Couple Saves by Selling Home Without an Agent

When Bruce and Robin Beck decided to sell their two-bedroom home in West Van Nuys last September, they skipped the use of a real estate agent and chose to sell their home themselves.

“It’s not that I had anything against brokers,” says Bruce, a public relations executive. “It was mainly an economic decision on my part. I knew I could take advantage of the hot market, and I knew we had a marketable, salable home.”

The Becks, whose home sold just two weeks after it was put up for sale, offer a good example of how homeowners can save thousands of dollars by selling their property without the help of an agent.

Such an undertaking isn’t always easy. Unwary homeowners run the risk of having an ineffective marketing plan, potential legal hassles and even being defrauded by con artists. But most people who have successfully sold their own home say their big savings have been well worth their efforts.

Estimated Market Value

To help them determine how much to ask for their home, the Becks checked newspaper advertisements for local properties and visited several open houses. “We kept comparing what we saw to what we had,” Bruce says. “After awhile, you get a pretty good idea of what your home is really worth.”

The couple estimated that their house’s market value was about $140,000, but decided to ask $137,500 to make it sell faster.

The Becks took a common-sense approach to marketing their house. They paid $60 to put advertisements in the same newspaper sections they had looked in when they originally bought the home.

They also sent out flyers to local brokers saying they’d pay any agent a 3% commission if the agent produced a buyer--the same deal an agent would get if his buyer purchased a home from a competing broker.

“For Sale” signs the couple purchased for $20 were placed outside on the days they had an open house. Robin baked cookies to make the home smell nice, freshly cut flowers adorned the table, and the fireplace crackled for would-be buyers who visited at night.

“We wanted the place to look real ‘homey,’ ” explains Bruce. “That’s just basic marketing stuff.”

Used Standard Forms

The “stuff” worked; by the second weekend, the house was sold.

Bruce says he didn’t worry too much about potential legal problems, in part because he used standard legal forms anyone can purchase from the California Assn. of Realtors. He picked an escrow company by asking a friendly lender to recommend an escrow agent who had handled for-sale-by-owner transactions in the past. “I needed someone who could deal with my ignorance,” Bruce says.

Escrow closed last week. All told, the couple will have paid between $1,000 and $1,500 in fees and miscellaneous expenses when the property officially changes hands, compared with about $10,000 had they sold their home with the help of a realtor.

“We never second-guessed ourselves about not using an agent,” says Bruce. “Saving all that money is nice.”