Thanks for your comments. It sounds like you really did exceptional by selling through the propertyguys. Congratulations. The results vary so widely from private sales; from sellers getting much more than market value or much less. The same is true for the buyers of private sales; some get a real deal, and others pay way too much. Most are probably in between. The bottom line whether a buyer or seller, the services and knowledge of a good realtor can be the difference of getting a fair deal or losing your shirt. I have recommended that buyers walk away, wait for a few months until the market slows, or other solutions. I currently have several happy clients who took my advice to wait in the investment property sector and are now finding better prices resulting in more cash flow.

The fact that a realtor owns a private sale franchise is still silly to me. That’s my opinion of course. As a realtor we can choose what our commission will be. We can do it for free if we want…with or without the competition bureau, so why use the propertyguys at all then, if a realtor can do it for the same price. It really isn’t about the level of service provided, whether you have extra brochures, additional websites, or more advertising, in a “gold” package for 5% as an example, it is the quality of the salesperson and their established network of clients, as well as their relationships with other top producing agents. MLS also has a huge exposure factor with build in systems and controls from which all of our data on pricing and market trends are derived. Who would know what a fair price is if there was no system.

You mentioned, “It makes sense to try it yourself first then move up to full service realtor if that doesn;t pan it.” I would try the opposite approach of FSBO first then Realtor. Statistics show that normally a skilled Realtor can put more bottom line dollars in a sellers pocket, but you don’t pay until it sells! No risk, right? If it doesn’t sell then you know what the market will bare, then list with propertyguys, pay your fee up front, reduce your price and get it sold. You should save money and gain the insight to the market from your previous experiences. But you can always do what you did and sell for more than the one Realtor recommendation! Again great work!!!

It provides the consumers more choice, something the competition bureau has been asking the real estate industry to do for a while.

I interviewed a number of agents before deciding to sell on my own through Property Guys. I ended up listing privately for 9% higher than what the agents had suggested I list at.

When considering selling your home on your own simply obtain a formal appraisal done of your home from an appraisal firm. This will ensure you are priced right.

I saved $24,000 in real estate feels and sold my house for $20,000 to $35,000 more than any agent I interviewed felt it would sell for.

End result is that I have at least $44,000 more in my pocked on a house I sold for $420,000.

Now, all that being said, selling your home on your own isn’t for everyone. Good realtors can add value to these transactions. That is what Peter is banking on. He gets to capture the FSBO market and offer a realtively seemless way to upgrade to a full service realtor if the person has trouble selling privately.

It makes sense to try it yourself first then move up to full service realtor if that doesn;t pan it.