As a real estate agency, About Redlands Realty (ARR) wants to share what we can about our experiences with clients. Our goal is to unveil some of the process, decision-making, and unique circumstances that each had - so it may help others who are in similar situations.
Our first Success Story comes from a client who thought about selling his property on his own. This can be done - and is known as "for sale by owner," or FSBO (pronounced fizz-bo). It is a practice where a homeowner handles the selling process without the help of an agent. We talk more about this - and whether it's better than selling with an agent - in a separate blog (click here).
Story time?
While preparing to do a refinance for our client’s newly completed, custom home and list his soon to be departed residence, he asked how he could sell the home himself. He shared that he has an acquaintance who was interested in buying his home. This situation happens sometimes, with statistics showing that in 2020, 4% of buyers knew their (FSBO) sellers.
After explaining how he could sell on his own, I asked at what price he thought of selling his home for. “I would sell for $425,000,” he said, “and [acquaintance pays] all closing costs, if this guy would buy it.” However, he continued, the buyer countered the offer to $415,000 – with our client paying all closing costs. I informed him we would be able to sell the home for more, if he were to allow us to list the property. Really preferring to just dump the property, he continued to negotiate with his prospective buyer. Not being able to convince the buyer to meet in the middle, our client decided to list his property with us.
Part of his hesitation was paying the commission. He believed that we could sell for more but wondered how much would be left after paying the agents and how long it would take to find a buyer - at a higher sales price. We answered all his questions, including what we see within reports regarding average days on market and competitive home sales of properties in the neighborhood.
So – what happened? The day after electronically signing the listing agreement, we had or photographer take photos the home, planted our yard sign, and posted the home on the Multi Listing Service (MLS). That day, we had 3 showings and a $5,000 over list price 30-day offer. Remember… he would have sold for $420,000 (if agreed to meet in the middle with his acquaintance buyer) and we decided to place a listing price of $480,000. The offer was accepted and we closed on the sale.
The profit calculated above is the difference between the 2 net values from the table. Results will always vary because of each unique circumstance. But with us, you can rest in the fact we always do our absolute best for your success and goals. If you have any real estate/mortgage goals, please contact us. We always welcome questions - and who knows, we might even add it to our market update videos!
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Whether it’s your first time or on your 4th property, the goal is the same: to sell your property at the best price possible and within a time frame that works best with your plans. Learn every step of the process, plus other related topics, in our this free seller/listing guide. We also listed a few resources in there that you can start using today - click the button below to get your download started!
