Domovendo

03/19/2019

This is part 2 of my report on my experience of selling the property without a listing broker. Similar transactions are done by more than 1500 people every day, but still, since we were using DomoVendo’s resources we wanted to document and share our experience.

In the first post, we described how we talked about dealing with buy-side agents, preparing the place for sale and placing information in the MLS.

Now, the update: The property is under contract with the buyer working on getting a mortgage. It is time to reflect on issues such as:

Pricing
My experience with agents soliciting the listing, and
The value of the guidance I got from my “mentor” agent.
Pricing: it was tricky since it is a hot market and the comparable sales are rare. I did my research and also listen to some of the sell side realtors that tried to get my listing: they had a hard time justifying the price I was asking. Still, I felt that the demand was there and wanted to press on. The way I justified the price was through the cash flow the property generated. I put together a fairly detailed spreadsheet accounting for all the revenues and costs and used it to illustrate that the property would be a pretty good investment. Have I gotten the highest possible price? Probably not, but the offer that I got was good enough for me to move forward. What I would do differently is to hire a licensed appraiser to give me another point of comparison. The cost is from $300 to $600 which is definitely worth it.

Listing agents: be prepared for a small avalanche of calls from trained agents trying to convince you to list your property with them. You can actually very easily prepare for that. I would recommend one of three way of dealing with them:

If you do not want to talk to them, just tell them that you are an agent. That usually is a very effective way to stop any pitches.
If you are in a mood to chat you can prepare by going to youtube and watching “star” agents teaching/training new agents on how to convince a for sale by owner seller to list his property with them by cold calling them. It is very entertaining. Check it out.

The value of the “mentor” agent/instructor: As I mentioned I subscribed for support from Dean Clark, a licensed agent based in Hoboken and a very nice guy. We had two phone conversation and several text chats in key moments of my transaction. He helped me to think about how to follow up on the open houses I had and how to go about dealing with multiple offers. I felt good reaching out to him because I knew that he would not try to BS me to just get me to agree to list the property with him. He did not reveal anything extraordinary, nor I experienced anything like that. All I wanted was a piece of mind that I have someone watching over my shoulder making sure I do not stupid mistakes.

That is all for now. I will update if there is anything worth updating.

Thanks for your interest.

03/14/2019

My name is Yakov and I am a co-founder of DomoVendo
To test out the platform of I decided to sell one of the properties I own and report the experience here.
The property is a multifamily house is journal square area of Jersey City NJ. You can still see the listing here. It is a hot market and I had little doubts I can sell the place without a listing broker to save some money and be in control of the process. The real question of how to get top dollars for it. I own it together with partners as an investment, so saving money was always on our mind to increase the return.
So, here is what happened:
Preparation: It was hard to prepare the house itself since I still had tenets there who were not thrilled about showings and were packing their stuff to move out. Coordination of showings was a real problem. At the same time, I am sure that the presence of a listing agent would not help because the tenants had to pressured to accommodate, and the only person who can apply the presses was the owner.
Photographs: I hired a photographer specializing in real estate photography through Thumbtack. The cost was $ 195 for a property of about 3000 square feet. We at DomoVendo are still building our database of vendors, so it was easier to just use outside aggregator. I still encourage you to contact us to find you a vendor or find one on our site because this way we will be able to keep track of the funds you spend with is so in case you do not sell we are able to get your money back as a credit from a listing agent you are hiring. The experience was great. You can appreciate the quality of the images on the listing.
Buy-side agent cooperation. A big question for everyone. Here is how I approached it:
I advertised that I will pay 3% commission to the buy side brokers.
I told all the buyers that came without brokers that they will get a discount off this price. People become excited.
MLS. I bought MLS listing from https://www.byownerflatfeemls.com. $99. Their broker in NJ is realmartrealty.com. The process was simple and MLS wend up in a couple of days.
The process. Before pushing the button I reach out to Dean Clark, one of the agent/instructor listed on DomoVendo website. We spent 20 minutes talking about the process and he agreed to support me through the transaction by text messaging and phone advice if necessary. For full disclosure, we did not have an agreement for me to pay him his monthly subscription price. We wanted to run a proof-of-concept test and understand the time commitment/compensation. Having Deal watching my back I pushed the button.
I showered the place twice to a total of about 9 buyers and received two offers.
I got an attorney engaged immediately after I got the first offer, so I was covered legally. Again, contact us and we will recommend you an experienced attorney.
It took me about 3 weeks to find buyers, but now I am in binding contract on this property. I will talk about the way I established the price to sell in my next post.

12/17/2018

12/17/2018

One of the reasons people cite they need to hire a real estate agent to sell their property is that “the agent will bring buyers”. When I hear this argument, I cringe and tell these people: “if the agent tells you he has the buyers he will bring, you should be very careful”. Here is why.
Buyers come and go, so the chances that an agent has a pool of qualified buyers are not high. Most probably people in his Rolodex are investors. The issue with investors is that they very rarely pay top dollars. It will not be daring to say that investors try to never pay top dollars, so you do not really want them as buyers. Now, even if the agent has a buyer that might be interested in your property it is prudent to continue advertising and reaching out to other interesting parties to create a competition for the property. This is the only way one can determine the fair price.

11/16/2018

DomoVendo has started to accept applications to its first guided home selling sections that will begin in January 2019. Visit our site www.domovendo.com to learn more.

So far this video ad is my favorite.

Enroll in our home selling guided program and save big.

11/11/2018

Home value appraisal. The most professional way to price your property.

It’s all about the money, right? Actually, it’s all about the pricing. To get top dollar for your home requires that you price it appropriately. This is not the time for wishful thinking. Overpriced homes sit on the market and stagnate, and, in the end, sellers typically get less than what they’d hoped for.
Underprice the home and you’re leaving money on the table.
To get that just-right price, we suggest that you seek the opinion of a professional, licensed appraiser. The appraiser will take into consideration several inputs to come up with the value of the property. It will be done with no conflicts of interest or hidden agenda, so you will be certain you’re receiving the best data.
In addition to pricing your property right, you would need a strategy of how to get to this price. Your instructor will discuss with you the best pricing strategies that fit your case.
How To do a DIY Valuation
Although we don’t recommend this process, it is possible to obtain a ballpark figure of your home’s value on your own. Be aware, however, that this is not an appraisal and the lender’s appraiser’s estimation of value may be wildly different from yours.
You’ll need a list of homes that are similar to yours that have sold within the past six months. These homes should ideally be located within a 1-mile radius of your home. Current listings aren’t used in home evaluations.
Where to find these “comparables?” Not at the big real estate portals, such as Trulia and Zillow. They don’t have access to every home on the market. You’ll need Multiple Listing statistics to come up with an accurate evaluation, so start your search at realtor.com.
1. Click on the “Just Sold” tab and, just below that, type in your ZIP code in the box provided. Click on “Search.”
2. Narrow down the list of homes by using the buttons just below the navigation bar at the top of the page.
Use the “Bed,” “Bath” and “Property Type” buttons to start. Then, move to the “More Filters” tab and narrow the search even further by indicating a square-footage range. We suggest choosing a range that starts at 1,000 square feet less than your home to 1,000 square feet more.
3. Reject any homes that are obviously not comparable to yours. For instance, a home on multiple acres or a condo isn’t comparable to a tract home.
4. Choose only those homes with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms and those that are close to the same square footage as yours, if possible. These are your best “comps.” If there are fewer than three of these comps, choose the ones that are the closest in size to your home.
5. Find homes similar in age to yours and those with a similar lot size.
6. Print out the listings and create two piles. The first should include homes that have features your home lacks (put the larger homes in this pile as well) and the other will be homes that lack features that your home offers.
The homes in the first pile are more likely worth more than yours and the ones in the second are worth less.
This should give you a ballpark idea as to the value of your home. Now check that figure against similar homes that are on the market right now.

11/05/2018

Tips on how to sell the house without an agent.
Some repairs are mandatory for certain loan programs. it might not seem like your problem, but you better be aware of it.
More than three-quarters of homebuyers obtain a mortgage to finance the purchase of a home. While most of them use conventional loans, there is a significant number who take advantage of the low-down-payment programs on the market, such as the Rural Development loans from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA-backed loans and the exceptional mortgage programs offered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Lenders vary in their requirements, both for loan eligibility and the condition of the home that the borrower wants to purchase.
While the buyer’s mortgage process is not technically a seller’s problem, nobody wants to see a perfectly good deal delayed or completely derailed because the buyer’s lender is demanding repairs or alterations.
he worst aspect of lender-required repairs is that they typically don’t come to light until late in the purchase process. When they do, everyone is forced to scramble—the seller (for the time and money to take care of the repairs), the buyer (a delayed closing may cause problems) and everyone else, from the title company to the lender.
Being proactive is always wise when dealing with something as complicated as a real estate transaction. Knowing about what might go wrong along the way will help you avoid possible problems and keep the deal on track.
A quick consultation with a mortgage broker will take you through possible issues with your home and give you time to take care of them, either before the home goes on the market or before the closing date.
While a lender (and a homeowners insurance company too) can require any repair they like, here are a few of those most commonly requested:
• Problems with smoke alarms – either not enough or those present are not working
• Loose or missing railings on decks and stairways
• Peeling paint
• Water heater not strapped
• Wood destroying pest evidence (termites, dry rot, etc.)
• Roof problems
• Broken windows
• Any problems of a health and safety nature
Taking care of required repairs and updates before they rear their ugly heads during a home inspection or the appraisal is a smart move. Consult with one of our mortgage brokers to learn the specific needs of your home.

11/03/2018

Working with DomoVendo is like having a personal trainer guiding you through the sale.
Visit us at www.domovendo.com.

10/30/2018

2. How to prepare the home for the market.
You want your home to look its very best when you put it on the market. It should have “curb appeal” on the outside and emotional appeal inside.
In other words, everything potential buyers see from the curb should compel them to want to see the inside.
To do this, you’ll probably have to spruce the place up a bit. The question is, what to fix and what to leave alone? What repairs will give you the best return on your investment?
Your instructors and other vendors have the numbers and experience to back up their advice. They’ve sold a lot of properties and know what “sells”. They will give you unbiased advice based on the condition of your property and prioritize fixes to your budget and your timeframe.
Setting the appropriate price for your home is the most important aspect of getting it ready for the market. The second most important?
Presentation.
Well-maintained homes that are clean and staged sell quicker and typically for the most money the market will allow.
Even if you have slipped up on some of the maintenance over the years, it’s possible to give the impression that you’ve been diligent. And, impressions are what count in real estate.
Take care of small repairs, such as dripping faucets, running toilets and paint that has seen better days.
Speaking of paint, while most real estate agents suggest neutral colors, that doesn’t mean you need to paint your walls a boring shade of white. In fact, according to a study conducted by a major online real estate platform, certain colors can help you make more money on the sale of your home.
For instance, a light blue or soft gray-blue kitchen netted home sellers, on average, $1,809 more, while those painted yellow saw a reduction of more than $800 in the final sales price.
Homes with “light powder blue to periwinkle” colored walls in bathrooms sold for an average of $5,440 more while those painted eggshell or off-white sold for more than $4,000 less, on average.
After painting, get rid of furniture that is too large for the room in which it sits (consider storing it off-site), reduce clutter in the home and clean it, from top-to-bottom (don’t neglect the garage).

10/30/2018

10/22/2018

DomoVendo Offers a Real-Time Guided Coaching Program for Home Sellers.
We are a power behind the next step in the real estate revolution.
Sales of previously owned homes in the United States has seen growth from about 1.5 M in the 1970s to 5.5 M units in 2015. Information about properties for sale is much more widely available today through data providers such as Zillow, Realtor.com, and so on. Buyers are much better armed when they go to look for homes. Yet the process of selling residential homes in the U.S. has changed very little in the past 50 years. Licensed realtors still handle the vast majority of home sales – 88% in 2015. The typical home seller has limited choices: either engage a listing agent and pay around 6% in fees or fly solo on a number of unfamiliar, tedious, time-consuming tasks. Faced with this choice, most sellers opt for the “safe”, familiar route of hiring a listing agent to handle the sale.
Unfortunately for sellers, this agent-based traditional system usually also leads to a sub-optimal sale price.
The good news is that the tasks that make up a home sale are not inherently difficult or complex. And some sellers – for example, the 12% who sell through “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) – know this. There is significant frustration among the broader universe of homeowners about the inefficiency and lack of transparency in the traditional process.
It is a sizeable market, and others have tried to address the high cost of home sales in the past. However, these attempts – mostly discount and flat fee brokers – have relied on the same business model based on a traditional fixed infrastructure of licensed agents and support staff. That lead to two problems for both consumers and realtors:
1. To provide decent service at less money the discounters are sacrificing the profit margins and are doing well financially. Most of them are going in and out of business all the time.
2. These of them that try to increase their margins by cutting personal and expenses are forced to deliver mediocre service that leaves the customer unsatisfied.
Let’s step back and imagine how homeowners are likely to sell their properties in the not-too-distant future. It is probable that transactions will be driven by some artificial intelligence (AI) engines – virtual agents – guiding the homeowner through the process while offering her choices of how to handle each specific task.
DomoVendo’s site, which is organized as a rich-content “planner” and live classes lead by expert instructors walk the homeowner step by step through the sales process and pairs him with vendors for each part of the process, is the first step toward this future reality.
It addresses multiple pain points faced by sellers:
• it will greatly reduce sellers’ costs, increase their ability to maximize the sales price,
• increase the efficiency of the learning process,
• provide them with the comfort of a team of (outsourced) experts rather than one point of contact,
• place sellers inside a social network of like-minded sellers all going through the same process at the same time, and
• give them greater control and transparency with regard to the sales process.
Over the next few weeks, we will post a series of notes and comments that sellers can use to sell their properties.