The most expensive part about selling your home is paying the real estate commission, which could be as much as 6 percent of the sales price. But what if you didn’t have to pay it?
“The house was listed for $229,900 and the first couple that came in, we sat down and agreed and within 10 minutes we agreed on $225,900,” says Eddie Arguelles, home owner.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could sell your home to the first person who saw it? Can you imagine anything better?
“I paid no real estate commission at all,” says Wendell Whitted, retired seller.
When it comes to selling your home, the biggest expense is paying the commission. But a growing number of homeowners are selling their property without listing it with an agent or broker.
“I just didn’t like having to give away $15,000 away to a realtor when I could have done it myself,” says Arguelles.
Thanks to the internet, selling your own home has become much easier. Sites like www.forsalebyowner.com charge homeowners a flat fee.
“I paid a little over $600,” Whitted says.
That includes a free web listing, signage for the front yard and if the homeowner is willing to pay extra, a listing on the local multiple listing service. This site, which typically lists 30,000 homes for sale on an average day, also gives homeowners the option of placing their listing in a free magazine distributed at grocery or convenience stores. www.forsalebyowner.com also offers free seller education classes.
“I went to this three hour seminar and they answered every question, from how should I fix my house up to how to show it, how I could prequalify people to see if they could afford to buy my house,” Whitted says.
“The average commission in this country is 6 percent and when you consider the average selling price of a home is $200,000, it’s obviously $12,000 you give over to a realtor. We’re just about giving consumers the opportunity to save a considerable amount of money,” says Colby Sambrotto, www.forsalebyowner.com
“It was over $20,000 that I saved,” Whitted says.
Which is a big incentive for sellings who think they can handle selling by owner to try.
RESOURCES
Oct. 24, 2003
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