So I am watching the "booob tube" as my Mother would often refer to the TV the other day, when once again one of Geico's so easy even a Caveman can do it ads was shown and I had one of those Aha moments relating to FSBO MLS Entry Only web sites and discount brokers...
So I am thinking of a few tag lines:"So easy even a Caveman can sell his home" or
"It's so easy even a Caveman could list your house"
And quite honestly it's true, you do not need a vast amount of frontal cranial lobe material to take a few pictures, enter some data into the mls, stick a yard sign in the yard, hold a few open houses and buy a whole bunch of news paper ads... Check out extensive "broker" services of this popular FSBO web site.
SELLERS receive high traffic Internet exposure that gets your property SOLD. You have the ability to make "real-time" changes to your ad 24/7, upload color photos, and print brochures. We also provide you with a professional Yard Sign with your Contact Number and House ID# (which takes a potential buyer directly to you property when entered on our site), an Open House Rider, a Sold Rider, a Brochure Box and 2 Directional Signs to give you additional street exposure.
Could anything be simpler than that? now all the seller has to do is sit back and wait for a buyer to come and scoop up their home. So who's at fault for this over simplified "So easy even a Caveman can do it" perception of what Real Estate professionals do? I would suggest a few ex full time real estate agents who if on a good day might be so fortunate if they could sell their own home if and only if by discounting their asking price by the portion of their own commission being paid back to them!
There is one common thread in reading most FSBO or discount agent web sites and that is the Savings. Not having to pay a commission or if any at all only half. Save save save. We have become a society that is more concerned with how much we save that we quite honestly forget how much we loose. Take for instance Credit cards. How many people rush out to buy something on sale only to charge it and pay down the credit card monthly at 10, 15, 19 and even higher APR's ultimately paying more for the item in the end? This is the same with discounting in real estate. Though a seller might Save on the commission amount, what they often fail to consider is how much they failed to net in the end. In short, Save the commission but loose on the offer amount.
Private surveys commissioned by the NAR tell a different story all together. Read here for more. Buyers buy from FSBO's for one reason only, to save. They may also have slow or difficult credit and have been down as Buyer Agent clients. Since this group of buyers know the seller is not using a Realtor, why should they pay top $$$$. This is counter to the needs and wants of the Seller. So if you are a home owner considering going it alone, please, do yourself a favor, use the gift that God gave you to research the +'s and -'s of being an Un-Represented Seller. If it is for you, buy all means go for it. If not, I encourage you to consult with a full service Realtor and for certain, ask questions.
if a real estate agent is quick to give away their money, how quick do you think they will be at giving away your money just to make a sale. Think about it.
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