The The Layman's Guide to Buying Real Estate in Chapel Hill-
A Quick guide to get you started!

Agent vs. FSBO

Many people thing that going through a FSBO you will save money because no agent is involved thus saving 6% of the cost. On the other hand if a seller was going to lower the price 6% he would just get an agent so that he wouldn't have to do all the work. A seller, in most cases, sells directly so he can sell for the same price but make a larger profit. Don't think that buying direct will save you money- it may, but most of the time not- it saves the seller money.

I guess you need to decide how you feel about negotiating your own deal. I feel more confident doing it myself. I was talking to my brother and we sort of came to the same conclusion that it seems like it's the buyer vs his agent, the sell and the seller's agent. My best interest is to purchase a house for the lowest price possibly while the agents and the seller profit more if the price is higher.

With the house I made the offer on it dawned on me that the real estate market was like a high jump bar. If I buy a house at $235,000(instead of the $227,000 that I offered) everyone will make a larger profit, but not only on that house, I have helped to raise the bar so that all future houses will use that as a reference and the real estate agents will profit a little more from each house they sell after that. I preferred to stay below the bar on that one and do my part to keep the real estate market where it belongs(in case you have noticed, real estate value is high here and growing in leaps and bounds).

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Layman's Guide to Buying Real Estate in Chapel Hill | Introduction | About Chapel Hill/Carrboro | Outskirts of Town | | Property Type | Case Studies 2 & 3 | Case Study 4 | | Case Study 5 | Making an Offer | Case Study 6 | | Case Study 7 | Taxes | Well & Septic | | Driving vs. Walking | Buses | Bicycles | | Agent vs FSBO | FAQ's |