[IowaHawkeyeChief]

You should have sold it yourself. I have sold several houses for myself and helped my family sell theirs, and it's not very difficult. I may start with by getting an appraisal about $350, if I don't think there are enough comparisons online. I then listed the house on craigslist, facebook and zillow. I completed the required state disclosure and printed copies along with a "flyer" on the house and make them available at a scheduled open house with signs at the main street and arteries leading to the house. These costs about $50. If your house is priced correctly you will have lots of activity. I made it clear to realtors that I would pay 2.5% if they sold the house. However, if folks would come and ask if they needed a realtor, I would say it was up to them, but I would negotiate a better deal without a realtor because I wouldn't be paying any fees. I would also give them a print off listing what they would need to do if they weren't using a realtor... which is not much. Most of it is done by the mortgage company. I also offer a home warranty for 12 months that covers all major mechanicals and appliances. This is approx. $450. It has worked great. The biggest reason is you don't pay 7% fees to realtors. You negotiate the sale prices by 2-3% if necessary. This actually makes the end appraisal by the lender more likely to cover the purchase price and make it easier for the down payment by the buyer. There are plenty of free forms, or cheap forms for the offer to purchase, and contracts to purchase. It is not nearly as daunting as folks think. On a $200,000 you can easily save $10000-$15000k.