Selling a home without a Real Estate Agent

I am looking to find out the attitudes and opinions of selling a home without an agent. It really varies from province to province. 40% of the homes in Quebec sell without an agent and about 25% in BC and Ontario. Is there anyone here that has sold without an agent?

The only advantage in going through a real estate agent is that your house will, through multiple listing, be exposed to more potential buyers. If you have found a buyer by word of mouth or by putting up a for sale sign, most of the work has been done. Anyone can pick up the interim agreement forms at a stationary store. The interim agreement forms are pretty much self-explanatory. You put down the agreed selling price and the closing dates, as well as the buyer's deposit etc.

The actual conveyancing would be done by a lawyer or Notary Public. Once the sale is in the hands of your lawyer or Notary, it is pretty much a done deal and you've saved yourself quite a few thousand dollars in real estate commissions. I've done this once. If I have any advice, it would be: Quickly qualify your buyer by getting as large a deposit as you can..........You can be a nice guy later......without a deposit, you have nothing.

The real estate agent finds your buyer. If you have a buyer then you only need a lawyer. Don't do anything without a lawyer. I sold a house and a cottage that way.

Juan,
Thanks for the comments. Have you sold privately before? You mention mls, but have you seen --

Make sure you understand the real estate laws where you live; your duties to disclose information, and what your legal obligations are with respect to offers, acceptance, etc.

A good lawyer is very helpful.

I am in the process of selling a lot without a real estate agent. I just put up a couple "For Sale" signs and bought a standard forms package at Staples (other business stores should have similar packages). It includes the standard form that a purchaser might use, as well as a checklist for all the factors that should be taken into consideration.

Luckily, the lot is near a major road, so I am getting a lot of interest without requiring a real estate agent. However, once a formal offer is made, yes, I will use a lawyer and expect a deposit. One aspect in which a real estate agent would be useful is the hassle of showing the houses on the lot. Both houses are rented out, and I find it a real hassle to have to give the tenants 24-hour written notice about a viewing, and then have to return to actually show the potential purchasers the houses.

I am sure an agent would have generated a lot more interest (through access to the MLS service), but I am doing okay for now.

Good luck!


David

I have sold a couple of houses without a real estate agent, they are good for getting exposure for
your home, if you need that.
All you need when you have a buyer is a good lawyer, and a good deposit.

I have sold three homes without an agent, and purchased four without an agent. I prefer to do my own homework.

It takes time but if you are going to be willing to spend the necessaries in being available to inquiries - even the lookieloos who don't show up - it is well worth the savings in commissions.

In California there are escrow companies - they may be in other states but I don't know this as fact - where both buyer and seller do the legalities - as mandated by the State Law.... they are as legal as any law firm who will charge an astronomical fee for getting your signatures, the mandatory tests on the property to be sold or purchased, taking the financial deposits and writing up the agreement with both parties and filing it with the authorities.

Most of those hefty real estate sales agreements are primarily to cover the real estate firm's ass...and have nothing to do with protection of either seller or buyer.... so caveat emptor baby.

It's a slick way of property exchange - no hassles if you are on the up and up and not trying to hide anything.... Real Estate Agents only hinder the process of having good discussions with the seller/buyer you are dealing with..... whereas many licensed agents will skate over some of the
problems which aren't covered in the mandatory inspections.

There is a 6% commission in California and everyone has traditionally paid it like the good sheep most of us are..... it is not a commission percentage set by any law or government agency...yet the agencies have no trouble in charging it...... that's all gone by the wayside now that people are taking things into their own hands if they have time..... and the agents are having to reduce their (often unearned commission)....

Do you know my friend had an agent at 6% whose only task was to put up the sign with some brochures in the box - told my friend to print up her own stack and keep the box filled. That was the last time my friend saw the agent..... after three months she fired her.... and sold it on her own.... it was never advertised in the paper... only the box out front....My friend held one open house and sold it for the cost of one newspaper ad.

Agents and MLS listings are good for out of town sales where you have to move away and leave the house to an agent.... or if you are hunting for a property in another town... but if you are relocating within your own city and already know the desired location... do it yourself.

A good attorney (or in my case Escrow company) will keep things legal and you can feel more in control of the property you wish to buy/sell.

I want to share my personal experience with you...When i was suppose to buy a house for me than the torontohomeandhouse.com. They offers the best properties through out the world to sell and buy in Real Estate Agent Brampton

I have both bought and sold houses without a dirt pimp and done one or two with them. For the most part they are not worth the money unless you live a long ways from where the property is. Dirt pimps lie lots. When we bought our current property we had closed the deal when we found out the sign was not even on the right property. Not that it mattered in this case since it is acreage but shows their ineptitude. I have also wasted several thousand dollars on airplane charters because some dirt pimp did not grasp the concept of timbered property as opposed to having a few non merch trees left and I was mostly interested in the timber value.

I've bought and sold without a realtor, and highly recommend it for the simple sake of saving a lot of money on commission. It takes a little longer to sell without a realtor, but it works. Buy a for sale sign, put your phone number on it, and stick it on your front yard. Buy an open house sign, put it on a street corner, and have an open house every weekend until it sells. I advertised in the newspaper. I had lots of realtors promising me the moon to get the listing, and eventually had a bidding war that put the price higher than the asking price.

Beware of scams. I had one person that wanted me to fudge the price for the bank so that he could get a larger percent of a the cost in a loan. He was rather pushy, and tried to make it sound like it was a very normal thing to do.

There is an old saying that anyone who reprresents him/herself in a court of law has a fool for a client.I think there should be something similar for those who reject a professional real estate person.

I sold my last home without paying a penny of commission, because the real estate agent advised me that if I designate a preferred buyer and that person actually buys my house, I don't have to.

I did, and and saved the commission. I would not have known that if it had not been for the real estate agent.

Most real estate agents will push you to make a deal even if it costs you money, because they still make commission. At 6%, every $100 off the price that YOU lose, the agent only loses $6. So they're quite happy to convince you to move on price , it doesn't cost them nearly as much as it costs you.