Hello Everyone,

 Many Spokane Home Buyers will come across a for sale by owners (FSBO) when shopping for a home in Spokane. The key is to understand what they are and how they fit into your Spokane home search. 

FSBO's are home owners who have chosen to try and sell their home themselves. There are various reasons a home owner may choose not to use a professional. Some have had a bad experience, some are trying to save the money by selling it themselves. This gets popular when home values increase. Like in the last 3 years, the FSBO's have increased but the number of them selling is going down, due to a more competitive market.

  We work with many FSBO's. Some are great to work with while others are not. Many buyers avoid FSBO's because they can often times be priced to high and don't have a professional telling them they need to come down. Everyone thinks their own home is worth more than it is.

The only thing to watch out for is that many times they can be overpriced and the sellers tend to be more stubborn. This can lead to problems in negotiation. You know they are focused on keeping the price because they aren't even willing to pay for their own help.

Second is they don't know the whole process, and many times will not even let you have a professional in the transaction. This means they are working blind and want you to do the same. This is a very big problem. I have had clients who I let buy FSBO's without me and they usually come back when things start going wrong.

Bottom line is there is a reason people have a professional handle the real estate transaction for both parties. There used to not be a buyer's agent and that led to so many problems that now you have two agents in te transaction. Having no agents or one has been tried and proved bad for all parties, though it is still an option. It's best to avoid FSBO's unless your Realtor has an agreement with them. If they won't work with you if you have a realtor, you shouldn't buy that home.

Call us for more Home Buyer tips and visit our Spokane Real Estate Website for more information. Thanks