Who really needs a realtor? The financial institution doing the mortgage for the buys does all of the work. All the seller has to do is let the appraiser and home inspector in, possibly provide a copy of their title insurance. I have yet to use one to sell a house. I suppose in some areas they may serve a purpose but not where I live
Who really needs a realtor? The financial institution doing the mortgage for the buys does all of the work.
We are in the final stages of getting a house ready to sell. We are in one of the hottest markets in the country. We are contacted almost every day by realtors wanting to list our home. We have put five years of time, money, and effort into this house... if it is like the other houses in the neighborhood... it will sell in a short period of time. I tell the realtors who contact us that I am going to be taking a bunch of professional quality photos and a 3D walk though, and writing a thorough description and putting a free listing with our phone number up on Zillow. Most of them just hang up at that point.
My only trepidation is my ability to screen the buyers to determine who is most likely to be able to follow through with the sale and what amount and conditions should be attached to a deposit.
In my deep blue state the paperwork to sell a house is ridiculous. Contract after agreement after acknowledgement after disclosure after .... you get the idea. Far from a simple process like selling a car is. Could you do it without a realtor? Sure. Is it easy? No way.
If you understand contract law, agency law, and can navigate through the state, federal, and local legal disclosures that, if not done properly can get you sued, yes, you are capable of doing it yourself. If there is an owner carryback involved, what is the usury law in your state? If a seller violates that law in your state, you could be forced to return ALL interest paid on the note. Possibly provide a title policy? Who would ever buy any property without one? What do you tell the buyer about the condition of title if a reconveyance of an old loan was not recorded or you were unaware of an easement that shows up on title?
If you fail to disclose something about the property, in most states the statute of limitations is three or four years from the time of discovery of the problem.
I am not a realtor but I am a real estate broker who has specialized in exchanges, acquisitions, problem solving and consulting since 1977, mostly in commercial property. And I taught RE law and econ in college for ten years. Even I would at least pay a realtor a consulting fee to handle the legally required documents. They have error and omission insurance if something goes terribly wrong. In most states, the statute of limitations is typically three or four years from the time of discovery.
All that having been said, they are many in the real estate industry who are totally incompetent. And I will say whatever the hell I want on my Twitter because I will never be part of the NAR.
Used a realtor to buy my first house 40 years ago. Bought and sold twice since without using a realtor. Just used one to sell my last house because it was unusual and I thought he’d increase traffic/price. I was happy with the sale but he brought nothing of value to the table — in other words, I wouldn’t have been any worse for not using him and likely would have come out several thousand ahead.
Never again. They’re worthless and are waaaaaay overpaid for what they do. And at the end of the day, whether you’re a buyer or a seller, they’re only interested in their commission.
We have sold two houses without a realtor. We found an attorney who specialized in real estate, two visits with her and got paperwork, brought it back for signage, one visit to title company, voila. A few hundred bucks. No realtor, and no 6% taken off the top. These were 20 and 24 or so years ago. Don’t know what realtors want currently.