To sell privately or with a realtor

Hello,

We are going to sell our house and we are wondering if we should try sell privately through Grapevine or should we hire a realtor.

Does anyone have any experience or opinions as to what would be better. We are hoping to sell soon and move out in July.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

A.

[TylerShannon]

I just listed today on Grapevine, actually my second listing with them, the first was not successful. Do not out price yourself, it will keep your house from selling. Get agents in to have them appraise your house and listen to their advice. When you do list on Grapevine, make sure your pictures look good as you will get a lot of traffic to you listing very fast.

I have an open house planned for this weekend and can update you on the outcome.

[suevas]

Last january we listed through Grapevine but it was a tough experience. With kids and the weather it was hard. The big problem was the type of people that come through. You can tell they weren't there to buy but to see the house. Other times they offer a price but at the last moment they back out. Open houses maximum two people come. Summer time is better for Grapevine.
We found that trying to talk to people and convincing them the pros and cons was the tough part. Basically that is wheat you pay the realtor to do. Their job is to intice and keep that buyer interested. But for us it was challenging.
After 2 months we went with a realtor and sold in 5 days. Way worth it!! And we got the price we were looking for. Even on grapevine, once we went lower with one client but still didn't get it. Glad we didn't sell it to them!!

[rgauvin]

IMO grapevine is for sellers with a little more experience, knowledge and time to sell. It can definitely sell your house (and allowing buyers to use a realtor will help) it is just more work and stress IMO.

Do the rewards of more money justify the stress and work? Only you can make that call.

[Jenny1975]

Happened to come across this thread in another forum and thought it might be of interest. Some of the suggestions make a lot of sense if you decide to sell privately - particularly if the potential buyer is a first-timer.

Pseudoblog - anatomy of a private sale
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/s...d.php?t=417782

[karrietg]

We've sold 2 houses privately and one with a realtor. The Realtor was actually more work because i had to keep pushing him to follow up with potential buyers, instead of just doing it myself. Bad realtor maybe??

Just make sure your house is pristine..clean it top to bottom, declutter, refold all the towels in your linen closet, clean you cabinets out, your basement, your closets..everything. Depersonalize as much as possible. And fix anythiing that needs fixing.

[golfer]

Grapevine is good in a sellers market.
Unfortunately, we are in a buyers market right now. In this market, a home needs a lot of exposure which only a realtor can provide.

I am not saying a home will not sell through Grapevine right now. I am just saying in this market a realtor is a better option.

[Greyhawk]

Originally Posted by golfer

Grapevine is good in a sellers market.
Unfortunately, we are in a buyers market right now. In this market, a home needs a lot of exposure which only a realtor can provide.

I am not saying a home will not sell through Grapevine right now. I am just saying in this market a realtor is a better option.

And what is exactly that a realtor does ? not much when you think about it. I don't think the work they do justifies 5% - 6% commission of your house.

Your best bet is to list privately, or at least try listing privately initially. The best thing to do is get your house on GRAPEVINE and MLS.

For a flat fee of $110 you get your house listed on MLS: http://www.bestvalue.biz/

People think its super hard to sell a house privately but in all actuality its pretty simple. I've sold my last two homes privately and would NEVER sell with an agent.

Currently I'm selling my home on grapevine and MLS and have no regrets.

Get your house up quickly because the market will heat up very soon for spring sales.

So what if its turning into a "BUYERS MARKET"... that doesn't justify getting a realtor !?!?! IF your house is priced right and in good condition you will have NO PROBLEMS selling privately.

[sweeper]

I would definately try selling privately first. It is relatively cheap considering the total costs of selling your home. It isn't really that much work and there are alot of resources out there to help you. I sold on Grapevine and it went very good, I also saved ALOT of money on the commission. I couldn't justify giving someone $15,000 for maybe 1 week total worth of work.

[canabiz]

Originally Posted by Greyhawk

And what is exactly that a realtor does ? not much when you think about it. I don't think the work they do justifies 5% - 6% commission of your house.

Your best bet is to list privately, or at least try listing privately initially. The best thing to do is get your house on GRAPEVINE and MLS.

For a flat fee of $110 you get your house listed on MLS: http://www.bestvalue.biz/

People think its super hard to sell a house privately but in all actuality its pretty simple. I've sold my last two homes privately and would NEVER sell with an agent.

Currently I'm selling my home on grapevine and MLS and have no regrets.

Get your house up quickly because the market will heat up very soon for spring sales.

So what if its turning into a "BUYERS MARKET"... that doesn't justify getting a realtor !?!?! IF your house is priced right and in good condition you will have NO PROBLEMS selling privately.

While I agree with you in principle that selling privately is easier than what most people make it out to be, I do find it beneficial to consult with realtors and other professionals (i.e home stagers etc) to get the results you expect/hope.

An issue I have had with people listing on Grapevine (and this is speaking from a buyer's perspective) is some folks are simply out of touch with respect to market values. This isn't the real estate rush of 2005-2007 anymore and people continue to market their house like it was then. This is where I believe a consultation with a local realtor will come in handy, to properly assess your house value and make it a smooth and quick transaction.