Traditional Listing with Lone Star Luxury
The best way to sell a Texas property that is not in a stressed position, and looks magazine ready, is on the global retail market, the MLS, with a Lone Star Luxury Real Estate Agent. On the MLS your property needs at least 10% equity.
We can market your property through the MLS (multiple listing service) which is where over 90% of people go to look for a property to purchase. All other major real estate marketing websites syndicate from the MLS. The most powerful marketing Multiple Listing Service on the planet for Real Property. Lone Stary Luxury Agents have great experience in pricing and marketing properties to sell for the higher sales price point than one would get on a wholesale market or an investor offer. Deciding whether to sell with a traditional listing service or an Investor depends on the property, the financing and the seller’s situation. Mike can help you decide your best path.
Traditional Listing Example:
Here’s an example breakdown of the typical closing costs involved in a Traditional Listing when selling a home in Texas with a sale price of $300,000. Please note that these costs can vary and are subject to negotiation between the buyer and seller. This example assumes a June closing date.
1. Title Company Costs:
– Title search fee: $250-$500
– Title insurance policy (seller’s portion): Approximately 0.5% of the sale price, so $1,500
– Escrow/closing fee: $300-$500
– Recording fees: $100-$200
– Document preparation fee: $100-$200
2. Real Estate Agent Costs:
– Commissions for Buyer Agent and Selling Agent are Typically 5-6% of the sale price, so $15,000
3. Survey Company Costs:
– Survey fee: $500-$1,000
4. Other Typical Prorations:
– Property taxes: Depending on the county and timing of the sale, you will have to prorate property taxes. Let’s assume an annual property tax of $8,000. If the closing is in June, you would owe about half of the annual property tax, so $4,000.
– Homeowners association (HOA) fees: If applicable, the seller may need to prorate any unpaid HOA fees for the month of sale. Let’s assume $100 for the monthly HOA fee, so $100.
Total Closing Costs:
Title Company Costs:
– Title search fee: $400
– Title insurance policy: $1,500
– Escrow/closing fee: $400
– Recording fees: $150
– Document preparation fee: $150
Real Estate Agent Costs:
– Commission: $15,000
Survey Company Costs:
– Survey fee: $750
Other Typical Prorations:
– Property taxes: $4,000
– HOA fees: $100
The total closing costs for this example would be $21,550 (or only $17,550 if you’ve already paid half the year’s property taxes)
Remember, these are just rough estimates, and the actual costs can vary based on the specific circumstances of the sale and the agreements made between the buyer, seller, and service providers involved. Consult with Mike or a title company to get accurate and up-to-date information regarding closing costs in your specific area.
In this tradition Listing example, you hired Lone Star Luxury, a Texas Real Estate Brokerage, to put your property on the MLS and marketed to buyers (who mostly found the property with the help of other realtors looking in the MLS). Several buyers looked at the property until one negotiated an offer resulting in a fair market value. The process likely took 40-90 days, marketing efforts, negotiations, etc. but did result in a sale at a price approaching full market value.
Real Property Hero can recommend one of our Texas Realtors to you if this is an option you wish to explore. We are part of a national network that buys and sells large volumes of properties. Our network has gone through the painstaking process of interviewing and even hiring scores of realtors, to determine who the VERY BEST ONES are, and we would be happy to refer these to you at no charge.
Traditional Listing Sale Advantages and Disadvantages
The advantage to selling a property through a traditional listing is that it will sell for close to full market value.
The disadvantage to selling a property through a traditional listing is that it can take a very long time. In many markets there are more than 12 months of inventory (this is how long it could take to sell your home on average). Also, the seller is required to get the property into good and showable condition and maintain it that way for months while a parade of buyers look at the home at any time. Also, if the home requires repairs, they must be made prior to the sale, because lenders will not fund a loan to buy a property if it’s in less than perfect condition.
Common Questions about Traditional Listings
Questions: Can Realtors help with non-traditional strategies (like the ones listed on this site)?
Answer: Almost certainly not. Realtors are experts at “retail real estate”, while investors are experts are “wholesale real estate”. It is sort of like comparing the girl that sells sweaters at Old Navy to the buyer that negotiates to import the sweaters from China. They are both in the clothing business, but they have extremely different jobs, skills, strategies, etc.
That being said, Real Property Hero is a very small select group of specially trained Realtors that can help with traditional and non-traditional strategies alike. In fact they will sometimes recommend Combination Plans that combine traditional listings with non-traditional strategies. If you would like us to open up our Realtor network to you, Contact Us.
Questions: Why is there such a big difference in the quality of Realtors from one to the next?
Answer: Unfortunately, although Realtors are required to receive specialized training and licensing, the skill level from one Realtor to the next will usually vary wildly. And, most “civilian” sellers will have no ability to clearly differentiate them by skill level.
Another “challenge” that sellers may have when working with Realtors is that Realtors are trained, and…frankly rewarded… to tell sellers what they want to hear and not necessarily what they need to hear. In other words the Realtor that, for example, tells a seller that their property is worth the most (and will sell the fastest) will more likely be hired to sell the property…regardless of what it’s truly worth.
Finally, most realtors are trained on a specific way of doing things and don’t think outside of the box when the seller or buyer is faced with a difficult situation. For example, most realtors think that the only option for a seller with little, no, or negative equity is a short sale or worse a foreclosure. And most realtors think that most buyers with a below average or non-existent credit score can’t buy houses. They are tied to the traditional model of get a listing with equity and sell the home to a buyer who gets a traditional loan. Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in today. Many realtors have not yet caught on to that yet.
Questions: In fairness, are some Investors also better than others?
Answer: You bet! Unfortunately investors are NOT required to have any specialized training or licensing.
Hopefully, you have gotten some ideas the capabilities of Real Property Hero from reading through our website! We are a very creative company organized around helping sellers in difficult situations with the best strategies that work in today’s difficult real estate market.
At Real Property Hero we recognize that every situation is unique. And the only way to determine the best solution is to have an open discussion. We would love to talk to you about your specific situation. If you would like to email us or give us a call, we’d love to talk. Contact Us for a custom tailored solution NOW!