistry, as I would hope a dentist would have years of schooling before he stuck a drill in my mouth.  And I don't remember the last time I got a call from a dentist at 7:00 am, 8:30 pm, or multiple times per day to push their services and then just won't take 'no' for an answer.

We've had so much interest from renters, I think we're just going to have to wait it out until the market improves. And I'm sorry if I offended realtors, that was never my intention.  I guess I just wanted to know if there are no buyers out there, or if there was a better way for us to reach realtors.

I personally overlook "FSBO" because they are priced wrong 95% of the time.  You sound like you have done almost everything that any proffessional would do. Good Luck !

I am not being resentful in the least bit.  You got yourself into the situation you're in and now you're looking to wiggle your way out of it by cutting costs for the people who actually could help you- that's a fact.

Most areas are getting nowhere near 100% asking price so if you've got such a small cushion then you'll very likely be losing money because if your house hasn't sold yet it likely won't- at your current price.

How is this being resentful?  I thought the advice of renting the place out and being down with it was pretty spot on. 

Also for the record I didn't call you an idiot, those are a series of books that put complicated things into laymans terms but apparently that joke was over your head.  Also, you are stealing a commission.  If you walk into a car dealership and want to sell them back a car they sold you for $10,000 for the same price after using it for some time and you don't want to pay any fees to make that happen what would you call that?  I'm sorry you're looking for someone else to bail you out of a mess you got yourself into- I guess that's not stealing- it's begging for a handout because you screwed up and you want someone else to fix it- that's worse than stealing!!

Also, why should the agents call you back when you refuse to work with them in spite of the fact that they have buyers?  If I know of a specific property that could work for my clients I will call the FSBO up and tell them I want the listing, even if it's for a reduced commission (the 3.5% I mentioned or maybe 4%).  After the property is listed I will happily bring that buyer through the property and if they like it done deal!  If not you have your home listed for a hell of a lot less than anyone else is going to do it for.  I've seen sellers sign commission agreements for buyers to bring their clients through and then they turn around and try to cut the agent out by going  directly to the buyers, or even say they never agreed to pay a commission and that isn't their signature.  The whole point is you're a typical FSBO.  You're not selling yourself because you understand the process and want to try and handle it on your own, you're doing it because you made a poor financial decision when you bought the house and now you're skimming on commissions to keep yourself from having to write a check- HUGE DIFFERENCE.

The only resentment I have is two-fold

1) the stupid agents who let their clients pay way too much for a home and

2) the stupid buyers who blindly signed the paperwork and never took responsibility for their own decisions and who know want to be bailed out

Also, if you' don't consider your realtor as valuable a part of your "Life Team" as your dentist you're making a big  mistake.  You require the guy who sticks a drill in your mouth to have 8 years of schooling but you're ok with trusting the biggest financial decision you'll make to some schmuck you found off a yard sign who you clearly don't have much respect for?  Doesn't make much sense does it?

Maybe if you'd cultivated the type of relationship you have with your attorney and CPA with a good local realtor you never would be in this mess to start with.

My .02

[content removed by moderator for being a personal insult]

Do you have any relevant data or examples to back that up with?  I thought my points were valid and supported which is more than I can say for the insult you just posted.

Who the heck is this guy pretending to be me?  Socialist?  I knew we can't trust Communism!!

Honestly though, my points were backed up with actual data and evidence so whoever you are you did defend me properly so thanks I guess!

It seems this post is getting a bit off line?  The facts are:

1. that we are all in a tough economy,
2. the housing market is making a serious adjustment in most of the country,
3. most FBSOs wind up with a REALTOR,
4. everyone needs a place to live,
5. government probably won't be able to fix any of it.

So where do we go from here?  How about working together to get the best deals for everyone?  This is not a great time to be selling your home, especially if you are underwater but it is a good time to be buying.  Ten years from now circumstances will probably be reversed.

So now as always, buy what you can afford, expect to live there for a while, be happy and build as much equity as you can for your next home.

As for the averages:  I am sure I will never be an rocket engineer and I am also sure that someone who buys and sells homes for a living has more experience than the average homeowner.

I got plenty of data to back it up...

There goes Scott Newman equating hocking houses to dentistry.  LOL.  Scott you aren't doing your already disdainful "profession" any favors in the eyes of the public with your posts here.  Once you lose your stranglehold on the MLS, or another public system is created, you are done.  And, I don't think dentistry will be an option for you then.

I really have nothing against realtors.  I do think that most are professionals and obviously know more about selling a house than I do.  I was certainly not asking anyone to 'bail me out'. I really was just asking for advice on how I can better get in touch with realtors so they know our property is out there.  I really don't know why it is an insult Scott takes personally.  I am willing to pay the buyer's agent a commision as I've said, so I have a hard time understanding why someone wouldn't work with me.  I can understand if some have been cheated by having people go behind their backs, but on the other hand, there are people who are ripped of by realtors. 

The point is that I'm really not trying to make money off this house.  I don't need to sell it, we already qualified for our other house and signed on it without having it sold or rented.  We just wanted to sell it, and probably come out almost even so we didn't have to hassle with it.  I'm just not sure why  Scott is so bitter about it.  I'm not begging anyone for anything and we've been really polite to the many, many realtors who have called us and let them know that we would be giving a buyer's agent commision.  I just posted this to hear the advice of the 'professionals' should they want to give it, and how they feel about working with FSBO and how I can reach out to them.

Do I still need a dentist if I don't have teeth?

You are short changing yourself by not hiring a professional.  You should get another opinion from another agent or 2.  You might net just as much and save yourself alot of work.  I will show FSBO's if my buyer asks about it.  3% for selling a FSBO is not really all that appealling.  While we make 3% on most coop listings, we only have to do half of the work.  When we sell FSBO's we end up doing twice the work, because the seller is not familiar with what to do usually, and get paid the same. If you have any other quesitons, I'd be happy to sit down and talk with you.  Thanks! Rhonda Dykal

JandA,

I respect your decision not to use a Realtor.  I do for other FSBOs too.  If a homeowner can sell their place without an agent there is nothing wrong with that.  You aren't stealing from anyone and you aren't short changing yourself.

If you can purchase your new house without selling, and your rental income will be enough to alllow you hold on to your current house then I think you should rent.

Rhonda, with all due respect, how much extra work is there really?  Most of the paperwork is from the buyers' side.  And, if the seller chooses not to use representation and something falls through the cracks, that is on them.  You and I both know that your buyer's bank is going to handle most everything.  You stand to make thousands of dollars and you complain about virtually non-existant "work."  Amazing.