Why selling a home yourself is NOT a good idea.

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Why selling a home yourself is NOT a good idea.

First let me say, I am not a Realtor.

However, as a Plano Home Staging Professional, my business involves selling real estate. And even though I am not a Realtor nor selling my home one thing I do know is that selling a home yourself is not a good idea!

Let me explain.

Today I took the time to visit 2 North Texas open houses. One I was invited to as a professional home stager to provide some feedback on, the other I stopped in on my way home, just because I wanted to.

The first open house was a gorgeous home in McKinney, TX wonderfully presented by a top notch Realtor who was present at her listing.

Great food, marketing materials and even prizes (one was a free one hour consultation from yours truly: Home Star Staging).

I was able to comfortably tour the property and talk with the listing agent and provide some feedback which may assist in showcasing the home to its fullest potential. I felt free to comment and make any recommendations I saw while knowing I was not going to be offending the home owners but helping.

Fast forward about an hour to the next stop, a fizzbo...FSBO which is an acronym for "For Sale By Owner" for those home sellers who don't know what that means.

This FSBO was in my neighborhood and as I drove down the street I saw not only this listing but 2 others. I arrived just before the 3:00 PM end of the open house and was warmly greeted by the owner.

Before even continuing into the home I explained who I was and why I was there...

I had been at another open house...
I live in the neighborhood...
I'm a professional home stager who would love nothing less than to see them sell their home at a great price to keep my own home value up!

I didn't want to fool him into thinking I was a prospective buyer and then bait and switch him at the end to get his business, that's not how I operate.

I was welcomed inside and the tour followed with two humans and one animal, feline in nature in tow.

More on the cat later.

As we went through the property I was given a lot of information on the rooms, features, upgrades and updates. I asked some of my own questions and was offered some more information, perhaps too much including:

That the home was "priced higher than the comps"
Who lived there
Why they were selling and where they were moving
How they used each room
How long the home had been on the market

While I appreciated the information and honesty I was struck by the fact that this information can potentially be very damaging to the sale of the property.

Let's go back to the points above and I'll explain:

Why tell someone the home is "priced higher than the comps"? This already sets the tone that you think the home is worth more than the neighboring comps. But what the market will bear (especially in the real estate climate we have now), not what you think its worth is the way a home a will sell. Even when you said "we're negotiable" (and it's even on the info paper) you've already created an objection - a huge one - in the buyer's mind.
I don't need to know who lives there currently, in fact no one should know - from the family members you told me who are there right now, I sensed possibly a financial crisis of sorts, this leaves room, a lot of room for low ball offers.
Never tell anyone, especially a stranger previewing your property, why you're selling or where you're going to move. Do you already have a house there and now you have two house payments? Are you in a hurry? Again, more room for low ball negotiating strategies!
How you use each room for you and your family is great, however, if the rooms aren't being showcased for what they were intended for, don't assume that the buyer will know what to do with it once they leave. Make sure to identify each room clearly, especially if the room is an awkward layout.
Days on market, especially for several weeks now and no offers tells you and buyers something, the house most likely isn't priced right &/or showing well... and you already told me it was overpriced...

Now about how it's showing...as a Plano home stager I'd be happy to also share with you my thoughts on how it's showing .. but that's not the point of this blog and I'm hopeful as I told you when I left today; "here's my card and if you aren't getting the offers or feedback you need please feel free to call me to discuss because I'd love for you to get a good price for your home so I keep the value in mine!" A home staging consultation is really a great way to get some important feedback.

Now about the cat...Cats and pets in general should never be part of your home tour! Many people do not like animals or the idea of co habitating with them. Allergies especially are a big concern for many. While your kitty was very sweet, my bare, lotion soaked legs did not take kindly to the fur I had to remove before I got into my car.

Home Sellers please please please re evaluate your home selling strategies if you're thinking of going FSBO. Even though I am NOT a Realtor, I can tell you in the current real estate market we have, unless you have the skill of a licensed Realtor (Or are one yourself) the money you think you'll be saving by going it alone isn't worth the loss the income you'll potentially gain by doing it the right way.

And Home Sellers...if need the name of a good Realtor or two, I know more than a few...

*****************************************************************************

Home sellers do you need expert advice on preparing a home for sale ?

Home Star Staging is a qualifed, insured home staging company and we are always here for you North Texas!

Pre-listing property consultations
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Contact Karen at 496-964-0516 or Karen@homestarstaging.com

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Posted by Karen Otto, Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging www.homestarstaging.com on 03/28/2010 05:04 PM

Comments (70)

selling a home, advice on preparing a home for sale, plano home staging, plano home stager, home star staging, mckinney, tx, fsbo

Originally posted at: North Texas Home Staging - Not Your PlanO Staging Blog!: Why selling a home yourself is NOT a good idea.

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70 Comments on Why selling a home yourself is NOT a good idea.

MAR

2010

Preach on Sista! I wrote an blog entry last week on "Be Your Own Dentist" to make this point! Thanks for putting your prespective on this.

Karen- Sounds like great advice to me!!

Ouch! I have a dental appointment tomorrow now that you remind me Paula! ;p

thanks Duane!

That's great. It's hard to be objective when it comes to your own home. It's call "Sweat Equity"..Owners trying to get paid for all the hours they put into making their home the perfect place for themselves. Unfortunately, their efforts don't always equal a larger payday for them at the closing table. You really do need a impartial party to handle your sale.

One other point is that buyer that are really close to putting an offer on a home are not able to imagine their furnishings. this often is the the turning point for getting offers, All your points block a buyers mind from imagining their living in the house.

Bonner

So true Marty!

That's where home stagers really can come in Bonner, we are skilled at that very thing you mention!

Many people including Realtors(R) and real estate consumers leave too much colunteered statements that can hurt negotiations and many times, they don't even know they did. A good negotiator ca pick up on this and use them to their advantage.

Karen: Great post and story telling! I always feel uncomfortable touring an open house when the owner is present. I feel like I'm intruding on their life, and can't really see myself living in that home. I would NEVER purchase a home without the assistance of a licensed real estate agent. I think there needs to be some distance between the seller and the buyer in a transaction as large as a real estate.

Karen,

So true. I always tell clients that when selling a home they need to play poker. The potential buyer needs to know nothing about the seller except the fact that someone lives there and they are selling.

Karen- Good story! I remember the times I've sold my own houses; I didn't want to be any where near my house when the buyers were there. I wanted the Buyers to be able to look and speak freely. Can't do that if you sell it on your own.

You know you're right Loreena, even a Realtor can say too much about a client's property, it's so imporant to not to open the door to chance and be sure to keep a buttoned up approach to selling a listing no matter who is doing it!

I agree completely Michelle. Even though I told him I wasn't going to purchase the home, I still felt a little uncomfortable about all the info I was being told (and I'm used to hearing this type of stuff when I go on a consult but I would never imagine them telling a prospective buyer nor would I). It gave me a good opportunity to share here.

The Poker face analogy is great Anthea!

You're correct Kathy!

Karen this is such a great article and I will be sharing it-love Anthea's analogy too. I've been away since Thursday and I missed so much!!

MAR

2010

Karen -- what a staging story -- these sellers NEED you! I hope they follow up with you and I applaud your diplomatic and professional way of talking with them.

Karen, Great story and so on target. If I went into this gentleman business and tried to do his job for a day, I don't think he'd feel I was as good at it as he is. The same is true, it's harder than it looks, at least to do it right.

Karen- great post. Did you give the seller any Realtor suggestions? It sounds like they need some help.

Karen - Your post is a good idea why people should hire REALTORS who know how keep information that could be used by for negotiating purposes by the other party confidential.

Karen, great post..I hope you did make suggestions to the homeowners.

I have a homeowner who doesn't like to leave the house even when its being shown. I finally had to tell her being there created a feeling that the potential buyers were intruding on someone's home, not a home they wanted to purchase.

LOL, you are preaching to the choir, sister. Great article, insightful and well-written.

Karen, another great post! There are some great comments here too.

I have to say that I think far too many sellers grossly underestimate what it takes to sell property - especially in this market.

There's so much more to it than sticking a sign on the front lawn. There's the legalities and paperwork, organizing your own marketing materials, the hassle of trying to find where potential buyers are, the viewings, the follow-ups to get valuable buyer feedback, the negotiations and the list goes on. On top of that most FSBO properties are on the market for at least twice as long as an agent listed property, and often the home owner ends up selling for less.

It's not impossible, but the odds are seriously stacked against you.

Great story - thanks!

Great story Karen. I am re-blogging this one. Happens a lot these days.

Sage advice! FSBO sellers can often be their own worst enemy. And when they don't sell and turn to a Realtor, they can either be compliant, and actually listen to the Realtor's advice, or defiant -- still thinking they knew what they were doing!

Karen, this is an excellent post, from a non-agent's perspective especially, as to why a FSBO has the deck stacked against them. The information overload factor kills sales and can be overwhelming to a prospective buyer. It is also why a seller should not be present for home showings- they don't know what to say, when to say it, and, all too often, their amateur disclosures thwart their own efforts.

Karen.. This is an excellent post.. you made VERY good points. I'm impressed that from a 'non' agent, you could see this so clearly.. wish others would.

valerie osterhoudt

Excellent post and some good advice!

Karen - fabulous post with many well thought out points. We have worked with many FSBO homes where the sellers understood that the appearance of the home needed to justify the asking price. Some were successful (and I don't say this to make agents upset because quite a few sold within the first four days of being up for sale) - but there were also some that weren't. One example stands out in my mind of a client for whom we staged her virtually vacant home and she decided that was worth another $100K over what the comps were in her area. The latter seller was not successful, due in part to price, but also to the fact that she was unable to keep any details about the house and her family to herself during showings.

Whenever we get contacted by sellers who want to list privately, we offer to recommend a few of our trusted realtor partners for a market evaluation at the very least. As with staging, we believe that when it comes selling your home you need a professional to assist you.

Pricing higher than the comps is very common for FSBO's right now and even before. They always think their house could sell for more

Karen, you have so easily described why selling without assistance is not usually a good thing. The information you learned up front is just amazing. A buyer's agent would use that to their buyer's advantage so easily!

As for the cat -- I understand as well. For open houses, animals should not be there.

Great post Karen. It seems Fsbos are usually always higher than comps. That is a common reason the failure rate is extremely high with Fsbos.

Now that is a convincing argument made by a non-Realtor that the homeselling public needs to see!

I love the story. I have a certified home stagging professional on my team and offer free consultation to every one of my listings. The one fact that I can prove: The customers who take advantage of the free consultation and folloow her advice sell there home in about half the time as those that do not take advantage of this service or who dont follow her advice. Additionally, those that are stagged actually sell at 94% of list price vs. those that are not stagged that sell for only 88% of list price. I think that homes that are not stagged professionally look like they need work and TLC.

Great advice !

They could benefit from working with an experienced realtor.

Really enjoyed your story....wish we could all tell such a great story! Now for that cat...100% agree! I really do not like cats...they ALL like me and I do NOT appreciate their rubbing up on me. Thanks for the visual on removing the cat hair....made me smile!!!

I had a realtor from my office list the last two personal homes of mine to sell. Why? I didn't want a fool for a client.

Thank you for making the point about the animals. I am terrified of dogs and have had to show homes where sellers refuse to secure their animals. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. I suppose that when it's not your fear, you don't comprehend how others could be impacted negatively. Great Post.

A good agent/seller doesn't talk about the house. He asks qualifying questions to see if this house would fit this particular consumers needs and wants.

Good points Karen. Great to know from a home stager point of view.

I just came back to say Congratulations on the Feature. I knew it was going to make it (wink, wink). Great quality post by a great quality stager.

Karen, So true about choosing to sell your own house. It is a much better idea to have a professionals involved to stage & sell.

Onr thing that sellers need to realize is that once you remove their ultra fancy furniture that makes their home show better, is that it has four bare walls like any other home.

Good post and information! Animals can be a little scary sometimes going into homes not knowing what you are going to get out of an anilmal.

I understand why folks sometimes prefer to sell their home on their own. I think that is perfectly fine. However, you might get a better deal and more offers if you use an agent. Now, if you are buying a home, there is no reason not to have an agent!

Great tips for those thinking about selling a home themselves

Congrats on feature, great post, and it seems everyone agrees!

Karen, re-blogged, and your graphic is still cracking me up!

Karen: wonderful advice for FSBOs. Here in the Bay Area, I have yet to see any lately but in this crazy market I can't imagine why you'd attempt to sell on your own. At the very least, getting feedback from a home stager would definitely set you apart.

This post is "right" on so many levels that I don't even know where to begin.

One of the questions I ask is whether or not they (the sellers) have an agent. If the answer is no, then I proceed to tell them all the reasons why they should.

Great post, Karen. So very informative and will help many sellers.

Kathy

Thanks for the pro Realtor plug. Your post says it all and says it very well indeed.

I haven't been in a FSBO for ages. I stopped accepting inspections on them years ago unless the buyer was represented by a realtor. When the seller and buyer are there alone and un-supervised chaos normally occurs. They keep calling and asking what to do next. I'd advise them to ask escrow since they don't have realtors. Then I started getting crazy phone calls from escrow officers asking me to stop having the clients call them.

That put an end to my FSBO transactions....

Great blog, Karen. I had put in a Staging bid on a local condo before the holidays - but then he wanted the listing to expire with his Realtor, but instead of listing with a new a fresh Realtor, he went FSBO and has lowered his asking price $40,000. I highly doubt he is holding the weekly open houses and since it is vacant, I can't imagine that it is showing much - so sad; and you put your expience in such light.

Hi Karen, Thanks for the great post! For Sale by Owner is never a good idea financially.

Karen, you certainly identified a lot of the problems with selling by owner. Sellers don't realize the legal risk they put on themselves and the coordination of the process involved. I don't know how they think they will be able to work through the negotiation, the financing, the home inspection, the scheduling, and that's just the beginning.

Never hurts to get a fresh look at your home. Too many times people take things for granted that may be potential eyesores. This is true for FSBO and for Realtors listing their own.

Karen, congrats on being feature, this is a very well written blog and topic is very important.

When I was buying my own home few years ago, a particular house, FSBO, caught my eye. The seller walked through the entire house with me and talked all about her memories of her children growing up in the house. She even showed me the growth chart, that she couldn't bring herself to paint over. She was sad to sell her house.

As a home stager, my eyes are trained and can see pass all of the clutter and misplaced furniture. I actually liked the house, but I felt that her memories didn't leave any room for my own future memories. Plus, I would've felt guilty to buy the house.

I did gather that she needed to sale her house and move into a retirement home. Unfortunately, she didn't have the experience and knowledge of a professional agent to help her to achieve her goal. Sadly, she made her own situation worst.

WOW! What an honor to have this post featured AND read / commented on by everyone! I appreciate all the re blogs and hope this message is being heard by those who need it most... FSBO home sellers!

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Karen, I really enjoyed your post and all of the great comments. Thanks for sharing!

This was a really great example of why the homeowner should never sell their own home. THank you so much for an example in real life.

I had a similar experience lately. I was visiting open houses. I chanced on a FSBO in the neighborhood. Like you, they told me way more than they should have. I introduced myself as a realtor and had my name tag on so there was no misunderstanding. They also are over-priced and admitted to it because they have put so much money into the home. And yes they did tell me why they were moving and their timeframe. No cat--just a very yappy dog.

All very valid points on how not to get a home sold. The house should be presented in a more neutral manner.

Great points Karen!

MAR

2010

Even if you are a licensed real estate agent, many times it is better to have someone else list it. I have seen many agents make similar mistakes when it is their home. They tend to overprice and hover over potential buyers, when they would never do that for a client's home.

Karen, it sounds so obvious especially in the market we're currently in, yet even supposed intelligent sellers still do it everyday including my neighbor??? Great post!

So well put Karen-you said it all here! Bravo!!

MAR

2010

You said it all Karen, I do lots of FSBO consults. One of my first qualifying questions over the phone is "are you working with a realtor?" You get what you pay for and unless you have the tools available to a professional realtor it is very hard to compete or be objective about your property.

APR

2010

I TOTALLY AGREE!!!! We tried to put our old house on the market "ourselves" by posting it on one of those FSBO websites...and it sat...and it sat...and it sat!!!! Finally, we wisened up and got a Realtor - sold it within a month! There's just so much more a Realtor can offer from advice to advertising!

Great points Karen. Hope the FSBO realize soon what an asset you and a realtor would be to them. There are so few success stories without the aid of professionals - can't imagine not using one. Congrats on the feature - it is well deserved!

APR

2010

Thank you all for your kind comments and taking time to read this blog!

Very good advice. I know that when I take my clients to tour a home and the sellers are there, it tends to creep out the buyers. I wish more people would heed your suggestions and seriously consider using an agent.

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Karen Otto, Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging www.homestarstaging.com

Plano, TX

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Address: Plano, Murphy, Wylie, Richardson, Allen, Lucas, Fairview, McKinney, Frisco, Dallas, Carrollton, Garland, Rockwall, , TX, 75075

Office Phone: (469) 964-0516

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As a North Texas Home Staging Professional this blog is a collection of information, thoughts, stories and ideas on the home staging profession as I personally experience it. I welcome comments and suggestions and hope I may help the home staging and real estate community in some way by my contributions on my blog. I am passionate about educating the public and real estate community on the benefits of home staging.

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