Without a real estate broker...

See the "SEARCH DISCUSSIONS" box over to the right? Put fsbo there and click. (Not that any of us mind repeating ourselves....)

andreanm7:

Most brokers who bring you a buyer when you sell your apt
by yourself will accept a 3% commission

FSBO cliff notes:

Clean up unit,
Professional photos,
Review other listings for descriptions,
Offer 2.5% - 3% for buyer brokers,

List condo on:
SE, NY Times (optional imo), consider Zillow/Trulia and others (do a search as suggested before)

Have Open Houses on weekends.
RE Attorney.
Close.

Good Luck.

-Vincent

PS: If you need photos, www.vlpnyc.com/portfolio-1/portfolio-2 (yes, that's me)

Do CLEAN UP and REPAIR the place. This is the biggest thing FSBOs don't do. They think it's clean, but they have no idea what standards are for homes these days. The bathroom door knob falls off and they think that's OK.

Pretend it's a hotel, not your home. How much would you pay to stay there? What would you call management about?

If there are any defects with the property, such as flooding or a fire, or a serious negative situation developing in your neighborhood, you need to disclose this.

Use a real estate attorney who is nice and patient, because you won't have a broker to ask questions of.

Good for you. I hope it all works out. These brokers are ridiculous, 6% !! You can train a St Bernard to do the same things they do. And the arrogance is astounding. Money for nothing (for the most part).

I'm not sure I would even offer these scavengers a 3% commission.

I sold my apt on my own without a listing broker - did pay 2.5% to the buyers broker though. 3.5% in my pocket is better than giving it to some of these yahoo listing agents that wanted to take photos with their balackberry's. Agree with previous post - need to take good photos with a decent digital camera, a lot of them. Choose the best six of the lot. Do your comps - Streeteasy is fantastic for comps when you sign up for a subscription. Go online and find a RE offering sheet template (free). Put together a flyer with pics, go to staples and spend $100 on a stack of them. List on postlets.com (will blast to numerous sites for free). Post on Streeteasy and NY Times for open houses - have a few of these. If priced well, you will sell and pocket the 3.5% to 4%. Note, I didn't say full 6% savings as most buyers consider having an agent assist them is like having free representation so count on paying a buyer's broker.
Good Luck!

I'm in a position where I might be able to sell to my tenant. Any suggestions on determining a price? There aren't a lot of comps. It's in Carnegie Hill, a walkup studio.

If I sell for around what I bought it for in 2005, her monthly costs will be ~current rent. This may be a little low but not out of line with selling prices of other apartments in the building, and of course would save the cost of a commission.

Every time I start thinking about this it reminds me of those psychological gambling tests.