A great article from The Star today by Mark Weisleder…outlining some of the risk/reward (or lack thereof) features of going solo when it’s time to sell. Check it out!
“Allison Philpot sold her home in Ottawa using a For Sale by Owner marketing service. She listed her home for $419,000, and was able to create a bidding war after her first open house. She received a top bid of $429,000, which she accepted.
The buyers seemed like nice people, as they lived in the community. Unfortunately, they later terminated the deal, relying on a condition in the offer, although Allison suspected that they just found a house that they liked better. The second bidder was no longer interested.
She then dealt with another buyer, who was represented by a buyer agent. Allison later admitted that she was out-matched in the negotiations, and eventually sold her home for $405,000. In addition, she agreed to pay the buyer agent a commission of approximately 2 per cent or $8,000. So her net selling price was $397,000.
After the fact, she reasoned that had she used an agent from the start, she would have probably sold for about $430,000, and that even if she paid $20,000 in commission, she would have netted $410,000, or $13,000 more, without any of the aggravation.
Still, Allison states that had she not gone through the experience herself, she would probably have felt that she had overpaid the agent.
The buyer who walked away from the first deal later told Allison that he would never try and buy a property again without an agent, as he found the process way too stressful himself.”