jemima55

Long story short, we`ve been in the USA for five years. Time to go back to the UK now and we are selling our house.
I wondered if anybody has any advice about what we should look out for.
So far I`ve noticed the eyewatering percentage realtors want, and also the number of associated people they advise you employ, painters, cleaners, mulchers, etc.etc.
We neither stand to make a gain or, hopefully, a big loss on this sale.
Any advice, please?

Bomjeito

A lot depends on your state, so Google is your friend here.

Selling a house in the USA does cost you money. The seller pays the listing agents commission, to start. Some states require the seller to pay for an official survey. The commission is the largest cost involved, about 6%.

A good listing agent will explain all to you.

Bob

Depends what the local market is.

Some places are pretty hectic, say downtown Boston, so you'd be able to get away with not doing very much to flog a place....but way out in the burbs, especially in a town with a lot of foreclosures and much more competition in the market, you'll need to do a lot more to offer better value for money to flog it. The buyer couldn't give a shit about the hassles after all and if your similar priced house hasn't had a survey done but the foreclosed place up the street has...

avanutria

In Oregon, the house that we bought was being self-represented by the seller, so they avoided paying a listing agent fee. Not recommended unless you are VERY secure in your ability to not screw it up. The seller also offered a 2% fee to the buyer's agent. Standard in our area is 3% so this did not encourage agents in town to advertise this house heavily.

This worked out for us, of course, as not many people were interested in the property and we absolutely loved it. We also gave our agent the additional 1% to bring it up to her usual rate, because she earned it.

Jerseygirl

I believe that the selling and buying agents are much more involved in the house sale than what we are used to in the UK. Most people want to use a buying agent because they do a lot of work...work that normally a US solicitor undertakes. If the buyers agent isn't getting his/her 3%...then he has no interest in recommending the house to the buyers and will not do the necessary legwork involved when buying a house. I could be wrong but that's how I understand the US property market.

jemima55

Thanks for your comments so far. We`ve got a realtor and there`s hardly any foreclosures around here.
I guess what gets me is we could spend a fortune just getting the house ready to sell.
For instance, it struck me, I`ve got white gutters here and theyve got to be cleaned on the outside. Our gutters at home are black and I wouldnt have to clean them in a million years!
Just wondered if theres any other "money pit opportunities" I havent thought of.

jemima55

Given that nobody bought or sold much in 2011 I`m hoping they`ll make an effort!

avanutria

I'd agree with that, with my limited experience. Our buyer's agent did a TON of work for us and probably should have earned more than 3% for the amount of work that she did.

jemima55

Thats good to hear! Makes me feel better.

Mummy in the foothills

Good luck with the sale.
Here they are very much into staging the houses, getting all personal items out of sight and making it look like a show home.
I look at homes for sale in UK and it makes me laugh to see pictures of dishes in the sink and steamed up bathroom mirrors and shower doors, messy toy boxes and beds all over. Some realtors even have a professional take the pictures to make it all look good. Crazy added cost.
I know we will have to get
a pest inspection
a roof inspection
a Septic inspection
and I'm sure theres a lot more, plus keep the place looking like a show home for last minute viewings and pay the realtor 6% of the selling price for the pleasure. Some buyers even negotiate getting you to pay their closing costs.

Jerseygirl

Our agent in Toronto told us that they use 'staging' companies...especially if the home is empty. They provide furniture/rugs/home accessories etc so the home looks like a show house.

All the electronics items were fake...just plastic shells.

jemima55

Our house will look like a showhome-in a parallel time and space dimension!
I`m exaggerating its ok really.

N1cky

Our rental house has just been sold while we were on vacation. They removed all the pictures and most items from the mantle's and stood an arty farty picture on. I was hoping there would be a minor earthquake so they would fall off and break.

It baffled me though that they removed my lovely real rubber tree plant, and replaced it with a plastic plant that looked like it had been rescued from a hotel demolition in the 1980s. They also put lots of fake fruit in my fruit bowl.

What the hell do I know, the house sold within 3 hours

jemima55

That is amusing!

Nutmegger

One of the good things is that you are moving back to the UK -- so that gives you the opportunity to get to work on one of realtors' favorite bugbears: "de-cluttering"! Get as much personal stuff as you can packed away so as to take away the personal element and maximize your space. You want the viewers to be looking at your rooms, not peering at your photos and stuff going "I can't believe she actually wore that dress/chose that cushion/likes that vase!" Good luck!