How to deal with real estate agents when you list your home by owner

Realtors are very clever. They will approach you and tell you they want to preview your home so they will be familiar with your home when a potential buyer contacts them. They will slowly offer you tidbits of information about your neighborhood and closed sales, and tips on how to sell your home. Before Homepie, about 9 out of 10 sellers who list their homes for sale by owner, eventually list with a realtor. This is what they are banking on; building trust with you so you call them if you change your mind. They will be relentless, however, Homepie’s private messages can help you keep your personal contact information private. Homepie gives you the option of having all your communication in its messaging system, which in turn reduces the amount of unwanted calls you will receive. Be aware, there are services out there that can match addresses to phone numbers across many databases, so it is inevitable that you will receive at least one call, but using Homepie’s messaging system will definitely help you minimize your undesired calls.

When an agent contacts you to tell you they have a real buyer and they want to make an offer, they will ask you to sign a commission agreement for that specific buyer. Make sure you read the details of the contract thoroughly to make sure nothing is hidden in it. Many sellers are okay with this if they will net an appropriate amount of money at closing. Commission is always negotiable. You can negotiate a flat fee or a percentage of the purchase price.

Once that commission agreement is signed, instruct the real estate agent to have the buyer create an account on Homepie and write the offer on your listing page. If they have any trouble, they can contact us through our chat feature. It is important that the buyer writes the offer (not the agent) because the info is going to populate into the Purchase Agreement. Once they submit it, you will get an email and be able to see the offer in your dashboard. You can view the terms and negotiate each of the items back and forth until you make a deal.

After you have a signed purchase agreement, we will introduce you to a transaction coordinator who can help you with all the disclosures, legal paperwork, timelines, and coordinating with escrow and title. As of November 2023, the fee is $599 per side. The service is optional but is probably the best money you will ever spend. Almost all real estate agents use a transaction coordinator and most pay over $700 for this service (and that is just for one-side of the transaction).

If an agent asks about escrow and title, you can tell them that an escrow company who is familiar with Homepie’s Purchase Agreement and Homepie’s process is built into the contract. Just like the transaction coordinator, it is completely optional for you use the escrow company that is built into your Purchase Agreement.

The agent may also ask to see a sample of the purchase contract so they can review its structure prior to accepting an offer. A sample of the contract is located here.

If you ever get stuck or have any other questions, our friendly staff at Homepie is always here to help. You can reach out to us by clicking the chat button in the lower right-hand side of every page on our site.

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