Expect no help from the discount MLS services. So make sure you are ok with prepping, staging, negotiating, showing your home. Educated home sellers can be successful with it. As a realtor, I tend to show other homes 1st, just because my past experience with sellers using these services haven't been positive. I end up having to do twice as much work because the sellers just are not familiar with disclosure laws, what fees are normal for sellers and buyers to pay, houses not prepped for sale well, difficulty getting appts, sellers that want to be present for showings, sellers that try to renegotiate commissions during the offer period, and sellers that don't have surveys/want to argue about paying for surveys agree to in contract (or using old surveys that the lender won't accept due to no stamp or signature/pools or structures added), etc. Often homes are overpriced compared to comps.

So, you may not get as many showings as other realtor listed homes, but if your pics are done well, house is priced well it will sell.

Those are good points to consider.

I appreciate all your comments. After reading this forum for a while I do realize that some realtors will not want to show our home for the reasons stated above. I don't blame them. We figure we'd try it for a month or two, then list with a realtor if we don't sell. I'm thinking that a lot of home buyers today look online at Realtor.com and the MLS and may see our home listed there and ask their realtor to show them it. This is what we are doing to buy our new home.

We have all the co's for our house along with a new survey. We plan on also staging it and having it as neat as a pin. We've updated what we think are the negatives in our home. We also are willing to price it a little lower than the sold comps in the area. I am retiring in two weeks YEAH! and will be home for all appointments and will let the realtor and their buyer freely roam our house without looking over their shoulder. We would never renegotiate commissions. My DH works in the banking industry and is very familiar with negotiating the sales part of the equation. We also have a real estate attorney reading and waiting.

Our first home we sold and bought without a realtor and it worked out well. I absolutely realize that this means more work on our part. I also know statistically this is not the best way to sell a house, but we're willing to give it a try for a couple of months.

Sounds like you have what it takes to FSBO.

I doubt 'statistically this is not the best way to sell a house', I actually think it is the best way to buy or sell a house for experienced homeowners. We did it in the past both buy and sell, it was not that hard at all. We net more than selling through realtors, and paid less than buying through realtors.

You may want to post photos and content of your listing before they go on live. There are many experienced folks on this forum who could provide invaluable inputs.

AZMOM: Thank you so much for your encouragement! It's really appreciated. I will take your advice and post my listing photos here for comment. The people on this forum are very helpful.

One caveat with that type of service: is the enhanced MLS service for the service most agents in your area use? There are literally hundreds of MLSes in this country. Just because they list it in the MLS doesn't mean it's the right one. I've known this to happen to people that didn't understand there is NOT one nationwide MLS.

Rrah: I will ask if the MLS is for my area. Thanks for the advice. I didn't think about that. They do say they list your house on Realtor.com which is a web page I use a lot when looking for my new home. So I am happy with that. I think a lot of buyers today look at homes on the internet.

Maybe check out www.redfin.com

I've thought about this a bit more. Most MLS systems require membership in that system to put listings into it. Many (there are some exceptions) require a commission be paid to the buyer. I'm very skeptical that For Sale By Owner is putting it in local MLS systems. While Realtor.com used to be good, I stopped using it years ago. When sellers have a buyer, they typically send them to a personal site or the public side of the local MLS site--not realtor.com. At least that was my experience when I worked as an agent. Perhaps another current agent can weigh in on that for you.

For what they are charging for the premium service I would look for a fee for service or flat fee agent in your area and be willing to pay a buyer's agent a commission. If it's on realtor.com you'll need to do so anyway. There is a flat fee agent in my area that does all that the premium for sale by owner service offers and more for a similar or lower price.

When sellers have a buyer, they typically send them to a personal site or the public side of the local MLS site--not realtor.com. At least that was my experience when I worked as an agent. Perhaps another current agent can weigh in on that for you.

Please tell me what you mean, an agent's company site? Please explain your experience.

cmarlin20-- You asked

"When sellers have a buyer, they typically send them to a personal site or the public side of the local MLS site--not realtor.com. At least that was my experience when I worked as an agent. Perhaps another current agent can weigh in on that for you.

Please tell me what you mean, an agent's company site? Please explain your experience."

When I worked as an agent the company I was associated with (a large national company) had the "national" website which anyone could search. Since my broker was part of a "group" with offices throughout the state, it also had a website that pulled in all MLS listed properties from those areas. There was a local office site that had listings from only my area. I had a personal website that had listings from my area. Finally, the local MLS had a public side that differed from the agent side. It had all listings from the MLS. All of it was available in realtor.com.

My clients frequently found the public side of the MLS easiest and best to use followed by any of the other sites. realtor.com was last in use. When we moved to this area we also found the local MLS site much better than realtor.com. (unfortunately I've noticed recently that it has not changed much in the past 15/16 years.)

Any of the sites listed, except realtor.com, allowed agents to see behind the door and gather information on listings, etc. Maybe realtor.com did, but the site charged an outrageous monthly fee to do so.

In the three/four years I have been out of the business, websites have changed significantly but that is another story. In my opinion realtor.com hasn't changed for the better.

rrah - Interesting. I asked because I wonder how many people use local Realtor's websites. I use redfin to search for houses, I save my searches and get updates and new listings by email. I don't find zillow very helpful and am surprised how many people like it and use it.

I do search local agent's website to look for additional information on a house or the agent. I haven't found a local website I like more than redfin. The only thing I've found on a local site is the occasional pocket listing.

Redfin though is not available in many areas--mine included.

Yes, I understand redfin is limited. I just did a search on zillow and found this FSBO. zillow

This listing doesn't make me want to talk with this owner, if I was ready to buy I would still pursue it. He cant take pictures and worse doesn't know his price, I guess I need to work quickly as the price is escalating.

I use realtor.com. I find it much easier to use than many realtors websites. I don't have Redfin in my area or I'd use it, because I like their website.

with that being said, as a buyer (and soon to be seller), I won't look at FSBO. I am probably missing out on some great properties, but the few I've been to have been overpriced and I've been very uncomfortable touring the house as the owner doesn't leave. So you will miss out on some buyers like me, but for every buyer like me there are probably many more who wouldn't be put off buy the FSBO status.

I feel people should always start in the opposite direction and get their house listed with an agent FIRST for a set number of months at a price an agent you trust deems fair and if the house doesn't sell THEN try the FSBO route. I for one wouldn't want to see your house for sale by owner at 280,000 and then later through an agent see it for sale at 300,000. If you start with the 300,000 and don't get it sold and go FSBO at 280,000 then people will think they are the ones getting the savings and not just you, which is how it usually feels when people go the FSBO route. That being said, if you have a difficult buyer or a more unique property where getting it to appraise may be a problem or something of that nature might be an issue, or if there ends up being termites discovered or foundation or mechanical issues, etc., than a real estate agent working for you might be worth their weight in gold. Just something to think about. Statistically houses sell for more with agents than without and you work less hard in the end anyway so give it some serious thought. It seems to me the one who usually pays in the end is actually the buyer not so much the seller.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and will consider all the advice. We are going to look at all the negatives and positives of FSBO vs a realtor and go from there. I'll let everyone know what we decide and what route we take.

My parents just sold FSBO in FL. Had it listed for about one month and got 3 offers. The first 2 were "flaky" buyers and negotiations fell apart. Third offer was from serious buyers and the deal is going through. It will be a win/win for my parents and the buyers. House is very well decorated and maintained, was priced fairly and there is very little inventory in their desirable community.

I think it depends on your area. I have friends looking for houses that are sold before the sign goes onto the lawn. I don't think it matters much to buyers how you are selling your house when the market is that hot, as long as you are comfortable with the paperwork. We only briefly considered selling our first house FSBO, then I realized I don't know anything about drawing up paperwork and listed with an agent.

We will be the lowest priced home for our neighborhood which we hope is a good position to be when selling. When we bought our home, it was in our budget and enabled us to get into a nicer neighborhood than we thought. Hopefully buyers in our price point will feel the same as we did.

We are under contract with a FSBO home. The seller was willing to work with our agent and pay commission. My husband and I don't have the time or expertise to be comfortable dealing directly with the seller. If you are willing to work with a buyer's agent you will get many more showing.

The house is empty so the owner was never there when we toured the property. I would not be comfortable with the owner showing the house or being present when touring a FSBO.

The home we are under contract with was not on the MLS but was on Zillow. It's been more work for our agent but the seller is familiar with the paper work and selling process and has sold FSBO before.

If you put it upfront that you are willing to pay buyer's agent commissions then you will have more showings. Out of town buyers will probably be working with a buyer's agent already.

I believe what you mean the "lowest priced" is "the best valued price". When we sell anything, we always aim to the HIGHEST price we could get by presenting whatever we sell as a best value. The game is knowing your house's value.

FSBO is fun, it is really not that hard as you only need to sell one house, you know the house better than any agent in the world, and you only need one buyer.

AZmom, the hard part is not showing the house. Its what happens after the offer to get the house to closing. Some people are comfortable with it, most are not. I have been a realtor for almost 30 years. I'm in my third house, i do sell my own homes, but i use the services of the MLS and pay a commission for if a buyers agent happens to sell the home. To me, its the best way to sell a home and even if I couldnt sell my own, I would still use a realtor. (Not because I dont know what to do, but because of the exposure a realtor and the MLS can give a house.

Linda,

Totally agree. In fact every aspect/step of house selling takes work and knowlege, from preparing house, staging, taking photos, marketing, showing, negotiating...etc. until closing and getting the check.

Lots of past posters on this forum wanted to FSBO and save commission but they neither knew what would take, nor had capacity. From Barbsun's postings, it seems between her and her DH they have the required background, knowlege, financial acumen and life experience to handle the tasks, otherwise I would not encourage her.

House selling is not rocket science. Comparing to what we have to deal with at work, the entire house selling process is quite easy. When we did FSBO, we were just two clueless engineers without any previous FSBO experience. We applied what we learned from work, found a good real estate lawyer, yet our sold price is more than any house sold by realtors in the same neighborhood at the time frame .

I started to look on the internet for Flat Fee Realtors. Anyone have experience with that? We're also going to have a local realtor come in and talk to us about their sales plan and what they have to offer.

I have used a Flat Fee Realtor many times and it has been a terrific experience. I referred about 5 others to her, all of whom had various levels of experience, and they all had a great experience and saved tens of thousands of dollars.

Well worth it, if you can find the "go-to" in your area. And he/she won't have "discount listings" or any such wording in his company name.

Hello midcentury,

If you don't mind to share, may I ask what services your Flat Fee Realtor offers and the fee associated with each service? Thank you in advance.

Hi, AzMom...just saw this! I'm sorry, but a family member has been recovering from surgery.

Here, the agent I use has a Fee for Service package that includes a 6 month listing with 24 photos on the MLS system (the real one!), 3 signs (including directional), all standard Realtor documents transmitted in the customary way by Docusign, and all the reasonable help and advice you might need for $800, and a nominal fee paid at closing (which she attends, of course). Or if you need less help, and only 8 photos -which I would never recommend, as photos are important - she does the listing for $500 + the nominal fee paid at closing. Of course, you need to pay the buyer agent something, and feel compelled to offer the standard ridiculously high 3.5% here. So essentially, you are saving nearly half of the commission, less the up front money indicated above.

Without exception, she has been far more capable and knowledgeable than any Buyer agent with whom we dealt, by far. Maybe that is why she has a booming business and tons of referrals.

I'm sure there is someone like that in your area too.