In LI's hot market, some homeowners are trying to sell by themselves

Trying to capitalize on the recent hot sellers’ market, Doreen and Stephen Johann listed their Greenlawn home for $899,000 in October on FSBO, Trulia and Zillow. The For Sale By Owner sign they put outside got some traction, but mostly from real estate agents hoping to get the listing.

The couple, both working from home during the pandemic, were convinced an agent wouldn’t be able to market an unconventional home like theirs and felt confident they could sell it themselves.

The original part of the home, now their kitchen, was built around 1850 as a farmhouse and was rebuilt and added onto in sections in the 1960s by the previous owner. The Johanns purchased the home 30 years ago and have since opened the layout and renovated the living room.

"You’re not going to sell this in a weekend," Stephen says he tells agents when he turns them away, stressing that he's optimistic the couple can sell on their own. "It’s not a quick sale and I’m not dropping the price. I don’t need you — someone’s going to find us.’ "

A technology training consultant, Stephen, 62, and Doreen, 61, a senior director for New York City’s Department of Transportation, who has returned to in-person work, hope to retire within five years and move to the East End to a home that requires less upkeep.

"People come into the house and they either love it or they just look at it like, ‘What the heck is this?' " says Stephen. "It’s too much work. Before we get too up there, we want to be out of here and into an easier situation."

The Johanns recently increased the asking price to $929,000 for their 3,250-square-foot four-bedroom, 2½-bathroom home, which has an open floor plan, hardwood pine floors, custom windows, wood burning stove, and vaulted ceilings in the kitchen and living room. Located in the Harborfields School District, the 1.33-acre property has a deck, several patios, pool, and greenhouse. Taxes are $18,693.

"In our minds," Doreen says, "if we sell it and get our price, great. If we don’t, it’s not like we have to sell."

For whenever they do make the sale, the Johanns are ready with an attorney they are keeping on retainer.

Stronger market means more FSBOs

Though it's difficult to assess exactly how many homes are sold by owners, it’s just a tiny slice of the real estate market, and one whose numbers directly correlate to the state of the market, says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuels, a real estate appraisal firm covering the metropolitan area.

"So, when the market is stronger, you have more FSBOs [for sale by owners], and when the market is weaker, they evaporate," says Miller, adding that during a slow market, there’s lots of inventory, and a listing not represented by a broker easily gets lost in the mix of competing properties.

Currently, Miller believes, the number of people selling homes themselves is less than 5% of the selling market.

People are attracted to the notion of not having to pay a commission, but they should note that brokers are much more experienced in negotiating for a living, they filter who’s coming through the property and whether they are qualified buyers and can save sellers the hassle of having to constantly be on the premises.

"In theory, you’re going to benefit from a higher price and less discomfort in dealing with consumers directly" when using an agent, Miller says.

Convinced DIY will work

Since he’s self-employed and lives five minutes from the home he’s selling, Richard Lam, 45, of East Williston, is selling his former Albertson home himself, through the FSBO website.

"It’s very easy for me," says Lam, 45, a commercial mortgage broker. "And I don’t mind taking phone calls, because that’s what I do for a living."

Lam is asking $1.25 million — up from his original $1.119 million list price — for his 2,800-square-foot Colonial, built in 1983, that has five bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. The house has Andersen windows, hardwood floors, a new garage, central air conditioning and renovated full basement. The home is on a 0.19-acre lot and is in the Herricks School District. Taxes are $19,000.

Working in the mortgage business, Lam happens to know many real estate agents, but believes it’s easier for him and his wife to do it themselves. He recently put the house on the market, finished renovating it, and is convinced that a real estate agent would sell his home at a higher price to earn their well-earned commission.

"And I could pass on the savings to the next family who’s going to move in," says Lam. "Obviously with an agent, there’s more exposure, but, we’ll be OK."

There’s a For Sale By Owner sign posted outside his home, but Lam doesn’t think that will help much. "Those signs usually generate nosy neighbors who want to know what the house looks like," says Lam.

If the house is on the market for a while, Lam will consider lowering the price, but is resolute in not enlisting the services of an agent.

Switching to a broker

Syed Rizvi listed his two-family home in Bethpage on FSBO.com, but after two weeks of endless phone calls, opted to use an agent.

"I wanted to do it myself to save commission," says Rizvi, 49, a computer-software consultant, "And I think that was a bad move, because you save maybe 2, 3, 4%."

If you’re retired and have the time to field calls, then selling a home yourself might work for you, says Rizvi, who now lives in Chicago, but still has family on Long Island who would have helped show the house. "But otherwise, you should be ready for phone calls: brokers calling you, people calling you, nonstop."

Joseph Licato also opted for a broker when he couldn’t sell his North Bellmore home after a few weeks.

Working with FSBO, Licato listed his three-bedroom home for more than $600,000, and lowered the price once. "We were getting a lot of people to come, but no one was bidding, and I finally had to get an agent in to help me sell it," says Licato, 60, of North Bellmore.

The agent lowered the price by about 5%, and that’s when the offers started coming in. It sold for $575,000.

The agent advantage

The main reason to go with a real estate agent rather than sell a home yourself is you’ll make more money, says Leah Tozer, an associate real estate broker for Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

"A competent agent knows exactly how much a house is going to sell for in whatever the market is today," says Tozer, adding that the higher price an agent will get for a home will more than make up for their commission.

An agent, Tozer contends, knows how to price, stage, photograph and show a home. The agent can speak knowledgeably about the home and area, will be on hand to show it, vet buyers, provide information on getting a mortgage, and know what it will appraise for, whether there are any open certificates of occupancy and how to deal with an inspection.

Do-it-yourself sellers are "not going to have a wider net out there to cast for all other buyers that are looking for a particular property such as theirs," says Tozer.

Timewise, an agent will sell and close on a house faster than an owner, because they’ll be better equipped to handle the entire transaction and coordinate all the parties, from the buyer and seller, to their attorneys, the bank attorney, mortgage professional, appraiser and inspector.

People have a very emotional attachment to their homes, which makes it a challenge to have strangers come in, critique their homes and discuss how they’re going to make major changes to them. "It’s not a place for owners to be," says Tozer.

There’s a lot to know about selling a house, including discrimination statutes and other important factors, says Tozer, who puts some of the onus on agents themselves for not explaining exactly what they do.

"People watch HGTV and they’re like, ‘Oh my god your job is so much fun. It’s so easy, just showing houses and poof, you get paid a month later,’ " Tozer says. "That’s so not what happens."