Selling Real Estate Privately
I'm looking at selling a condo privately to avoid the 5% commission if I go the traditional route. Anyone sold a condo or house privately? Was it an easy process? The building that the unit is located in has had a few sales recently so determining the asking price is not too difficult. I am also considering using Comfree.com's services so I can list it on MLS (realtor.ca) which is the main advantage of using a real estate agent IMO. I still get the exposure of MLS but at a fixed price. Anyone used Comfree before? I may need to still to pay a commission to the buyer's agent, but it will still be a better option than paying a full 5%. Thoughts.
Comments
Agents have Errors and Omissions Insurance that covers them if they screw up or forget anything, you will not. That means if the buyer sues you, you are on the hook for legal expenses and payment of the settlement.
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Having just sold a house with ComFree is agree with this statement.
Selling privately you'll only get the max out of your property if you and selling a hot item that is highly sought after. If your place sits for awhile you are leaving yourself open to low-ballers (like we did in New Hamburg) and you may not get what you think your place is worth. And you are at the whim of buyers who aren't willing to deal with YOU and not a professional agent. After all, the buyers who won't be paying an RAs fee, the seller does, right?
My advice is call a bunch of agents and get the lowest fee possible, if you want to get the highest offer. Otherwise, call ComFree and tell them I sent you. You'll get $50 off their fee.
See bolded . . .
When my spouse and I made the blunder of selling our penthouse condo in downtown Toronto over a decade ago (instead of keeping it and becoming half as rich as pokerJAH ), I first tried to sell it privately. I later negotiated with an agent specializing in downtown condos to reduce the commission to the minimum - 1% for the seller agent and the non-negotiable 2.5% to the buyer agent. Since you put a high premium on your time/fun and don't mind paying high rake, then choosing a decent agent out of the many firms willing to accept a reduced ~3.5% commission is probably your best bet. Instead of doing everything yourself to try to save 1% rake, just spend all that time doing what you enjoy - like verbally harassing poker celebrities at WPT Fallsview!