Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

[Torvy]

Since most realtors take a cut, they ought to be doing more than just staging. I never liked that model. Most, not all, do little to earn 6%+ of the value. The value of the house does not change their workload much if at all. I prefer the flat fee. There are some excellent realtors who earn it, but too many just look up a price , post it on MLS and wait.

 

[Jstpssng]

My sister listed a camp after she and her BF broke up, and it sold before she had a chance to get up there and clean it out. The realtor told her she couldn't take anything as the buyer wanted it as is. The place was torn down, and Heidi later found out that the realtor had cleaned it out herself and sold everything.

 

[newbury]

The place we bought in Ms. 10 years ago had been "staged" in reverse. It was wall to wall clothes in the house. The 5,000 sq foot of sheds,

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was wall to wall moderately decent miscellaneous junk and 1 shed had been a "party shed". But all buildings were in good physical shape, just needing some roof work.
And the price reflected the "hoarder" status. All other "comparable" properties were a LOT more, but they were cleaner.
The house was easy to clean out, the sheds took a while, but it was well worth it. We saved so much there was no need to sell our properties in northern Virginia.
If they had spent $5K cleaning it up they could have probably gotten $50K more.

 

[ultrarunner]

Contract language would be interesting...

I've sold with and without and also 50/50 where a broker brought me the buyer...

I've seen both brokered transaction and for sale by owner blow up...

The ones brokered had the job cleaning it up including legal fees and settlements...

For Sale by Owner can be a lonely place especially in a highly regulated market where tons of disclosures, etc are required. There are some sophisticated buyers just waiting for For Sale by Owner.

A good local expert Realtor just makes it look easy which is a good thing... so many pitfalls these days...

I'm not that old but can remember when my rental agreement was a single page plus inventory and condition sheet...

Now it is 28 pages most of which are mandatory disclosures covering everything from city smoking law to rent control, Meagan's Law, Lead and Asbestos... etc.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Contract language would be interesting...

I've sold with and without and also 50/50 where a broker brought me the buyer...

I've seen both brokered transaction and for sale by owner blow up...

The ones brokered had the job cleaning it up including legal fees and settlements...

For Sale by Owner can be a lonely place especially in a highly regulated market where tons of disclosures, etc are required. There are some sophisticated buyers just waiting for For Sale by Owner.

A good local expert Realtor just makes it look easy which is a good thing... so many pitfalls these days...

I'm not that old but can remember when my rental agreement was a single page plus inventory and condition sheet...

Now it is 28 pages most of which are mandatory disclosures covering everything from city smoking law to rent control, Meagan's Law, Lead and Asbestos... etc.

i've been thru 26 real estate closings as a private individual, some seller, some buyer, a few with realtors, most without.

In my case i would find a local real estate lawyer to "review" the transaction, keep their eyes on things.

Back east we are forced to use lawyers for real estate transactions, out west they have companies that do all the dirty paper work etc., called escrow companies .

I found that most folks on the other side of my deals were not comfortable with "by owner deals", regardless of who was the buyer or seller.

I took a real estate sales class and it was mentioned that men don't buy houses, women do. Most realtors are female.

Many people need hand holding, real estate agents do that.

 

[ultrarunner]

Especially true with first time buyers…

Also not knowing what is and isn’t possible because it is all new…

I took all the classes, past my State exam and Background Check but decided not to be licensed…

As a private individual I can talk to anyone I like and only buy and sell on my own account… plus it is beneficial for me to meet sellers… always.

Agents here have a high washout rate… many simply give up in the first 18 months if not sooner…

That said there are some very good people in the business and age is not a barrier unless too young…

One of Dads friends retired to Arizona after selling his brokerage office… he got bored and at 75 was a top producer in AZ and specialized in his community…

Never planned to work in retirement but saw too many clueless neighbors and decided to go back to work and says he really loves it…

 

[m7040]

This discussion has turned into selling real estate it seems

 

[lman]

This discussion has turned into selling real estate it seems

Sell your farm and you can retire to your tent.

 

[Doughknob]

Sell your farm and you can retire to your tent.

I lovve tents!

 

[m7040]

sounds like a good retirement plan