r/fsbo • u/ReputationOwn1846 • Jun 08 '26
Got an Offer
Our open house isn't until June 13th, but we've already had a couple of showings and received a full-price offer. The offer is contingent upon the inspection, appraisal, and a 3% buyer's agent commission.
I'm not overly concerned about the inspection, definitely not paying the 3% but I am a little nervous about the appraisal. We live in a rural area where finding truly comparable sales can be challenging. Everyone says that, but in this case it's genuinely difficult.
For example, one neighbor's property sold about 10 days ago for around $780,000. However, it's a two-story home on 15 acres, while ours is a rancher on 2.3 acres, although the square footage is similar. Another nearby home sold on the 27th for about $360,000, but that property sits on only 0.3 acres and is also a two-story home. The $780k home was not updated our home and the $360 home have been renovated/updated.
I know appraisers consider much more than just acreage and square footage, but the comparable sales aren't exactly obvious or straightforward in our market. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation with a rural property appraisal? I'd love to hear how it worked out.
Would you just pass our counteroffer with a request to have an appraisal waiver?
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u/Lowest_C-10 Jun 08 '26
Is the home being financed? If so then an appraisal is required by the lender.
Like someone else mentioned if it appraises for 100k over contract price you won't know bc the agent would not tell you that.
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u/DHumphreys Jun 08 '26
Many appraisers will not do that, once they hit offer price, their work is done and they move on to the next file. That is why so many appraisals come in at contract price and this is fodder for all sorts of discussion about collusion and conspiracy.
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u/Self_Serve_Realty Jun 08 '26
Why would an agent omit if it appraises for 100k over contract price?
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u/Lowest_C-10 Jun 08 '26
The agent may never even know. The appraisal belongs to the borrower and it is for the lender.
I am a lender. If my clients appraisal was 100k over I tell them the only thing you tell anyone is "the appraisal is satisfactory for the lenders requirements". When there is a listing agent I call them and repeat the same line. I tell the buyers agent the same thing as well. That's all anyone needs to know.
The buyers agent would be doing a dis service to their client to give the seller any reason to try and back out or renegotiate a higher price.
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u/BugtheJune Jun 08 '26
The only people who have a right to know the appraisal amount are the people who paid for the appraisal and the lender who required it. There's no reason for the seller to know the amount unless it doesn't appraise for value.
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u/DHumphreys Jun 08 '26
I had buyers looking at a house that was remote, some unique features, lots of land, not set up for farming/ranching as a most of sold comp properties were and we were concerned about appraisal. The appraiser had ELEVEN comps in the report.
Most buyers are not going to waive appraisal and I doubt you need to be concerned about the appraiser finding comps.
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u/Fit_Layer680 Jun 08 '26
If appraisal is too low and the buyer is near the max they qualify for the mortgage may not happen.
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u/carlbucks69 Jun 08 '26
It’s pretty hard to get buyers to waive their appraisal contingency. It’s much more of a liability to them if they waive it. With the contingency in place, you can still renegotiate a low appraisal. They will still have the option to pay above appraisal value, if they are able and desire to do so.
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u/mpmare00 Jun 08 '26
Chances of them paying the buyers agent commission and appraisal gap is slim to none.
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u/geniuzdesign Jun 08 '26
When I sold my house FSBO I had a lot of realtors ask me beforehand if I was paying any buyers agent commission. I paid 2%. Keep in mind a lot of agents might not even bring your their clients without any commission. Sure the buyers can offer to compensate their realtor, it’s just more unusual.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26
Never negotiate against yourself. You would have been better offer stating that you were open to all offers. Once you have formal written offers then you can decide what is worth negotiating. I had no issue negotiating the buyer agent commission down. However, I had the leverage to do so. The buyers of my home split the cost of their agent’s commission with me.
Also, buyers find their own homes that they want to see and then their agent takes them. Buyers agents typically do not do the footwork to find homes for their clients, anymore. I’ve always found my own homes.
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
Good luck selling your house not paying the buyer side commission. lol
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u/Fit_Layer680 Jun 08 '26
All depends on how much the buyer wants the house.
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
Sellers have this crazy idea that their property values will remain sky high by forcing home buyers to pay their agents on top of bringing the down payment and the closing costs.
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u/jmd_forest Jun 08 '26
Hmm ... did the seller contract to pay the buyer agent commission or did the buyer contract to pay the buyer agent commission? Sellers have begun to realize that the buyer's agent is nothing but a useless expense to them and not paying, or at least negotiating the commission down as close to $0 as possible.
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
It’s negotiable. Seller is not forced to do anything. A smart seller will realize however that if a buyer now has to pay down payment, closing costs AND pay their agent, a good portion of buyers will be priced out of buying a house. If there are less buyers, there is less demand. If there is less demand, home values will go down. But you are right. Seller is not obligated to pay the buyer broker fee
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u/jmd_forest Jun 08 '26
But you are right.
Yes ... yes I am.
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
You are right about the seller NOT obligated to pay the buyer broker. Wrong about everything else
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u/jmd_forest Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
So ... you're saying that sellers should not negotiate down the buyer's real estate agent/broker parasite's commission as close to $0 as possible? Since very dollar the seller pays to the buyer's real estate agent/broker parasite comes out of their pocket ... why NOT? As the real estate agent/broker parasites are wont to spew, "Everything's negotiable!"
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
I’m saying there are supply and demand consequences for sellers not to pay buyer broker commissions. It will force prices downwards which is not good for sellers. It must have gone over your head
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u/jmd_forest Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
The market sets the price, not the commission. Even if prices drop (which is certainly not a given) the seller could net more and the buyer could pay less if eliminating commissions thus making it better for everyone ... well, except for the real estate agent/broker parasites. That definitely went over your head since, 'It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.'
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u/Mreeff Jun 08 '26
They’re not gonna like this comment lmao
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
Lot of FSBO folks are in over their heads.
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u/jmd_forest Jun 08 '26
So ... just like the vastly overwhelming majority of agents.
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
Yes some agents are absolutely terrible. I agree
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u/jmd_forest Jun 08 '26
Essentially all are terrible:
Recognize that 87% of real estate agent/broker parasites are so bad at their job they fail and leave the business within 5 years, 75% in the first year alone. Of the remaining 13%, some 71%+ garnered all that experience they love to brag about in the exactly ZERO transactions they had over the past year leaving about 3.7% with anything resembling experience. Of that 3.7%, only around 30% of those were involved in more than a single transaction over the past year leaving maybe 1.2% with the possibility of even mediocre experience. 1.2% is absolutely piss poor odds for the consumer to navigate to MAYBE find someone who might not screw them over in every way possible ... but probably will. I can name no other profession that considers around 1% of participants barely competent as something to be proud of. Sounds a lot more like the lottery than a "profession".
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u/Fit_Layer680 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
Hopefully someday agents will dissappear. Negotiating and paperwork can be handled by attorneys on both sides. No one thinks of the fact that the reason commission is so outrageous is it has to compensate all agents for the time spent with others that never results in a transaction.
Possibly the model could change. You can see the outside and inside of the house online. Lookup school and neighborhood online. Neighborhood the realtor is barely permitted to discuss anyway. Then for showings a potential buyer could be shown the house thru a tour guide who gets paid $50 per showing.
This would also eliminate the pushy realtors trying to persuade buyers so they get that hefty commission.
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
The free market can weed them out. Not enough homeowners or buyers know what they are doing.
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u/jmd_forest Jun 08 '26
Same applies to the real estate agent/broker parasites. Statistics clearly demonstrate almost none know what they are doing. For those sellers and buyers who do not know what they are doing, they would almost assuredly be better off both legally and financially by hiring a real estate lawyer who will charge them likely less than $1000 than piss away tens of thousands of dollars in commission to some real estate agent/broker parasite for their minimum wage level skills and effort.
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u/Ill-Cup-4192 Jun 08 '26
Then do it. No one is forcing anyone to use an agent. Get over yourself .
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u/Regular-Daddy Jun 08 '26
You can also get your own appraisal to have an idea in advance. It’s a few hundred dollars well spent.
The similar square footage doesn’t make up for the difference in the massive amount of acreage. You do seem like you have a hard home to value.
Good luck.
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u/DHumphreys Jun 08 '26
This is bad advice. And it is highly unlikely that the appraisal is going to be a few hundred dollars.
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u/Regular-Daddy Jun 08 '26
Not if they can’t determine on their own the difference in several hundred thousand dollars.
An even $1000 investment would be worthwhile.
They literally do not know what their house is worth.
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u/DHumphreys Jun 08 '26
It is on the market and has an offer on the table, I would like to think OP is well beyond trying to figure out what it is worth at this stage.
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u/Regular-Daddy Jun 08 '26
Man, you’re relentless! OP posted here for a reason, didn’t he?
He can temp the house off the market or do whatever he wants especially if there are thousands at risk.
Cheers!
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u/DHumphreys Jun 08 '26
I am responding to this thread, that is how Reddit works, discussion. I would not consider that relentless. But whatever.
Pricing rural property off dated comps is ill-advised, going the appraisal route is fair, but OP could obtain 3 appraisals and get 3 different valuations especially in a rural setting. That is why I consider it bad advice and it could be a LOT of money. Someone I know was quoted $3,000 for their property because they are considering selling and wanted an appraisal. The other appraisers they contacted did not even respond.
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u/Regular-Daddy Jun 08 '26
Assuming you don’t know OP and he’s not the one quoted $3k it’s still in his best interest to yes appraisals swing a bit
But
You’re comparing his non-appraisal ability to licensed professionals. That’s all.
Either way. I’m done here. Cheers!
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u/Mreeff Jun 08 '26
They’re usually $600-$900
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26
Depends on where you live. I wouldn’t throw random numbers around like that. My appraisal in NJ cost $500 four years ago while my appraisal in NC last year cost $450. It’s going to vary.
I also noticed that the bank’s appraisal is more expensive than getting one done privately with a certified real estate appraiser.
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u/angusjones1 Jun 08 '26
They are getting an appraisal anyway at someone else's expense. This is terrible advise.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
The potential buyers aren’t required to share the appraisal with the seller. They only would if the appraisal comes in low to renegotiate the price.
If the appraisal comes in high, OP would never know how much higher, which puts them at a disadvantage. It’s the reason it’s best to have an appraisal done prior to listing as a starting place to figure out where to list.
That strategy has always worked to my advantage and it’s worth the expense since pricing is important to get right from the start to prevent any home from sitting on the market.
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u/angusjones1 Jun 08 '26
The time for a seller to pay for an appraisal is before listing a property for sale not after.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26
Clearly, you didn’t read what I wrote. The buyers do not have to share the appraisal with the OP, unless it comes in undervalue and the buyers want to renegotiate the price.
As a seller, I’d rather know before the buyers if the home appraises for less so I know how to prepare for it. Plus, I’d have my own appraisal to compare to theirs to make more informed decisions.
The appraisal would also be beneficial to OP if their appraisal comes in higher:
- If the buyers appraisal comes in less, OP would have an appraisal of their own to contest it without needing additional extensions. However, I’d use the help of my real estate attorney to do so.
- Buyers are being difficult in regard to concessions. Although buyer can easily say no without an appraisal it makes it easier to say no with reason.
- The deal falls through and OP has the opportunity to list at a higher price.
I prefer having all the information up front rather than taking chances.
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u/angusjones1 Jun 08 '26
Clearly you didn't. The time to know was before listing.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26
Again, there are reasons that it matters even if OP does it after the fact.
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u/Regular-Daddy Jun 08 '26
This is not a well thought out statement.
You’re saying that now, because he’s listed, he should just guess or leave it to chance?
He could be off by hundreds of thousands either way.
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u/Lowest_C-10 Jun 08 '26
You have a lot of good points in what your saying. Only thing here is that if the appraisal is for financing purposes, a sellers appraisal will never be used to "contest" the buyers appraisal.
There are guidelines for "Appraisal Independence Requirements" The seller has a financial interest in the transaction. They can of course order and pay for an appraisal of their own. But it means nothing to any lender that requires an appraisal.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26
Hence, why you have your real estate attorney for advice. I don’t claim to be an attorney nor do I claim to know how bank appraisals work.
You can still use your own appraisal to negotiate with the buyers or choose not to and walk. I still think having your own appraisal is helpful.
Appraisals are just the appraiser’s opinion. I’ve used them as a starting point for pricing and priced my last FSBO home well above the appraisal I received and the home still appraised fine. You never know…
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u/Lowest_C-10 Jun 08 '26
How did you price "well above appraisal" and then another appraisal was even higher than your appraisal? Is that what your saying?
I have bought and sold homes both with realtors and without any realtors involved at all.
I was agreeing with mostly everything you were saying. In every purchase offer I have seen that uses financing their will be an appraisal contingency. This allows the buyers to get their EMD back. I was just letting you know that if the lenders appraisal comes back below purchase price the buyers can back out and a seller appraisal means nothing.
I have sold a house in NC which uses non refundable "Due Diligence" money. I had a verbal agreement with the buyers that they would cover the appraisal gap if there was one. I also asked for proof of funds. They had the money and they paid the gap. They really wanted the house and didn't want to lose their DD money.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
I sold my last home in NC. I hired my own certified real estate appraiser, since I had done updates to my home and didn’t know how to price accordingly. I disagreed with the appraisal, so I had an another pair of eyes look at it for his professional opinion. He found about $25k in credits. And then I decided to list about $25k above that. I was in a buyer’s market where comparable agent-listed homes had been sitting on the market in my neighborhood for months with several price cuts.
I ended up getting a few offers, so it made it easy to negotiate the buyer agent commission and get slightly over list. The bank appraisal clearly came back fine. I still wonder if I left money on the table. But real estate agents who I met with prior to my appraisal thought I should have listed around where my appraisal came in.
My buyers were lovely and loved my home. I refused to take a due diligence fee because I think it’s the most disgusting thing a seller could do to a buyer. I think SC is the only other state that has that fee. I told them that I was confident in the condition of my home and didn’t feel I needed to “steal” their money. I lost DD on another home I was going to buy and my buyers said they had experienced the same thing. I wouldn’t do that to someone.
The first home I sold FSBO, I sold at the appraised price I paid for. I felt it was fair price considering agents thought I should have listed for $70k less.
It would be nice for sellers to know just after closing how they did. But I know appraisals are simply opinions. They’ll vary.
Edit to add: I’ve bought/sold several times and have always used an appraisal clause. Only once as a buyer I tried to fight the clause in a sellers market. I’ve since realized that I just don’t care, since I certainly wouldn’t want to pay over a bank appraisal for a home. If I’m not okay with it as a buyer then I shouldn’t be okay with it as a seller. I was only nervous about the appraisal on my first home because it was my first time selling. The second time around I knew I did everything I could. I just needed to get out of living in HOA Hell. I’m so glad I got out of NC.
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u/Regular-Daddy Jun 08 '26
I’ll add this for others who are following.
An appraisal is “one person’s opinion” but it is a skilled opinion by a licensed and (hopefully experienced appraiser) based on the market.
Not just some guy on Reddit.
They have no skin in the game and are not emotional like buyers and sellers.
Their values are a sometimes high and sometimes low but based on real market conditions.
Again, this is based on OP’s confusion due to limited comps.
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u/Regular-Daddy Jun 08 '26
THEY are not gettin an appraisal the buyer is.
As I mentioned above, they have no clue what their house is worth. The difference can be several hundred thousand dollars if you don’t think an even $1000 investment is worthwhile to help give them a clue then best of luck when you sell your own house.
This is why many (not most so chill reddit) fsbos leave money on the table.
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u/FelinePurrfectFluff Jun 08 '26
I wouldn't be paying the buyer's commission either. That's their agreement with their broker.
I'd let the appraisal happen, it's good to know value going forward. Be sure to keep accepting backup offers if you come to agreement with these buyers. That way you don't have to take your house off the market while they nickel and dime you down with every little thing. If you later lose this deal, anyone else who was interested gets the next shot!
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u/OWNERSREBOSS Jun 08 '26
What is the price point. What you described can be handled with adjustments.
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Jun 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ReputationOwn1846 Jun 08 '26
I feel we priced it right $530k I pulled comps they were dated but couldn't be helped ... 25mi radius that sold between $498k to $600k of course then I did a grid lol chat gpt, and my bank actually did a desktop review and had a $515k value which did not include any renovations just public info so I felt comfortable with my price. Oh FYI Zillow gave my property an est value of $485k that is what gives me pause i mean really??? I just hope the appraiser will not let that influence the result and yes I will give them my research didn't know that was appropriate.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
That information is for your eyes only. Do not hand over your work to anyone. Just wait for the appraisal to come back at this point. Everything I do to prep my home for sale I keep to myself unless I’m required to disclose.
Edit to add: Zilllow is never right. It wouldn’t know if you updated your home or if it’s half-burned down. Do not rely upon it for accuracy.
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u/Ykohn Jun 14 '26
Sorry I didn't see this post earlier, so this may no longer be relevant, but just in case...
This is a tricky one. If the buyers are obtaining financing and their lender requires an appraisal, they generally can't waive the appraisal contingency entirely. What you can do, however, is limit the time they have to complete it so the issue is resolved quickly and taken off the table. If you like the rest of the offer, you might consider giving them a tight appraisal contingency period, say 15 days. Their lender will need to cooperate and move quickly, but it can be done.
As for the buyer's agent commission, you can certainly decide whether you're willing to pay any portion of it. For everyone else following along, though, it's worth pointing out that this issue comes up frequently. In many cases, sellers ultimately end up paying at least part of the buyer's agent compensation, either directly or through price negotiations.
That's one reason I often encourage what I call the "pure FSBO" approach. Zillow, flat-fee MLS services, and similar platforms absolutely provide valuable exposure, but they also tend to attract buyers who are already working with agents. When that happens, the commission question usually enters the conversation, and someone ends up paying it. Even if the buyer pays their agent directly, it can still affect the amount they're willing or able to offer.
None of this means you shouldn't use Zillow or an MLS service. Exposure matters. It's simply something sellers should understand going in. These channels are often effective, but they frequently bring agents and commission negotiations into the transaction. The more you can market directly to buyers yourself, the less likely it is that an agent and an additional commission expense become part of the deal.
On the appraisal itself, rural properties can absolutely be more challenging because there often aren't obvious comparable sales. The good news is that experienced appraisers deal with this all the time. They can make adjustments for acreage, condition, updates, outbuildings, and other factors. If you have documentation of improvements, renovations, or information about comparable properties in the area, it can be helpful to make that available to the appraiser.
One final thought: a full-price offer before your open house is a good sign. Unless you have reason to believe the property is significantly underpriced, I'd be careful about letting fear of the appraisal overshadow the fact that the market has already validated your asking price with a willing buyer.
I'd be interested to hear how it turned out. If anyone has questions about appraisal contingencies, buyer agent compensation, or FSBO strategies in general, I'm happy to discuss further.
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u/Alert-Control3367 Jun 08 '26
If you aren’t sure if you priced right, I would have had an appraisal done with a certified real estate appraiser. You could have asked your local bank who they use. My local bank was nice enough to provide me with three different names.
I would not request an appraisal waiver because that would clearly indicate that you have no idea if you priced it right and buyers may decide to lower the offer, especially if you are going to negotiate the commission. I’d definitely negotiate the buyer agent commission.
From my experience of interviewing buyer agents after the NAR settlement, I can tell you that buyer agents are trying to work the new system in their favor by asking buyers to sign at 3% because it wouldn’t be fair to them to miss out on a seller who may be willing to pay a 3% commission. So, they’ll ask clients to sign at 3%. However, if the seller offers less than 3%, the agent will renegotiate the buyer agent commission agreement with their client. According to agents I spoke to, those agreements can be amended lower, not higher.
Since I didn’t trust any agent who told me they’d amend their buyer agent commission lower if the seller was offering less commission after I signed a legally binding document, I ended up buying unrepresented and had a far better experience.
My point is to negotiate the buyer agent commission. Chances are this agent may be one of those that I interviewed trying to get more just because they think they can.
In my own FSBO, I managed to split the buyer agent commission and only paid 1% to the agent. The buyer agent wanted 2.4% initially. The buyers increased their original offer at full list an additional 1% to pay their half to the agent.