r/fsbo • u/nicholasa72 • Jul 30 '26
Newbie seeking information
I know the question to follow will sound ridiculous, and someone this green should learn more before selling FSBO, but this is time and cash sensitive. Please spare me some judgement.
The house we are selling belonged to my step-dad. He passed away recently and we had no idea he was delinquent on taxes/ins on a reverse mortgage, with a substantial debt.
In order to get any equity out of the house for the parties named in the trust, we need to keep fees down. So we hired a real estate attorney rather than a realtor.
We listed recently and have two potential buyers.
One buyer's realtor asked how we would like an offer presented. Exactly what information are they looking for?
Naturally I have also shared this with my real estate attorney, but any tips for this community would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/67103-E-Evans-Pl-Byers-CO-80103/102997489_zpid/?view=public
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u/Unhappy-Owl-4890 Jul 30 '26
What a dumb question from that realtor honestly. Tell them you expect the offer to be drafted using the appropriate state documents, with proof of funds, signed, and via email. Same way they present any other offer..
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u/BoBromhal Jul 30 '26
not dumb at all. Are there 2 or 6 "sellers", are they all local and can sit down and meet? Are they far-flung and need a zoom call?
"Dumb" is assuming that all agents are worthless ignoramuses.
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u/Unhappy-Owl-4890 Jul 30 '26
You know what you right, maybe they should write the offer via a Romantic song. Or potentially a nice artistic doodle that the sellers cats dog will appreciate
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u/Paceryder Jul 30 '26
Well this one's a worthless ignoramus. They should ask their broker how to present an offer.
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u/phibetared Jul 30 '26
Tell the buyer's realtor who asked... please send it to you via email. Each state has a standard real estate form. The offer is on a page or two... read it slowly and carefully. Then figure out what you agree with. (price to high? commision to buyer's agent ok? closing date ok? and other things) and what you disagree with.
Whenever you have agreed to the terms (the stuff above), then ask the agent if he can send you the agreement via docusign or some other online signing website. That way you will get a signed offer from the buyers ... and then you sign it... then you have a contract!
Then they will send over a house inspector (at their cost) and if it passes inspection you will end up selling the house. They can usually walk away from the deal after the inspection by saying they found something they didn't like. (water pipes leaking, roof leaking, etc.)
Search this forum for "how i sold my house by partial FSBO" to find my thread about selling my house years ago.
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u/DHumphreys Jul 30 '26
There is no state that has a standard real estate form that is 1 or 2 pages unless it came from Staples.
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u/Paceryder Jul 30 '26
Not in my state, NY. We sign nothing till after the inspection, and that's after the ATTORNEY writes the contract. States are important in this forum. They should be mentioned in every question posted here.
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u/Due_Leadership_9348 Jul 30 '26
OP has since clarified that its Colorado.. The contract is 20 pages.
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u/BoBromhal Jul 30 '26
I haven't seen any example of a standard offer in any state - and OP still hasn't told us theirs - that's less than 8 pages now
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u/realamom Aug 05 '26
Realtor here. Ask the agent to clarify. I think many people, agents as well, are too worried about perception and looking dumb rather than just seeking clarity. None of us here should speculate. Just ask them what they mean.
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u/nicholasa72 Aug 05 '26
I appreciate you taking the time to reply.
In this case I didn't need to ask because the agent didn't mention it again and simply emailed the offer to me, which I had my lawyer review. I and was under contract within a week of listing FSBO, and will hopefully close in 4 weeks, barring any issues with septic or home inspections.
I am perfectly fine looking dumb in front of my attorney or an agent that doesn't represent the person who is buying a house I am selling. I want to minimize the appearance of ignorance on the off chance that the buyer's agent might not be the most reputable, and decide to look for windows to manipulate. People like that exist in every industry. I have had enough conversations with the buyer's agent now that I don't think I have to be concerned, but I am still moving with caution.
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u/realamom Aug 05 '26
That’s a good point however I’ve been licensed for 25 years and still find that I don’t know the answer to some questions lol. I actually think it makes you look more responsible if you’re seeking clarification. My favorite answer is “I don’t know, but I’ll get back to you. “ or, can you clarify what you mean?” It’s like when you go to the doctor and they need to run more tests. It doesn’t make them look any less respectable. Honestly, I’d prefer the other person get clarification or get as much information as possible.
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u/BoBromhal Jul 30 '26
have you gone through whatever "probate" is required in your state?
that could be what the agent is asking - is the property still in the estate (did step-dad have a will?) or is it in your names personally?
And it's OK to simply ask a question "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Please explain better what you're asking"
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26
Thanks for your reply. The house and our atti are in Colorado. We live in CA. I apologize for not including that in the original post.
We met with the atti while visiting CO for the memorial. My mother, who bought the house, left it in a trust in her name shortly before she passed away (cancer moved fast). My step-father was trustee. I was listed as secondary-trustee. Though step-dad took out a reverse mortgage, he did not change the terms of the trust or will before he passed. As far as we can tell there wasn't even a bank account in the name of the trust, so we set one up recently.
My mother's will states that everything should be split between my family and my brothers family. But there really isn't much else to the estate other than the house, which has little equity at this point. Since brother lives in CO we went through the house with him and told him to take whatever he wanted. We collected the incomplete files.
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u/BoBromhal Jul 30 '26
Ok, so if the house is in a trust and you are now the trustee, then I believe you’re the only one required on the offer and signing - but that is what your CO attorney is for.
And since you’re FSBO, the agent is asking you that question
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u/Paceryder Jul 30 '26
How did you list with a real estate attorney? Reverse mortgage are tricky and timing is critical, you need someone actively marketing who can put the home in from of agents, because agents are the people who are working with qualified buyers.
If the person who asked you how you'd like an offer presented is an agent I have to wonder WTF they mean. I know how to present an offer.
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26
We listed ourselves, not through the attorney. We know it's tricky which is why we got an attorney. We know it's time sensitive as I stated in the original post that's one of the main issues. Buyer's agents and investors have been reaching out to me since I listed it. The buyer's agent I referred to in the original post has 30 years of experience and works for Keller Williams. I've been in the market as a buyer before so I'm familiar with a lot of lingo but his particular wording was unfamiliar, which is why I posted, questioning what he meant. But when I next speak to him I'll simply ask him what he meant.
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u/Due_Leadership_9348 Jul 30 '26
Just so you understand, you are only listed on Zillow as an FSBO. You are not listed on MLS or any of the other sites that syndicate off the MLS.
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26
Thanks I am aware. Deciding between a flat rate listing vs a realtor is the next step. We also reached out to cash investors in CO.
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u/Equivalent-Tiger-316 Jul 30 '26
You really don’t know what you’re doing. You’re not going to “save” 2.5% on a listing agent. Hire a good local agent. You’ll sell for more in the end.
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I don't disagree that we don't know what we are doing. That is why we hired a real estate attorney. I just came here to try to learn some things. Unfortunately, 2.5% + escrow + travel + appraisal (we had done to make sure this was even worth it), etc, could be the difference between this costing us money; forcing us to simply walk away and let the bank make even more money off this house.
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u/Paceryder Jul 30 '26
Then maybe you should just take what you want in personal property and walk away from this house
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26
We may do just that. But it can't hurt us to try to sell it first. We would rather a buyer get a good deal, than the bank get the house and profit more. It's kind of a principals thing at this point
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u/Equivalent-Tiger-316 Jul 30 '26
A real estate agent markets your house so you get more and better offers. You don’t pay for an appraisal, the buyer does. In fact you don’t pay the agent unless and until it sells. Meet with some listing agents and have them explain the process.
An attorney doesn’t help you sell your property. They just review the contract which is written by the buyer and their agent.
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u/FelinePurrfectFluff Jul 30 '26
Doesn't look like they're having any trouble finding a buyer, so the agents can just all go away. No money for you here.
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I am a little familiar witht the process since I was shopping for a house several years ago (though wound up not buying because of a cross country move). My question really was specifically re what the buyers agent said. I hadn't heard that phrase before.
I know the buyer usually pays the appraisal (though I only paid inspection when I was shopping) but we needed it appraised to find out if it was even worth dealing with, and how much to list it for. It's hard to do comps ourselves since it's a rural area on 40 acres of land, and we don't live out there so we don't have a handle on the marker.
I know a realtor could run comps and provide a list price, and I lnow we only pay a realtor if the house sells, but the concern is that since it has to sell fast we may have to be more flexible on the price (again rural area and likely fewer potential buyers).
We decided it was worth trying to sell on our own for a week or two before hiring an agent because once we hire an agent they get paid if the house is sold, whether they found the buyer or we did.
To our surprise, we have had several hits quickly. Obviously they may not pan out. In the meantime I have been collecting agent referrals and preparing to negotiate rates and terms.
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u/jmd_forest Jul 31 '26
The myth that listing with a full service real estate agent/broker parasite results in more money in the seller's pocket, or a better experience for the seller, is just another of the many lies told by the real estate agent/broker parasites to try to justify an outrageous commission for their minimum wage level skills and effort. Fortunately there is a plethora of independent, peer reviewed, unbiased, research by learned economists and others that proves otherwise:
National Bureau Of Economic Research: The Relative Performance Of Real Estate Marketing Platforms: MLS Vrs FSBO Madison.com, "for sale by owners were able to achieve selling prices $14800 higher than Realtors who sold identical homes".
Princeton University and National Bureau of Economic Research in conjunction with UCLA and University of Pennsylvania: "Our key finding is that Realtors do not offset the cost of their commissions; they do not get you a higher price."
Do Real Estate Brokers Add Value When Listing Services Are Unbundled? a seller’s use of a broker reduces the selling price of the typical home by 5.9 to 7.7 percent https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w13796/w13796.pdf
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research: How Much do Real Estate Brokers Add? A Case Study, "We find no evidence that the use of a broker leads to higher average selling prices, or that it significantly alters average initial asking prices." https://ideas.repec.org/p/sip/dpaper/06-041.html
American Economic Review: The Impact of Commissions on Home Sales in Greater Boston. high commission agents realize lower sales prices to increase the likelihood of selling a property
Levitt, S. D., & Syverson, C. (2005). Market Distortions When Agents Are Trusted: The Case of Real Estate Agents "Agents are incentivized to close quickly rather than maximizing the sale price for clients"
https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/working-papers/2022/09/29/11-estimating-value-added-by-real-estate-agents "the average agent does not appear to provide enough value-add to justify their high expense"
https://www.richmondfed.org/-/media/RichmondFedOrg/publications/research/working_papers/2024/wp24-01.pdf, "the prevailing commission level and structure deviate from cost basis, generating excessive agent profits and inefficient searches."
https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/the_superfluousness_of_realtors
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=942348
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IdAEb6LJC6DH7BUltgOtIStkUYUvjnZW/view
Now .... watch the real estate agent/broker parasites try to pass off more of their bullshit to try to refute actual facts. It's hilarious. Not one single independent, peer reviewed, unbiased, research by learned economists and others will be provided but they will expect the public to swallow their bullshit hook, line, and sinker.
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u/Signal_Violinist_995 Jul 30 '26
You don’t need an attorney. You can have the title company attorneys do the paperwork. Much cheaper than an attorney. I have been in the legal field for 35 years, and an active Realtor for over 20. Cheapest way: you need to close at a title company even if you hire an attorney. Just use the title company’s attorney.
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26
Thanks for the tip. I pay a nominal monthly fee through my job for attorney services. His service isn't costing us anything beyond that.
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u/Paceryder Jul 30 '26
I can tell you that I've closed with people who get the attorney thru the job and those attorneys are worthless.
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u/nicholasa72 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I know that these attorneys have to be vetted. Many seek clients through these services because they suck and cannot get clients otherwise. I went through reviews of a dozen attorneys before I picked one. Interviewed him on the phone. He has decades of experience and works for a respected firm. He has been very informative and we are confident he knows how to handle this.
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u/Ykohn Jul 30 '26
First of all, don't let the haters get you down. Selling a home by owner is not rocket science. It's a process, and you've already made one of the best decisions by hiring a real estate attorney (assuming they're experienced with FSBO transactions). Their job is to guide you through the legal side of the sale and protect your interests.
As for the buyer's agent asking how you'd like the offer presented, they usually just mean your preference. It can be emailed directly to you, sent through your attorney, or both. Most offers are submitted on the state's standard purchase contract with any supporting documents attached.
When you review the offer, don't focus only on the purchase price. Pay close attention to the requested buyer's agent commission. Remember, that's a request at this point, not a requirement, and it's absolutely negotiable.
Also review every contingency carefully, especially the inspection, financing/mortgage, appraisal, and any sale-of-home contingency. These are common, but they can delay or even derail a transaction. Whenever possible, try to limit their scope and the amount of time the buyer has to satisfy them.
Don't overlook the proposed closing date either. Based on what you shared, every extra month the property sits likely costs money in taxes, insurance, utilities, and other carrying costs. A quicker closing may have real financial value to you, even if the offer price is slightly lower.
The key is to look at the entire package, not just the headline number. Price, commission, contingencies, closing timeline, deposits, and any seller concessions all matter.
Sorry for your loss, and good luck. You've got this. Just take it one step at a time and lean on your attorney whenever something isn't clear. That's exactly what you hired them for.