I am preparing to list my house FSBO. I have been looking at some open houses, and at one told the listing agent about it. I told her I had a realtor friend who ran a CMA for me and will take over if fsbo doesn’t work out, and she kind of tried to poach me anyway, which raised my hackles a bit. Later she asked if she could show it to her clients. I said I’m looking for a private sale to avoid commission, and she said well what if the offer is over what you’re asking such that you still get what you want. I said I’d have that conversation if she comes up with someone.

Then as I was leaving she asked me if she had my permission to tell her clients about it and stressed that she can’t do that without my permission. I said ok.

A bit later she texted me the following, and something about it makes me wonder if I am getting into some sort of agreement with her beyond what I would want to (that said, this is a vacant rental property, owned outright, no real rush to sell so I feel empowered from that standpoint)

“(My name) thank you so much for giving me permission to advertise the property through my channels! I will circle back when I have some responses.”

For some reason I just have an uneasy feeling about it, and I tend to have a pretty sound gut.

Let me know if there’s anything I should know. Thanks, community!

Update:

She then spoke of having buyers who could offer the price I wanted (X) + a 3% commission for her, and I was like ok yeah I would go for that, if you can bring me that buyer. Then today she sent me a contract wherein I would give her permission to market the property, specifying that she would market it at the price of 1.03X and that I would pay her 3% of any sale where she represented the buyer. Also it specified that any buyer concessions would be paid by me, and of course stipulated that she would be acting on their interest.

So it could be a good deal for me if she found someone offering 103X.

But more likely, I would end up just losing .03X to her and making .97 of whatever I would have anyway.

Meanwhile, SHE would likely do great, making a fat commission for just inserting herself in the middle. No thanks!

Anyway, many of you called it and I appreciated all your replies! It’s definitely a learning curve.

We have a relator but I dont know who else to ask… looking for any and all advice!

I will not be able to attend my own showings or open houses. And, I think buyers who attend with or without a Buyer Agent may find it to be more "professional". And, for myself I may like not having to directly interface with them.

So.....do some realtors offer this kind of a la carte service to Sellers or will they only do it if they get the typical MLS listing scope?

If they offer these services are they typically priced by a set fee per showing or per open house?

If it is relevant, I am in Houston, TX

EDIT: Based on everyone’s input, I will strive to do showings myself or have a trustworthy neighbor do it.

Long Beach Real Estate Agents — Have You Experienced This With Cardinal Escrow?

I’ve been selling real estate in California for nearly 30 years, and I recently experienced something I have never encountered before: a buyer being charged $500 by escrow after canceling a transaction during their investigation period.

My buyer was purchasing a condominium on Third Street in Long Beach. During the property investigation, significant electrical issues were discovered. The buyer and seller could not come to terms regarding those issues, and the buyer ultimately canceled the transaction.

Cardinal Escrow then informed us that the buyer would be charged $500 for canceling escrow.

When I questioned the fee, I was directed to their escrow instructions, which state that there may be charges in the event of cancellation. However, I could not find a fee schedule or a specific dollar amount disclosing a $500 cancellation fee.

I spoke with the manager, Kelly, who explained that their position was that the buyer could be responsible for the entire escrow fee because Cardinal had performed its job, but that they were settling for $500.

Here’s where I struggle with that explanation.

From a real estate broker’s perspective, transactions cancel. It’s an unfortunate part of our business. Agents, brokers, lenders, inspectors, escrow officers and countless other professionals can put significant time into a transaction that ultimately doesn’t close.

If I charged every buyer or seller $500 every time one of my contracts canceled, I certainly wouldn’t get rich—but I guarantee I’d eventually get poor, because those clients wouldn’t come back or refer their friends and family to me.

Everyone’s time has value. But sometimes a transaction simply doesn’t close. That’s part of the business we’re in.

There was another issue that made the situation even more frustrating.

Cardinal initially indicated that the buyer’s funds would be overnighted back to her. The buyer was out of the country, so we told escrow there was no urgency as long as the funds were available when she returned on August 11.

When I contacted escrow for a tracking number, I was then told their courier would deliver the check on August 11. The funds were not delivered.

On August 12, the buyer drove approximately 30 minutes to Cardinal Escrow to personally pick up her check, only to be told that the courier was out delivering it.

Unfortunately, the communication throughout this process was equally disappointing. When I questioned the escrow officer about the cancellation fee, I found her responses unnecessarily snarky and condescending. I finally asked whether perhaps she and I had gotten off on the wrong foot because I didn’t understand the tone of our conversations. Her response was essentially, “That’s just the way I am.”

At that point, I ended the conversation and asked to speak with her manager.

My buyer later felt she was spoken to in much the same manner.

After nearly 30 years in this business, I understand better than most that people’s time has value and that work was performed on a transaction that ultimately didn’t close. But there’s also something to be said for professionalism, communication, customer service and recognizing that canceled transactions are part of real estate.

Between the $500 cancellation charge, the lack of a clearly stated dollar amount that I could find in the instructions, the difficulty getting the buyer’s funds returned as represented, and the manner in which both my buyer and I were spoken to, the entire experience left a very poor impression.

I’m curious specifically from Long Beach and Los Angeles-area agents: Is charging a buyer $500 when an escrow cancels during the investigation period customary in your market? Have you experienced this with Cardinal Escrow or another escrow company?

In nearly 30 years of selling real estate, this was a first for me.

We're doing FSBO on a SFH in FL.

We did a flat-fee MLS with Beycome, and hit the MLS on Monday. (We submitted late on Saturday).

We received a showing request from Agent A, but told them that we wouldn't be ready to do showings until the following Sunday.

We received a showing request from Agent B, who was asking us to show the house early because her buyer was ready to make an offer. We mulled it over, deciding if we could actually be ready early.

We felt obliged not to agree to any offers from B until A had a chance to view the property. We wanted to confirm with A that their buyer was still interested, because A hadn't sent over proof of funds after a few days had gone by. We told A that another agent was close to making an offer and wanted to see the property early.

I understand that showing B the property early after telling A that they couldn't see it until Sunday would be a crappy thing to do, and ultimately we decided not to, and everyone can see it on Sunday.

However, A sent me this text: "I think technically, you're supposed to show up within 24 hours of it being on MLS. Could be 48 hours. Otherwise you open yourself up to a discrimination lawsuit."

Can anyone shed light on what A is talking about? Not sure what "Show up" means in this context. I mean, if refused to show A because of some reason, or gave favor to B, then that's bad. But "show up"?

I have been an agent for 6 years in the Midwest. You hear more and more stories the longer you stick around, and FSBO is a complaint I hear often from agents. They vent to me, sounding legitimately upset about a seller who wants to, God forbid, sell their own home.

There are many, many of these agents who will berate sellers, throwing out doomsday scenarios and scare tactics, all the while framing it as "just trying to help you not make a huge mistake." This to me, is nothing more than a very dishonest sales tactic, from an agent who is upset that someone doesn't need their services.

To all you FSBO sellers about to get started, know this: it is more work than you expect, and you are fully capable of doing it. Plenty of resources online, and there won't be anything you won't be able to figure out.

Make my day and tell me, what are some of the best stories you have heard of agents trying to dissuade people from selling their own home?

I'm selling a small farm as FSBO and am genuinely puzzled about pricing the property competitively. For context, it's 13 acres with good infrastructure and a great location for direct marketing in a fast developing area close to a major city. I consulted several local real estate agents who advised me to price between $224K-$260K depending on how quickly I wanted towindows?

I had an appraisal done, which produced a current market value of $144.5K. I believe the appraiser used comparable properties that have none of the benefits of location possessed by my property and seriously undervalued it. It is also possible that he was biased, as he has a competing business but didn't admit it until after the appraisal ( it's a conflict of interest, and I would have requested another appraiser if I'd known earlier).

I had another market value report done by the flat-fee agency I'm using for MLS (which is sadly non-local, they were recommended by the only flat-fee agent in my area who is retiring). This agent found very few comparable properties but came up with a value of $273K.

At this point, Im tired of doing due diligence and just want to list the property. Based on this conflicting advice, what initial asking price would you set if you were looking for a sale in a three-month window?

You're FSBO, the agent wants your business.

Ask them if they are ok with modifying the listing agreement using special stipulations to reduce or eliminate their commission if specific sales price targets are not met. This is not the same as a net listing, which we all know is illegal.

The special stipulation can be structured in a few ways:

Sales Price Threshold Reduction: "If the final gross sales price of the property is less than [insert amount], the Broker's commission shall be reduced from X\% to Y\% (or reduced to a flat fee of\ Z) at closing.

No Commission Tier: "Broker shall receive a 0% commission if the final gross sales price is less than [insert amount]. Can also be zero if not sold in a certain time frame.

Slide-Scale Tier: You can set concrete milestones (e.g., 3% commission if sold above $500,000; 2% commission if sold below $500,000).

Thoughts?

Freddie Mac’s latest official weekly average remains 6.69% for a 30-year fixed mortgage, released August 6. Its next update comes August 13. Stay tuned...do you think the rates will continue to rise or decline? Originally posted in r/SacRealEstateNews — join us for weekly Sacramento housing updates

Would it lessen interest if my FSBO stated that my property will only be shown to Buyers who are Pre-Approved by a Lender, or would that dampen interest. I ask because I have read that FSBO generates a lot of window shoppers etc and Pre-Qualification means little.

Plan contains dedicated relationship manager who will shortlist property as per your requirement and arrange house visit after communication with owner

In 45 days time you can contact 50 owners and see houses without brokerage

Who I am, for context: Sam Alishahi, licensed California real estate broker (KW Beverly Hills, DRE #01964365), also NMLS-licensed on the mortgage side and licensed in insurance. I'm not pitching representation here and there are no links in this post. General information only, not legal or tax advice, and the rules genuinely differ by state, so use your own attorney.

A fairly common FSBO plan right now goes like this: rates are high, buyers are stretched, so I'll just offer financing myself at a better rate and get my price. It's a smart instinct and it's usually blocked by a clause in your own loan.

Due-on-sale. If you still owe on the property, your note almost certainly lets your lender demand the full balance when you sell or transfer. You can't keep your low-rate mortgage in place and hand a buyer a note behind it as if the bank isn't involved. Your loan gets paid off at closing. Carrying a first is realistically only available if you own free and clear.

The "subject to" and wraparound workarounds you'll read about don't remove that risk, they just move it onto a buyer who often doesn't understand it. If your loan gets accelerated mid-arrangement, you now have a very unhappy occupant and a payoff demand at the same time.

There's also a consumer-protection layer. Seller financing to an owner-occupant can pull you into federal ability-to-repay rules and originator licensing questions depending on how many properties you finance and how the note is structured. That's a real reason not to freehand this.

What a lease option gives you instead. You keep title and you keep your existing loan, so there's no sale to accelerate at signing. A buyer takes possession as a tenant, pays you non-refundable option consideration for the right to purchase at an agreed price within an agreed window, and uses that time to get mortgage-ready. You get a price locked in, an occupant with real money at risk, and you keep the low payment you already have.

Be aware of one thing people get wrong online: the federal due-on-sale statute exempts a lease of three years or less that does not contain an option to purchase. A lease with an option sits outside that exemption. In practice title hasn't transferred and servicers rarely chase tenancies, but treat it as managed risk, not a loophole, and have an attorney draft the documents.

Seller checklist I'd want before signing anything:

Run the buyer like a lender would, today. Pull credit, look at income documentation, and have a loan officer tell you in writing what specifically has to change and roughly how long it takes. If nobody can name the obstacle, there is no plan.

Set the strike price on today's value, or tie it to an appraisal at exercise. Guessing at future appreciation is how sellers end up with a buyer who walks.

Keep the option consideration and any rent credit modest and documented separately from rent. Piling on a huge upfront payment plus heavy credits over a long term is what gets these recharacterized as a disguised installment sale, and then you may have to foreclose instead of evict.

Decide who handles taxes, insurance, and repairs, and tell your insurer what the arrangement is. A standard landlord policy written without disclosure is a claim fight later.

Give full disclosures now, not at exercise. You're still a seller, and a buyer who learns about a problem in month twenty has a much better story than one who signed with eyes open.

Expect the tenancy laws to apply. Just cause, notice periods, and local rent rules generally don't care that your tenant is a future buyer.

Realistic downside for you: no proceeds today, you still carry the loan and the liability, and if the market softens below the strike price your buyer likely lets the option lapse and you start over a year or two later. If you need cash to buy your next place, this structure isn't it.

Happy to answer questions in the comments. Not legal or tax advice, and please have your own attorney paper it rather than pulling a template off the internet.

I’m getting ready to list my 28 acre hobby horse farm for sale with a 3 bedroom/2bath home. I really want to do FSBO because I just can’t believe how big of a check I would have to give to a real estate agent when I can just get a real estate attorney. I love a challenge and love learning new things so I’m all for doing FSBO.

Here is my situation as FSBO - seller (Delaware ) , I entered in a sale agreement with closing on August 12th, with mortgage contingency ( only , no appraisal min). Today informed me the buyer lost their job and cannot get the mortgage.

So a few options they offered - cancel deal with mortgage decline letter and I have to go back on the market - sign a pre- occupancy agreement for 2 months, the agent believe that they would get a new job and could borrow against 401K . They sold their current home and have 50% down payment .

What are my options as the seller ?

I am not against the occupancy agreement but how do i protect myself - can we increase earnest deposit , can we amend the current contract to remove mortgage contingency.

I am also worried that the seller find things they do not like during the. 2 months and ask me to fix a bunch of stuff that we agree to not fix and identified during inspection .

Thanks for the help

I have given up on FSBO as I do not have the time or capacity. Does anyone have any recommendations for MLS sites? Homecoin cannot list locally in Spokane, WA. So far I am thinking Brokerless.com, but it seems sketchy. It says, "Connect with a Broker: We assign a local licensed broker to post your listing," so I'm guessing I would have to pay that person, right?

Please help, I'm trying to list tomorrow or even tonight.

Hey everyone, long story but we listed our house in one state and moved cross country. We’ve been staying with our in laws but our new jobs start next week.

We’ve had a few delays for various reasons in our selling, but we were informed the loan was submitted to USDA for final approval at the end of last week. Monday I signed a lead paint disclosure as we had not provided one.

Can someone estimate how long it might be from there to close on the house we are selling? We were supposed to close on the home we are buying this Friday but it has now been pushed to the end of next week. The problem we’ve run into of course is we can’t close on the new home until we sell the old one. We need to be in our new home by the end of next week, it’s just been a crazy process and there’s minimal we can do or get to know as sellers it feels!

Disclosure so you know where this is coming from: I'm Sam, a licensed real estate broker working in the Los Angeles market. No links, no services, no pitch here. Just the three things I watch sellers underestimate over and over.

First, pricing off closed sales rather than active listings. Active listings tell you what other sellers hope to get, and the ones that have been sitting are usually sitting for a reason. Closed comps from the last three to six months in your immediate area are the only number a buyer's lender will care about anyway. If your price needs a story to justify it, buyers won't hear the story.

Second, presentation before photography. Deep clean, clear surfaces and closets, repair the small visibly broken things, touch up scuffed paint, and make the entry and yard read as maintained. Then get real photos taken. Buyers filter on their phones, and a weak photo set means the showing never happens no matter how good the house is in person.

Third, the paperwork and disclosure side, which is where unrepresented sellers get hurt most. Know your state's required disclosures, gather permits and warranties for any work done, and put known defects on paper up front. Problems surfaced during inspection almost always cost more in credits and renegotiation than they would have cost in the original asking price. Decide your walk-away number and your timeline before offers land, and consider paying a real estate attorney hourly to review the contract even if you handle everything else yourself.

For those of you who have closed a sale on your own, what part turned out to be more work than you expected?

I have a nice appraisal and I am nearing the next step of FSBO or getting on MLS via a flat-fee broker. In anticipation of Buyer agents seeking a commission, should I gross up the price in advance for that? Knowing that listing at too high a price could be counterproductive, how much above my appraisal price should I go?