I’ve had many friends ask me recently about how to sell your home without an agent in NYC, I’ve also seen this question asked in numerous times in forums and its driving me nuts to see the same questions asked over and over so I had to write a post about it. It’s really not as hard as it seems, you really have an option besides the traditional broker fee of between 5 to 7%. Though I have heard some big brokerages have offered to charge as little as 4.5%, that is still close to $100,000 on the value of an average home in NYC. It’s extremely important to make sure you have the right knowledge and distribution when you try to sell by owner so that you have a fair shot at selling your home without an agent in NYC. The brokers in the city actually say that they run the city and they have a television shows like Million Dollar Listing that are not only egregious but add insult to injury for homeowners suffering under the cartel of the brokers in this city. One of the most important things I’ve learned is to make sure you have full distribution and to make sure that your property is not considered off market. How could it be off market if you list on Zillow? That’s because it’s not attracting the attention of buyer’s agents. If you want to sell your home without an agent in NYC, you will have to make sure that you engage buyers’ agents. People keep saying “no brokers please” on their Zillow listings, but that is a death trap for FSBOs. And also telling the world that you are selling FSBO is an invitation for hundreds of cold calls from brokers when you’re trying to have dinner or speak with your mom you’re trying to get a haircut. Do you really want that imposition on your life? You should definitely not tell people that you are selling FSBO list under the cover of an agent friend who won’t charge you 6%. This agent friend should be willing to cobroke for you and either rebate you all of the fee, not charge any fee, or if you don’t have such a friend or you’re embarrassed to ask one of your agent friends, you should consider a credible listing service that can find one for you for a flat fee. New York has many options these days, and it’s a big difference vs. the case of just a few years ago. But agents still dominate most listings here, but things are slowly changing and I have hope for the future here in the city. Definitely learn more before you start, make sure you have a crash course in real estate before you start so you have the right tools and knowledge. And just watch out for some common pitfalls and you should have a much higher chance of succeeding if you’re a well educated New Yorker vs. most FSBOs!
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JACK RAMONENYC FSBO Survivor, writer and Father Archives
September 2016
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