May 16, 2000
Selling a home without a broker
By Jeff Brown

The weather's wonderful, the garden looks terrific - it's a perfect time to sell your house.

And, on top of the factors that traditionally make spring the main home-selling season, this year there's one that's even better. It's a seller's market, with bidding wars pushing some deals above the original asking prices.

Now for the cherry on top: It may be easier than ever to sell a house without a broker, saving the 6 percent or 7 percent commission that can make even a fat sales price seem like a loser at closing time.

We have the Internet to thank. A number of new Web sites offer free data on recent home sales. Type in your address and get data for homes down the block or throughout the neighborhood. Check out these sites:

http://www.homegain.com, http://www.homeAdvisor.com,
http://www.homeradar.com, http://www.domania.com

It used to be that providing "comps" - prices of comparable homes - was one of the key functions offered by real estate agents. Now that anyone can get this information, there's less reason to consult a pro.

Typically, data from three or four recent, nearby sales are combined to figure an average selling price per square foot. Apply that figure to your own house to figure your asking price.

A good real estate agent, of course, will tweak the raw data, adjusting for your newer roof, designer kitchen or pool, for instance. But by looking at enough data and driving by the homes involved, the do-it-yourself seller can get a pretty good idea what these adjustments should be. And you can always start out pricing high and coming down if you don't get any bites.

Pricing is not an exact science, even for the pros. You will know that if you've ever failed to get the price a real estate agent had recommended, or found buyers too eager to grab your property at the low-ball price set by a broker. Also, advice from pros is not always completely objective. An agent may suggest a lower-than-ideal price in hopes of a quicker sale, leaving the agent time to market other properties.

Most other services provided by agents can be done by sellers or other professionals at less expense. You can get a lawyer to handle the sales contract and closing for a few hundred dollars. The title company, which is paid by the buyer in most states, does the really tricky work of title search and preparing final sales documents.

Whether it makes sense for you to market the house yourself depends, first of all, on whether you have enough time. You need time during the day to show the house, especially on weekends. And it may well take longer to find a buyer on your own, because the house won't be advertised in the Multiple Listing Service used by brokers.

Without access to the MLS, you'll have advertising costs, which will offset some of the savings on broker's commission. But a lawn sign and ad in a small local paper aren't expensive. I once sold a house with flyers attached to my sign, and some sellers stuff flyers under windshield wipers.

When there's the matter of temperament. How will you handle it when buyers criticize and denigrate your property? Do you have the stomach for negotiation? Do you tend to cave in, or to get stubborn when you should compromise?

I have sold four houses over the years and never used a broker - and never regretted it. But if you feel uneasy, remember you can always change your mind if you're not getting results or just can't stand going it alone.

And there's a nice middle ground. Market the house yourself and tell brokers who call (they always do) that you'll gladly pay anyone who brings you a buyer. But offer 3 percent, not 6 percent. They'll go for it because that's the split they get anyway when buyer and seller have different brokers.