Advice on home sale as remote landlord

[ENT Doc]

Does anyone have experience being a remote landlord and selling their property?  Thinking about fixing the place up a little this year to prep it for a sale next year.  Does anyone have any experience with selling a property remotely or doing it themselves?  I'm intrigued by the possibility of saving on real estate agent fees (6%), but this seems like a pain in the ******************.  I remember reading about Redfin and the ability to break things out at a lower cost.  Does anyone have experience with this or have any recommendations?  The default option is to go with a real estate agency.  Thanks!

[MaxPower]

Sold a condo by owner while living in it and tried selling a home by owner while living in it (now a rental), and both were a PITA. I can't even imagine doing it long distance, but that might depend on how "long distance" it is.

[Urogirl]

I did it twice. Never again. Real estate agent arranged all contractors. Took about 4 mos. Happy to get rid of them.

[sealsmith217]

I sold a condo that my wife and I bought during residency after being a landlord for 2.5 years. It was a pain being a remote landlord (3 hour drive) but didn't want to use a property management company because the condo's price already plummeted off a cliff during the housing market bubble of 2008.

We knew we weren't going to get back what we paid for the condo so resorted to using a real estate agent and it was worth it. She did all the advertising, clean up, staging, etc. She got a buyer for us within 6 months. Even though we ended up with a huge loss (not because of her) she was worth getting paid the standard commission for getting rid of this huge headache we had.

[StarTrekDoc]

Redfin is fine if you are in a relatively tech area.  o/w if traditional area, realtors tend to blacklist showings of redfin FSBO, despite offering good buyer's agent commissions.  They protect their turf--- buyer's agent is not the buyer's friend!  Talk about a scheme.

We used redfin as buyer's agent, but never seller's.  They do fine in our area (san diego) since it's a robust market and all redfin listings sell just as good as regular listings.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

I think it's reasonable to go FSBO when you live there. Very tough when you don't.

[ENT Doc]

Yeah, I'm thinking along the same lines as most here.  PITA.  Not a robust market and tons of other condos have been put nearby in the last 5 years.  Good times.

[mobilehomegurl]

Yes, I've done it but used a good real estate agent every time. Made the mistake of using property management companies in the past. They're not the same. If you're open to it, find a good agent in your area that specializes in selling and listing homes in the community where the home is located. Usually, it'll be the same agents listing the majority of the homes.

Good luck!

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

Like the others, I've sold both a former home and condo turned rental while living in another state, but both times I used realtors. Somebody's got to show the property and do the marketing.

I've had success with FSBO for my last home sale and purchase, but I was present for both.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

Like the others, I've sold both a former home and condo turned rental while living in another state, but both times I used realtors. Somebody's got to show the property and do the marketing.

I've had success with FSBO for my last home sale and purchase, but I was present for both.

[Spatty99]

I am about as anti-realtor commission as they get, but I think it would be tough to sell a place remotely without some type of agent.  I was extremely fortunate to sell my long distance rental FSBO directly to my renter.  Maybe in your case you can locate a flat fee or discount broker (1% plus buyer agent commission range) to show the house but leave the remainder of the logistics to you.

[Zaphod]

Ive done it and its a real PITA even with a realtor. I cannot imagine the horror of doing this FSBO. Consider the fees a worthwhile convenience fee.