ceatm07 said:

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My wife and I have decided that we want to sell our home in Wilchester. We are zoned to WCE, MMS and SHS.

Inventory under $1.1M is down to 2 homes (2-story) on our side of the neighborhood. We would be the only 1-story at the end of a cul de sac available.

Some friends down the street with an identical floorplan just sold above asking for $333/sf after 6 offers came in the first day.

We have convinced ourselves that we can sell without a seller's agent in this market, but it's going to take some work. We've been letting our Realtor friends know just in case they have clients looking for off market homes before we formally list.

Questions
1) Are there any FSBO issues we should be aware of that you don't always read about?

2) Is there a preferred flat fee MLS listing service?

3) Are there any FSBO tips to move a house quickly or will the market do what it wants?

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1--The biggest potential pitfall that we see is that most homeowners either underprice or overprice their listing. So most step over a dollar to pick up a penny, or hold their home for months, incurring additional costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, upkeep, etc.)

The other problem with representing yourself is that if you aren't knowledgeable about the contract and market conventions, the likelihood is that you will get the short end of the stick when the dust settles if the other party has an agent. We almost always get outstanding/unrealistic/incredible deal terms for our clients if the other party doesn't have an agent, or if the other agent is...not good at their job.

2--We've been sponsors on this site for a few years now, and helped hundreds of Aggies buy and sell around the state of Texas. We provide full service brokerage (everything you get from a realtor charging you 3%, and we also aim to do better) for a flat fee. The only thing not included in our service is the cost of photography. And for buyers, we do commission rebates up to 2% at closing. If a seller offers less than 3%, we still keep 1% and rebate you the remaining. (To date, no SFR seller has offered less to one of our clients, but its possible). Oh, and in Houston, we work with a title company that does not charge either party escrow fees, so this saves each person up to $500 compared to other groups.

3--Get good pictures. This is one of our pet peeves, and you can cost yourself thousands of dollars by taking potato-quality pics and not doing your listing justice. Our preferred photographer in Houston charges just $150 for approximately 50 photos that have been cropped and photoshopped to show your home in a professional manner.

If you'd like to discuss, our phone is 832-491-8000, or you can email us at Office@MyRedPear.com. We've worked in your neighborhood and with some of the names mentioned here. Even looked at buying there ourselves but ended up in 77018 in the end.

Good luck with your sale!