With prices falling so far so fast in the residential real estate market, homeowners these days are looking to eke out as much profit as they can from home selling.
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Don Ryan / AP
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Enter: For sale by owner (FSBO)
By cutting out the middle man and selling your home yourself, you could save on real estate agent commission and walk away with tens of thousands of dollars more in your pocket. It just takes a little marketing know-how and a lot of entrepreneurial spirit.
“A lot of people who are selling right now are doing so because they’re changing jobs or changing lifestyles and they’re selling by owner because they know it’s going to immediately save them 5-6 percent on commission costs,” says Eric Mangan, a spokesman for ForSaleByOwner.com, a sell-by-owner listing service. “In today’s market, where prices have dropped by double digits in some cases, the cost of using a realtor is that much more expensive.”
Indeed, without a real estate agent you could lower your asking price by up to 6 percent to comparable listings in your community and help sell your house faster.
Better yet, leave your price on par and pocket the commission that would normally go to the realtor. (On a $350,000 house, a 6-percent commission is $21,000.)
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If you decide that FSBO is not right for you and you do need the help of a professional real estate agent, use DoorFly.com to find a real estate agent willing to negotiate their commission.
