While some real estate agents go out of their way NOT to show a home that is offered "for sale by owner", many buyer's agents are finding that it pays to include FSBO showings along with MLS listed properties that would meet their buyer's criteria. Learning about privately offered homes for sale may take a little extra work, but the end result is that your clients will be pleased that you are not steering them in one direction only.
Many for sale by owner advertising services offer Property Listing Alerts, similar to MLS feeds where you may be notified of new properties coming on the market. We recently expanded our alerts to include status and price changes and even open house announcements. The internet has made it possible for a lot of information to be visible and easily shared, often using Web 2.0 features where you can email a PDF listing to a client with a click of the mouse, view Virtual Slide Shows, etc.
For best results when approaching a private home seller on behalf of your clients, we highly recommend:
- Make sure that your clients understand that they may be responsible for paying your fee as most private home sellers have priced their property without the idea of paying a commission. That said, let them know that you will try to negotiate the best price for them, no matter what home they choose.
- When calling private home sellers, do NOT start of by dangling your buyer in front of them like a carrot, while trying to get them to agree to pay your commission over the phone. This will turn them off very quickly and you are likely to lose the opportunity to show the home to your clients.
- Do identify yourself up front as a buyer's agent representing one client. Your goal should be to set an appointment to bring your buyer to see the home - period.
- When negotiating on behalf of your buyer, understand that many sellers are aware of how your commission can be handled so that it does not affect their bottom line.
We have had many sales reported by our advertisers where their has been buyer broker involvement and the majority have been very positive. Typically, the broker's commission has not come out of the seller's pocket. This works well, especially if the sellers have priced their property based upon a professional appraisal, which we recommend.
The real estate industry is changing rapidly and more home sellers (and buyers) are taking the time to educate themselves about the process. In areas where there is a strong regional for sale by owner service, consumers tend to be easier to work with. They have had the benefit of understanding how buyer's agents work and are less likely to feel that all calls from agents are listing requests in disguise.
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Good blog and important information. Thanks so much