Appraisal done prior to listing.

[Pom]

You guys must be so sick of our drama, none the less.  

So FIL has been moved out of his main house to a dementia care unit.  It seems to be going well, thank God.  

We've had several people call us about his main house, one just today.  Some is noisiness and some people/neighbors have family who might want the property.  It's 19ish acres, nice pond, 1 large shed/shop, smaller old barn, huge tillable gardens (he sold strawberries in the summer), 4 bedroom house, 1.5 baths, outdoor woodstove-long winters. We had a new furnace and hot water heater put in this fall and some other repairs done.  It needs to be renovated, new carpets, flooring in kitchen, paint.  Other than the new floor furnace, outdoor well cover rebuilt and new hot water heater, we don't want to do any further work to it, we are just too far away.

The house is not yet listed with the realtor and based on how the land contract for his rental is going, I am not sure how we will proceed.  They want 7% and this board has helped us do more leg work, than they've done even after we told them "Fine, just land contract it to the renter" after deciding to sell due to some needed repairs.  So it's not like they found us that buyer either.

All this to say, Mr. P and I are thinking we should just spend the money to get an appraisal.  I am sure all these interested parties want to get it for a steal but have asked us to let them know when we are ready to sell.  We understand that there is work to be done but with the property, etc...it's a pretty nice little hobby farm.  We want to sell, but don't need it to be a "fire sale" since we are not desperate for cash but on the other hand, we don't want to deal with the property either.  We had it winterized, propane tank locked, added to the Sheriff's patrol route for security, etc...

So, I don't want to go to the realtor to get a rec for an appraiser as it is not listed yet.  I will probably ask other friends I have in the area for referrals. Is it fair for us to go back to the realtor and say, since we will most likely bring the buyer ourselves, we want to negotiate a lower commission say 5-6% or 3/3 if there ends up being a buyer/seller REA split. I don't want to be an asshole and just cut them/REA out completely by going to a RE lawyer, since we could very well have a buyer before it's listed.  

I am interested in MM opinions on this. 




 

[kaylie]

I might have missed something, but is 7% normal for the area? I know your whole situation is complicated, but is there something extra complicated about the sale that it merits a commission that high? 5% is typical where I am, so if you're going to be bringing the buyer that seems really high. I don't think you'd be an asshole to go straight to a RE lawyer in that situation.

To find an appraiser I'd get a rec from a mortgage company. I think that's usually who hires them anyway.

[AAM2012]

Rather than getting an appraisal is it possible to look at the comps in the area? Or is this a unique property that there aren't really any? If so, I would definitely get the appraisal because it makes deciding on a listing price and negotiations (if any) much easier. $400 to get a fair deal is worth it to me.

7% does seem really high, I would totally negotiate it.

[moolarkey]

7% is normal where I am and has been for a very long time. The selling agent may split it with the buyer's agent or may give the seller a lesser % if they want. We have a lot of friends that are realtors and have used one of them. We met with her about representing our property and she voluntarily offered to drop her rate to 5% for us.

[holly22]

Given that you may have a buyer prior to listing - why not try for sale by owner initially? Are there any comps you can find? The property doesn't sound like the norm with the average but maybe look at comps online to geat an idea of value. I don't know that is hire a realtor if there's a chance to sell it on your own.

If you get a buyer while doing FSBO can you have an attorney review the contracts for you? I'm not sure if that's a possibility or not. 7% seems high but I'm not sure what the going % in the area is.

[scout8]

I wouldn't get an appraisal. I would ask the real estate agent for comps. They should be helping you with pricing. If the property is this much in demand, I would NOT sell it to one of the people calling. Have the agent list it in the MLS so that every interested party has a chance at it. The more potential buyers, the more likely you will get a higher price for it. I would not limit yourself to the buyers calling you.

ETA: And, yes, it is acceptable to try to negotiate the commission. 

[imojoebunny]

You can sometimes get realtors to have a specific clause if you bring the buyer. I have never done it, but I have heard of it. You can also give a list of the people who you have spoken too and have a lower commission if one of those people buy it.

Personally, I would get an appraisal, tell the potential purchasers the price that you want, give them a bit to look at the property, and take offers by X date, maybe two weeks, or what ever time frame. Maybe you can hire a handyman or other person you can pay for their time, to let the people in and stay with them while they are on the property.

If you don't get what you think is fair, then list. It might cost $1000 to go that route, but it could save you 7%. A real estate attorney can handle the transaction.

[maddiepaddy]

I would definitely try to negotiate the commission. Bringing the buyer is a big part of what a realtor is hired for, so a 1-2% discount seems reasonable. Especially if they just end up acting transactionally rather than incurring marketing expenses.

[Pom]

Jan 25, 2015 16:10:37 GMT -5 kaylie said:

I might have missed something, but is 7% normal for the area? I know your whole situation is complicated, but is there something extra complicated about the sale that it merits a commission that high? 5% is typical where I am, so if you're going to be bringing the buyer that seems really high. I don't think you'd be an asshole to go straight to a RE lawyer in that situation.

To find an appraiser I'd get a rec from a mortgage company. I think that's usually who hires them anyway.

Honestly, maybe 7% is the norm there, so I'll have to check.  Here in Texas, we've only paid 5-6%.  I don't think it's complicated at all and anything that is complicated, they are not really helping us anyway.  I'll just try to work with comps for now and see where that gets us.

Thanks everyone, we'll give this some more thought and do some further research.