buying a house

[CNS]

See, scribe did it and he can't even work the quote function.

[wetwillie]

hopefully realtors go the way of cab drivers sooner than later

[Missouriscribe]

http://goEMAW.com/forum/Smileys/goEMAW/Peek.gif

[Mikeyis4dcats]

We are edging ever closer to listing our house.  Probably going to be sometime this summer.  I've been researching selling it myself and avoiding using a realtor.  Anyone had success doing this or have horror stories to tell about it?  My initial reading indicates it is no big deal once you identify a title company you are going to use.

1.  Know that you are going to see buyers expecting a deal since they know you aren't paying an agent.
2.  If someone using an agent comes to you, know that they may expect you to pay their agents commission, and make sure to defend that if it comes up.
3.  Don't take it personally.  We made an offer on a FSBO that was reasonable (7% under asking) and the owner was so offended his wife said he wouldn't talk to us anymore.   House sat for months and finally sold less than our starting offer.

[Emo EMAW]

We bought our house FSBO.  Mikey is spot on.  We were able to land on a price that was both below market but above what they'd get if they were paying a 6% commission (standard from what I understand).  I think it's a good way to go for a clean house.  Keep in mind the buyer will want to use their own title company.

[Belvis Noland]

my wife is a realtor, so full disclosure. 

having seen the process, I can vouch for the value.  FSBO is a great approach for some.  particularly if you have a lot of time on your hands and you understand the process a bit better than the avg person.  For the avg person, however, there's a lot of value in turning the keys over to an agent and having them handle the entire process for you.  in a typical transaction you have to value your home (which involves a fair amount of research); photograph and market; work up a disclosure; negotiate offers/counteroffers; work up the final contract; conduct inspections; resolve post-inspection issues (which are very common), etc., etc., etc.  You can make it real simple by selling your house as-is.  But, you also won't attract any serious buyers unless your price is ridiculously low.   

don't get me wrong, you don't need an agent for some transactions.  But for others, a good agent can make a big difference.  for every case where FSBO works out great, there's an equal case of FSBO not working out and the seller brings in a realtor.  it is what it is. 

[Dub]

Hey ConstructionCats.. what's an approximate cost to build a standard detached 2 car garage that leads out to an alley (no driveway).

[Mikeyis4dcats]

Hey ConstructionCats.. what's an approximate cost to build a standard detached 2 car garage that leads out to an alley (no driveway).

on a slab?  probably 12-14k on the cheap.    You can buy a kit for about 5k for the material.  Slab about $4/sf, labor probably $4-5/sf.   This would be run of the mill labor prices.   More if you hire a "real" contractor.     I didn't include footings as not sure where you live and that and excavation will vary a lot.

[Dub]

Hey ConstructionCats.. what's an approximate cost to build a standard detached 2 car garage that leads out to an alley (no driveway).

on a slab?  probably 12-14k on the cheap.    You can buy a kit for about 5k for the material.  Slab about $4/sf, labor probably $4-5/sf.   This would be run of the mill labor prices.   More if you hire a "real" contractor.     I didn't include footings as not sure where you live and that and excavation will vary a lot.

Thanks.  Hoping to find a place already with a 2 but if not, that's less than I was expecting.  Figured it'd be around 20k.

[Emo EMAW]

Here's the problem with realtors:  they don't have their client's best interests in mind.  They just want a deal, and they don't care if it's advantageous to the buyer or the seller, either way they're making their 6% / 3%.  They also rarely add that kind of value to the transaction. 

[CNS]

Here's the problem with realtors:  they don't have their client's best interests in mind.  They just want a deal, and they don't care if it's advantageous to the buyer or the seller, either way they're making their 6% / 3%.  They also rarely add that kind of value to the transaction.

Right before I sold my last house, I read an article that made me very paranoid about this.  It basically went through the math about how the realtor only loses a couple hundred bucks as you lose thousands.  It looked at the average ask vs sell price in several markets and inferred some accusations about the realtors in those markets.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

Hey ConstructionCats.. what's an approximate cost to build a standard detached 2 car garage that leads out to an alley (no driveway).

on a slab?  probably 12-14k on the cheap.    You can buy a kit for about 5k for the material.  Slab about $4/sf, labor probably $4-5/sf.   This would be run of the mill labor prices.   More if you hire a "real" contractor.    I didn't include footings as not sure where you live and that and excavation will vary a lot.

Thanks.  Hoping to find a place already with a 2 but if not, that's less than I was expecting.  Figured it'd be around 20k.

It will be by the time you pay for it all.

[pissclams]

You can make it real simple by selling your house as-is.  But, you also won't attract any serious buyers unless your price is ridiculously low. 

not sure if you've been following this thread, or the KC housing market, or if you know what the term "people are buying houses with cash, sight unseen" means, or if you know what the term "seller's market" means, but ok.

[XocolateThundarr]

Here's the problem with realtors:  they don't have their client's best interests in mind.  They just want a deal, and they don't care if it's advantageous to the buyer or the seller, either way they're making their 6% / 3%.  They also rarely add that kind of value to the transaction.

Right before I sold my last house, I read an article that made me very paranoid about this.  It basically went through the math about how the realtor only loses a couple hundred bucks as you lose thousands.  It looked at the average ask vs sell price in several markets and inferred some accusations about the realtors in those markets.

From my experience, it seems like the realtor you are paying takes pictures, lists the house on MLS, and arranges showings.  Based on what I do for a living, I don't need someone to negotiate for me and I would absolutely be flexible on the price if I didn't have to pay a realtor's % to list it.  If it doesn't sell in the time frame we are looking at, we could always go to a realtor.  I would just prefer to keep as much cash in my pocket as possible.  Also, I think I would rather deal with potential buyers directly rather than through a middle man.  As was mentioned before, I too don't necessarily believe our realtor friends always have the sellers best interests in mind.

[Belvis Noland]

Here's the problem with realtors:  they don't have their client's best interests in mind.  They just want a deal, and they don't care if it's advantageous to the buyer or the seller, either way they're making their 6% / 3%.  They also rarely add that kind of value to the transaction.

Right before I sold my last house, I read an article that made me very paranoid about this.  It basically went through the math about how the realtor only loses a couple hundred bucks as you lose thousands.  It looked at the average ask vs sell price in several markets and inferred some accusations about the realtors in those markets.

From my experience, it seems like the realtor you are paying takes pictures, lists the house on MLS, and arranges showings.  Based on what I do for a living, I don't need someone to negotiate for me and I would absolutely be flexible on the price if I didn't have to pay a realtor's % to list it.  If it doesn't sell in the time frame we are looking at, we could always go to a realtor.  I would just prefer to keep as much cash in my pocket as possible.  Also, I think I would rather deal with potential buyers directly rather than through a middle man.  As was mentioned before, I too don't necessarily believe our realtor friends always have the sellers best interests in mind.

I'm sure many realtors don't have their client's best interest in mind. But Real estate is a referral industry. In today's day in age a buyer/seller is going to know if they just got mumped on a deal. If u want that client to refer u business in the future, ul have their best interests in mind.

[XocolateThundarr]

Just made an offer on a bigger house.  Will probably end up using the same realtor that we bought from before.  I was waffling on this, but he is the listing agent for the new house and I think he will be able to get more than what I was thinking out of ours.  I guess this puts me back on Team Fence regarding realtors.

[XocolateThundarr]

Well....looks like we are doing this thing.   

[Cire]

seems like we are entering another giant housing bubble. houses in my neighborhood are crazy high right now and are gone in a day.

[wetwillie]

Yea bubble is definitely forming. Stay safe out there folks.

[Dub]

Update:  Bought a house.  Ended up being neither scenario talked about but thanks anyway CNS and others.

[star seed 7]

How many garages?

[Dub]

Zero as of right now.

[star seed 7]

 

[IPA4Me]

Oh hell no. I hope you have garage construction in the works.

[Dub]

Oh hell no. I hope you have garage construction in the works.

Most likely soon.  We are more in the city than anticipated.  So it's a how big of a backyard do you want debate.