It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon on the Upper East Side and newlyweds Jon and Milissa Aronson are perched expectantly on their sofa. A plate of cookies and a sign-in sheet sit strategically on a kitchen counter. The couple (he’s 35 and a broadcasting exec, she’s 33 and a social worker) have sent their dog to the neighbors, and vacuumed, dusted and tidied their 550-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment, all in hopes of selling their home without a broker. They’re asking $459,000. “We decided to sell on our own basically because of money,” said Jon Aronson. “If you factor in a broker’s fee of 6%, plus the 1% flip tax we’ll have to pay the co-op board, plus 1.4% we’ll have to pay the city and state for the tax on the sale, that’s 8.4% of the sale price that we wouldn’t get.” Eric Mangan, an exec at the Web site, said use of the Internet to search for real estate has helped owners everywhere connect directly with buyers, but said New York “is one of our strongest markets.” “Homebuyers tend to be very savvy with using the Internet and sellers understand that they can sell a house on their own,” Mangan said. “Plus, they look at the bottom line. ... They take into account the cost of that 6% commission.” Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, acknowledged that commissions often drive sellers to go without brokers, although “consumers also need to keep in mind that commission rates are sometimes negotiable.” “But the other side of the coin,” he said, “is that [buyers] are dealing directly with the owner, so sometimes they think they can get a discount on the price.” He also said statistics “show that the selling price is lower when homes are sold directly by owners” — although the best-selling book “Freakonomics” argued that just the opposite was often true, since it pays for brokers to close a deal quickly and move on, rather than try to win a higher price, of which they’d keep proportionately little. One way do-it-yourselfers often hurt themselves is on pricing. “It is all about proper pricing,” one Corcoran broker said. Ask too much, and many would-be buyers won’t bid. Costly commissions aren’t the only reasons some owners prefer to take command of the sale. Elle Lopes, 39, has sold three of her homes on her own. “It’s more convenient and I don’t have to leave my home for the broker to show it,” said Lopes, a Wall Street research analyst who’s now negotiating on the sale of her co-op on Fifth Ave. at E. 108th St. “I am more familiar with the neighbors and the board. I know more than a broker would know about this building and the process.”
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Comments (5 posted):
as well so they won't be hounded.
You should know your house better than any broker will and be able to answer questions a broker doesn't want to be bothered with. I have always been amazed when a broker doesn't know the square footage of a home and uses the tired excuse that they go by bedrooms. Such b.s. is a turn off to the men who like to know that. Also, a broker won't know about additions, etc that have been done to a home. Most are inexprienced.
In today's web driven marketing and searching (especially with the number of homes on the market) you should be able to find a reputeable agent who will take as little as 3% to do your prperty.
Hint - don't sign any document that gives them more than 3 months to sell your home and make sure you get, in writing, all the details of how they will market your home. Make sure they specify the number of open houses they will have and don't be afraid to tell them how many you want (like every weekend for 3 hours each time). If they won't do it, someone else will.
Don't forget to keep a sign-in sheet and make sure you follow-up with people just like an agent would selling it yourself. You can do it. Stage your house. Try to see it like someone just walking in and don't be afraid to put in a couple of $ to increase the curb appeal or inner beauty ( especially in older homes). If you can't do that, have someone else you trust take a look at the house and be truthful with you.
Don't fall prey to the myriad of phone calls you will get from agents claimin they have interested buyers who they want to bring over to see your house. Make them bring the buyer over during an open house and give you the buyers name. Most brokers use this trick to get in their and tear your ear off to get you to sign an agreement. Most don't have a buyer so it, and many others, are tactics they use to get into your home privately.
And don't forget, it took all of them, Agents, brokers, mortgage companies, builders, etc to bring the mortgage and building market to its knees in this latest mortgage fiasco. I've yet to find a real estate agent who was willing to put something in writing to help us grieve our taxes so why should we give them our business?
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