Recently, I sold one of my own properties through Congress Realty. The property was located in NM and sold during the month of June 2020. I used the exact same systems that we offer our sellers through our Flat Fee MLS program. Below is an exact chronological list of how I did so.
- Served 30 day notice to my tenant to vacate. My tenant was on a month to month lease at that time.
- Acquired all keys, remotes, etc.. from my property manager.
- Installed a mechanical lockbox on the property so that I could get laborers into the property
- Received 3 bids on re-painting the interior. Chose a company, made payment and had them use the lockbox to complete the work
- Received 3 bids from carpet installers. Chose a company, made payment and had them use the lockbox to complete the work.
- Hired a handyman to run through the property to repair any small items, such as blinds, etc..
- Hired a photographer to take 20 photos of the property. (Note, I didn’t have 100 photos taken. I am a big believer in not over photographing the property)
- Listed the property on the local MLS through Congress Realty. At the time the listing went active, all of the interior work was complete, the photos were ready. I listed the property on a Thursday night. I offered the buyer’s agent 3% in the MLS listing.
- By Saturday, I had 4 offers and countless showings.
- Sunday, I chose a cash offer at list price with the quickest close. I provided the seller disclosures to the buyer’s agent with my acceptance of their offer.
- During the inspection period, I offered a small credit to the buyer in lieu of making any repairs.
- I made sure I was in contact with the escrow officer at all times. I ensured the buyer earnest deposit was deposited on time.
- I signed my docs remotely via a mobile notary. I chose to have my funds wired to me.
- Upon recording, I made arrangements with the buyer’s agent to pick up all of the keys, remotes, etc..
- The total time from the date my tenants vacated my property to the time I received my final wire from the title company was 30 days.
All 4 offers I received came from buyer’s agents who found the listing on the MLS. Had I chosen to wait an extra day or 2, I may have received multiple more offers. However, the quick closing cash offer at list price was appealing to me. A few things to note: In my opinion, offering 3% to the buyer’s agent helped bring in multiple offers. Making the property easy to show via a lockbox was helpful in bringing multiple offers.
As you can see, if you do things correctly and keep things simple, rarely is there a need for a full priced Listing Agent. You can save thousands of dollars using our Flat Fee Listing program. Upon request, I can provide the full property address that I am referencing in this blog post. This will allow you to verify it was owned by myself and sold through Congress Realty in less than 30 days.
Things I did not do: I did not use a Real Estate Sign. I did not post the listing on any FSBO related websites. I did not use Flyers/Handouts. I did not send out an email blast to Realtors.