Real Estate Talks

On advice from their financial adviser (and me), my in-laws have decided to sell their 1 + den yaletown condo. They live in a small single family home and the condo was an investment made ten years ago.

They've asked me to sell it for them since they don't want to hand over so much commission to a sellers agent. While I'm not the biggest fan of full service realty packages, I am generally inclined to recommend they go with one. However, it is one of those condos that should sell itself, and with the a la carte services out there now I am tempted to give it a go.

Can anyone in this forum give me some advice on this topic? I'd love to hear about any experiences (positive and negative), any pitfalls to avoid, great strategies etc.

One idea I had was to offer 0.25% above typical buyer agent commission and price below market value for a bidding war. They're in no rush to sell so I could just pull after two weeks.

Real estate commissions are pretty small in Vancouver. In general, the question isn't going with a realtor or not but rather which one you go with. My experience is 75% of all realtors are scammers just looking to do anything to get a sale done and get their commission, but 25% are definitely trustworthy and worth their commission. The argument to not go with a realtor is not because it's too much money but because it's challenging to find one you can trust. If you can find one of the 25% you can trust, it definitely pays to go with them instead of doing it yourself.

As for commissions, in general just use the standard rates. You don't want to pay more to the buyer agent because that sounds weird and there will be questions of whether the buyer agent is working for you or for the buyer. And you certainly don't want to pay less as buyer agents bring the buyers to the table.

Buyer agents also definitely like to deal with seller agents rather than fsbos, so you'll do better that way. It's just not a conspiracy either, as buyer agents that deal with fsbos have to shoulder a lot of the process burden most of the time which annoys them as they don't get more commission. There's also the conspiracy part of course, in that FSBOs are generally not liked as buyer agents are often seller agents as well and don't like to see commissions at risk in general.

Pricing way below market value is a strategy that works in certain cases. A good realtor can walk you through that.

Edit to add: Get a great real estate lawyer (do not get a notary) if you go DYI. They will pick up the slack.

...and in addition to that advice, and I am sure Austin would agree.... a good taxi driver should also be able to get you full market value. Right Austin?

...One idea I had was to offer 0.25% above typical buyer agent commission....

Sometimes offering a bonus helps.. say $1,000 or so, but in a hot market you don't have to

...and price below market value for a bidding war.

Price it as per the CMA and advice of the listing agent

... They're in no rush to sell so I could just pull after two weeks.

Time is money

big capital gain?.... remember, every dollar you save in commission saves more for the government.
Good man!

"Time is money"

Which is exactly why you don't go with most realtors. They're not interested in getting a seller an optimal price, but rather they're interested in selling the house so they can get their commission.

OP:

my in-laws have decided to sell their 1 + den yaletown condo.

...make sure you have all the strata documents in advance.

Thanks for the feedback folks. I understand that Realtors can speed things up, but I really feel like this condo will be an easy sell. It's well located and a standard floor plan so pricing on comparables will be easy.

Has anyone on here used PropertyGuys or heard of any success stories or issues with them? Much appreciated.

Just give it a shot, got nothing to lose. If it doesnt sell then just hire a realtor

Yes, I would just get a realtor to "post" the listing for a fee. Then you could just handle the rest yourself.

...Has anyone on here used PropertyGuys ...

Don't waste your time and money on private websites that nobody visits. You need MLS exposure to sell at market value.
As I said before, time is money. For every month your place is not sold you miss out on potential profit. Investing, say, $400K in just GIC's and/or dividend earning funds etc will earn you $400-500 or more per month in interest.

Add to that carrying costs (strata fees, property taxes, insurance, utilities etc) and you are out easily $1,000 per month

Forget private sites and talk to a few realtors. Talk and educate yourself, you got nothing to lose, and possibly a lot to gain.

...Has anyone on here used PropertyGuys ...

Don't waste your time and money on private websites that nobody visits. You need MLS exposure to sell at market value.
As I said before, time is money. For every month your place is not sold you miss out on potential profit. Investing, say, $400K in just GIC's and/or dividend earning funds etc will earn you $400-500 or more per month in interest.

Add to that carrying costs (strata fees, property taxes, insurance, utilities etc) and you are out easily $1,000 per month

Forget private sites and talk to a few realtors. Talk and educate yourself, you got nothing to lose, and possibly a lot to gain.

+1

Solid professional advice. Unlike the stuff from some dubious members of this forum.

Yes! Good "advices", Jim!

It's just advice you'll hear from any realtor wanting to get paid sooner rather than later. Reality is, not everyone needs to sell in a hurry and some just want to test the market. Good luck finding a realtor willing to do that.

Austin,

The biggest problem for DIY sellers is the inability to price their property competitively. Consulting a realtor can be a reality check.

Testing the market is a bad idea if you really get it wrong. It will get snapped up if it is priced too low. It can sit a long time if it's priced too high. We have all seen examples of both types.

Over-valuation may not be a problem in a rising market. On the other hand, it can be a difficult problem in a weak market. Price it right. Do the deal and move on.

Another issue is presentation. You need a professional to stage a valuable property well. Suggest you watch these TV shows on W Network (Shaw channel 23). 'Love It or List It Vancouver' and 'Masters of Flip'. Satisfaction comes from doing it right.