Housing Rumble: Do You Need an Agent? (Day 3)

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Nice article

arhiderrr of DE 8:48AM February 28, 2009

Jamie and Justin make great points.
And JB does too. Yes, there are a lot of tools out there available to assist people considering going FSBO. Information is abundant. And some of it is very good.
The site JB mentions is a run by a real estate lead generation company, so when the FSBO goes there to get a home valuation, their info is passed on to an agent that will do a "CMA" (Comparative Market Analysis). (you could get exactly the same thing by calling virtually any agent directly). A good agent can do a great CMA that will get you VERY close to a decent market valuation. They will also of course, try to convince you to list with them.
My online debate proponent mentioned in his post, "online pricing reports". I don't know if he's referring to something like a Zillow.com which has free "AVMs" (Automated Valuation Model)or the AVM his own company sells for $16.95, but someone should NEVER use an AVM to set a selling price. AVMs can *sometimes* be accurate but can often be off by 10, 20 30% or more.
You don't want a piece of software setting a home value. How can software possibly know the condition of your home? There is more to determining home valuation that what the neighbors house sold for last year.

Jay Thompson of AZ 8:55AM July 17, 2008

Agree with Jamie and Justin on both of their points. At the same time, there are a lot of tools online that people who choose to go the FSBO route can use. Home value web sites are abundant (http://www.getmyhomesvalue.com, for one) and can get you an property estimate for free. If someone feels they can handle the art of negotiation, why not give it a shot?

JB of PA 8:29AM July 17, 2008

If you are able to find a great real estate agent, they are worth WAY MORE than 6% to represent you JUST in one area alone -- negotiations.
Often times, the buyer will have a real estate agent and that agent may be experienced in the "art of the negotation". This can include many more things than just price -- stuff like closing date, contingency items and "throw ins" just to name a few.
If you have done your homework and gotten the RIGHT agent to represent you, it will be worth WAY MORE than 6% that you will pay as the seller.
How do I know? A few years ago, my agent sold my home for 10k aboove what we could get an appraiser to appraise the home at -- so we actually had to LOWER our sales price by 10k after the agent had the sales contract in hand for the higher amount.
Could I have sold my home for 10k MORE than it could appraise for by myself and without an agent?
I think not.
And that is only *one* of the reasons that come to mind to *always* use an agent. A great one.

Justin McHood of AZ 1:39AM July 17, 2008

Think home invasion- what protection does the FSBO have from some crack pot, coming to the door, acting as a fully pre-qualified buyer- ( the buyer type of buyer a REALTOR would present) and harming the family that is trying to save a couple G's in commission. What does the FSBO do to protect from these types of people?

Jamie Geiger of AZ 1:35AM July 17, 2008