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Thinking About Selling Your Home For Sale By Owner: Look What FSBO.com Founder Did

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Franklin Homes Realty LLC

August 04, 2011 09:32 AM

Thinking About Selling Your Home For Sale By Owner: Look What FSBO.com Founder Did

You want to sell your home but you think that paying a commission to a REALTOR® is a total waste of your money. Besides, there are many internet sites now available to aid sellers in the sale of their home.

You wouldn't be alone in this venture. Many sellers looking to FSBO Seller in Franklin TN save money, begin as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) including the Founder and former CEO of ForSalebyOwner.com, Colby Sambrotto.

Sambrotto decided to list his 2,000 square foot New York condominium on his own. Like many For Sale By Owners, he enlisted the help of online classified ads and FSBO sites. After six months with no success, he opted to hire New York broker, Jesse Buckler. Mr Buckler suggested a price change because the listing was not attracting the right buyer. A typical problem with most For Sale By Owner sellers.

The decision to list with a broker ended up being profitable for Sambrotto. The price change resulted in multiple offers. The Wall Street Journal reported that the home sold for $2.15M, $150,000 more than the original asking price. The broker received a 6% commission. After the broker commission of $129,000, the seller still netted $21,000 more than he originally had the home listed.

While this news may strike many of us as funny, the reality is selling a home on your own is better left to the professionals. The National Association of REALTORS®, confirms that over 80% of For Sale By Owners eventually list with an experienced real estate agent.

In 2010, the National Association of REALTORS® polled FSBO sellers to find what their most difficult challenges were:

Getting the right price: 23%
Preparing/fixing up home for sale: 18%
Selling within the planned length of time: 14%
Having enough time to devote to all the aspects of the sale: 13%
Understanding and performing paperwork: 10%

Even the founder of FSBO.com took the initiative to find an experienced agent when he could not sell his home successfully. That choice ended up netting him a quicker home sale for more money.

If you are currently a For Sale By Owner in Franklin TN, Brentwood TN or the surrounding Nashville area, contact Tammie White at (615) 495-0752 for your free Competitive Market Anaylysis.

Thinking About Selling Your Home For Sale By Owner: Look What FSBO.com Founder Did

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Krystal Knott

Christie's International Real Estate - Summit Colorado - Breckenridge, CO

Breckenridge CO Real Estate & All Summit County CO

Tammie, what great information. Really funny that the owner of the fsbo website went with a realtor and ended up doing better than they would have. Love it. --Krystal

Aug 04, 2011 11:24 AM

TeamCHI - Complete Home Inspections, Inc.

Complete Home Inspections, Inc. - Brentwood, TN

Home Inspectons - Nashville, TN area - 615.661.029

Good evening, Tammie. I read about this. Talk about not practicing what you preach. So much for FSBO.com...

Aug 04, 2011 12:02 PM

Tammie White, Broker

Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN

Franklin TN Homes for Sale

Krystal - That's why I wrote this article for my local market. It really says something when the founder of FSBO.com can't sell his own home.

Michael - I agree. If I had my home listed there, I'd be contacting a local agent right away.

Aug 04, 2011 12:26 PM

Cynthia Larsen

Cotati, CA

Independent Broker In Sonoma County, CA

The founder of FSBO.com would be doing his followers a favor then if he would retire and tell everyone about his success in using a REALTOR® on his FSBO.com web site. IMHO.

Aug 04, 2011 01:17 PM

Cynthia - He was the founder but not currently running the organization. Obviously, FSBO.com is probably upset that this has come out.

Aug 04, 2011 01:26 PM

Toni Weidman

Sailwinds Realty - Trinity, FL

20+ Years Selling Homes in New Port Richey, FL

I really like your post, Tammie. FSBO.com is upset, I'm sure! But, as agents we know that people should not be trying to sell on their own. I'm suggesting and reblogging!

Aug 06, 2011 12:33 AM

Toni - This is a tough market for agents. Can't imagine selling without professional help. Thanks for the suggest and reblog.

Aug 06, 2011 01:57 AM

Gabrielle Kamahele Rhind

KGC Properties LLC, Tucson Property Management & Real Estate - Tucson, AZ

Broker/Owner

HI TAMI! The next time a FSBO says they don't need a Realtor - I'll be thrilled to share this story!

Aug 06, 2011 08:37 AM

Gabrielle - Definitely a good one to remember for just such an occasion.

Aug 06, 2011 03:48 PM

Regina P. Brown

MBA Broker Consultants - Carlsbad, CA

M.B.A., Broker, Instructor

Tammie, what an amazing story! I wonder if he tells the whole story on his FSBO.com web site? His situation is very common, as most FSBO's end up listing and selling with a broker. And netting more money in the end!! :) Some things you should do yourself; selling real estate is not one of them.

Aug 08, 2011 04:42 AM

Regina - The seller was the founder of FSBO.com but not the current owner. I highly doubt they are promoting the fact that the founder used an agent.

Aug 08, 2011 07:21 AM

Ann Nguyen

eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Truckee, CA

Lake Tahoe Truckee Homes For Sale

Tammie,

I suggest your post & will reblog as well. I remember one of my first listing was a FSBO. He was a friend of mine and asked me all sorts of questions about selling his home. Then he went ahead and did FSBO with a price less then what I had suggested. After a couple of weeks I called him up & suggested that he listed with me at the higher price. He agreed & we got the house sold quickly. I got a great testimonial from him :-)

Aug 08, 2011 08:55 AM

Ann - That sometimes happens. Sellers price the home wrong and then they get the wrong buyers interested. Pricing is so essential to selling a home. Better to get a professional opinion and get the home sold quicker for more money.

Aug 08, 2011 03:28 PM

Todd Clark - Retired

eXp Realty LLC - Tigard, OR

Principle Broker Oregon

Guy makes money off selling books to FSBOs on how to sell themselves and then can't do it himself, says enough to me.

Aug 09, 2011 06:42 AM

Todd - If he can't sell it himself, what do you think the chances are that others won't?

Aug 09, 2011 06:12 PM

Katerina Gasset

The Gasset Group & Get It Done For Me Virtual Services - Provo, UT

Amplify Your Real Estate & Life Dreams!

Tammie - great post as a realtor and as one of the expert Franklin TN short sale agents!

Aug 12, 2011 03:33 PM

Adrian Willanger

206 909-7536 AdrianWillanger-broker.com - Seattle, WA

Profit from my two decades of experience

Tammy, this post is timeless. Very good story, the statistics make a ton of sense on why to hire a professional to help out.

Jul 30, 2014 08:45 AM

Thinking About Selling Your Home For Sale By Owner: Look What FSBO.com Founder Did

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