Real
Estate Services For Sale By Owner
By Tom Ramstack
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
High demand in Washington's housing market is encouraging
some sellers to do without the services of a real estate
agent. The 6 percent fee typically charged by an agent can
add up to $30,000 on homes with average selling prices of
a half-million dollars, a price commonly found for houses
in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs.
Despite warnings from real estate agents for buyers to
beware of "for sale by owner" homes, the sellers
say home values that rose more than 22 percent in the Washington
area in the last year and continue to climb make their efforts
worthwhile.
"I don't want to give away my money," said Anaida
Ruiz, a project manager assistant selling her condominium
in Old Town Manassas. "That's a big chunk of money
you have to pay an agent. Why should I when I can do it
myself?"
After listing her 975-square foot, two-bedroom condo in
local newspapers, she found a buyer willing to pay $191,000
within two weeks.
Sellers like Mrs. Ruiz are lucky if they sell their homes
profitably with no legal entanglements, say real estate
agents.
"It's the equivalent of doing major surgery on yourself,"
said Pat Reinhart, a realtor for Remax Allegiance real estate
firm in Burke, Va. "For most people, this is the biggest
financial investment of their lives. If they mess up, they've
lost out."
Nationwide, the median price for homes sold by their owners
was $163,800 in 2004 compared with $189,000 for homes sold
through realtors, according to the National Association
of Realtors. Real estate agents can post home listings on
Web sites that get 40,000 hits per day, whereas do-it-yourselfers
tend to run local newspaper classified ads, Mrs. Reinhart
said.
"For the possibility of saving some money on commissions,
they've probably lost the best buyer out there," she
said. "You're missing the advantage of competitive
bidding."
Other pitfalls can include lawsuits by buyers who believe
the seller misrepresented the quality of the home. Any greater
profit the seller earns disappears "when you have to
get a lawyer to get things straightened up," Mrs. Reinhart
said. In addition, most sellers want to avoid the time commitment
required to place ads, answer phone calls from prospective
buyers, give tours of their homes and ensure contracts are
prepared properly.
"When they call me, they want a process that will
run smoothly and not create a lot of problems," Mrs.
Reinhart said. Nevertheless, some sellers are undaunted
by the obstacles. "We've bought and sold many homes
in the course of our professional careers," said Tony
Tangeman, a retired Coast Guard captain, who along with
his wife is selling their four-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot
home in Woodbridge for a $587,500 asking price.
The Tangemans' home in Woodbridge Longwood Estates is
their seventh house. "We've become familiar with the
process and we have friends who are real estate agents,"
Mr. Tangeman said. "We've got time. We don't have to
sell tomorrow." A flat fee option is available for
sellers who want to reduce the commission they pay realtors.
Some brokerages, such as Assist-2-Sell in Manassas, will
sell a home for as little as $3,995 for houses under $300,000.
The rate increases by $1,000 for each $100,000 of home value.
The service includes advertising, inspecting, showing
the house, writing the contract and settling. Typically,
Assist-2-Sell customers "want to be able to keep some
of the extra cash," said Susan Jacobs, owner of the
Manassas Assist-2-Sell franchise. Among her customers are
investors who buy homes to sell at a profit, a process known
as "flipping." The "flippers" include
New Horizons Investments, a 10-member group of investors
that has bought eight homes in the last year. Members of
the investment group often live in the homes and sell them
themselves, without using realtors.
"We stand a better chance of getting a profit and
giving a better deal to the home buyer," said Hansel
Taylor, a member of the group who is selling a four-bedroom,
2,800-square-foot home in Woodbridge for $499,900.
http://www.washtimes.com/business/20050603-104752-2852r.htm
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