Is it a good business decision to For Sale By Owner these days?

Business is business, there's no doubt about that. When you are hoping to sell your home, whether it be one you've lived in for years or one you're flipping for profit, it all boils down to the bottom line. The popularity of Real Estate reality shows these days has helped to boost many home sellers' confidence in their ability to do what I do for a living without my help.

I have a client who entered the house-flipping industry last year. I helped them buy their first property, a nice property with some great potential. I spent a great deal of time with them, helping them to purchase their property and, after the sale helped extensively with finding the contractors to do the work. On more than one occasion, I received the frantic call that this contractor or that contractor wasn't getting the job done properly. I helped to straighten those issues out, using my experience in managing people to help work out a suitable fix to whatever the issue was at that point. The house turned out quite beautifully. I was very proud of my client for completing the project and was eager to get the house on the market for sale.

That's when I stopped getting the calls. I dropped by the other day to see the property and, quite to my surprise, there was a FSBO sign in the front yard. I have to admit that I was a bit upset. I spoke with my client and friend at that point. She assures me that the sign is just her attempt to save the money my commissions would cost them if she can sell the home quickly. I understand the desire to save a buck or two. I've pinched enough pennies in my day to see the truth there. Truth be told, it still stings a bit to see the sign there, but I have to put my personal feelings aside and look at this from a sterile point of view. Is it a good business decision to FSBO a property these days?

I would have to say that the answer to that question lies in how the seller is going to go about marketing their property. Planting a sign in the front yard isn't going to get the job done these days. In this day of more and more foreclosure homes coming on the market in addition to the rest of the properties on the market (our market still has over 11 months of inventory at this point), it takes a marketing plan to sell a home. You will surely want top dollar for your recently remodeled home, right? That will mean that you will need to get your home out there in front of as many eyes as possible.

Proper marketing of a home these days will have to start with some sort of internet presence. The facts are clear here...80% of buyers start their search on the internet. I have a website where I advertise my listings, www.wilkesbarrehomesales.com. Through this website, the listings I place get exposure on 17 other sites throughout the internet. The response to listings on my site has been excellent, helping me to sell homes with a much shorter turn around time. That means less holding costs for my sellers.  

I know that we put less and less value in placing properties on the MLS these days, but let's face the facts. The MLS is the vehicle to get your listing in front of the 500+ Realtors who have buyer clients looking for properties like yours. There's value in having it there if it helps get your house sold in less time. Our MLS listings are also directly reflected in the Homes magazine, which is the bible for many would-be home buyers. You can't get in the Homes magazine without being in the MLS, which requires listing your property. Advertising in the newspaper just doesn't have the same impact any longer.

Finally, we should take a look at the value I bring to you as a Realtor. I can't help but think that my expertise played an integral role in choosing the property to flip, helping to pick and manage the contractors who did the work, not to mention showing the possible future value that this house would bring through my analysis of the market. That same expertise could be used to market your home, provide you the feedback and ideas needed to make good decisions and help to guide you through the rest of the process, making it a completely enjoyable and profitable one for you. I think it's been very well proven that a home sold through a Realtor brings a higher price, thereby paying for the services provided.

I guess, in the end, all of these decisions are based on the bottom line. I sincerely hope that this client is able to get a quick sale for the price she needs to get. I don't think that's possible unless some of the things mentioned above are done. Only time will tell whether that decision was a good one or not.

My take on the subject: Why take the chance? Let me show you how I can help you to properly market and sell your property, bringing a price sufficient to pay my commissions and leave you with the profit you hoped to make in the first place.