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So Easy Even a Caveman Could List and Sell His Home. Or so FSBO Sellers are Led to Believe

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty Boston - Metro

Early Real Estate DisastersSo 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.

Comments (6)

Paul Korodaj
Overland Park Real Estate :: Keller Williams Platinum - Overland Park, KS
Overland Park Real Estate
Un-represented seller.  I've been saying this all along.  Good agents are worth every bit to the seller.
Mar 29, 2007 03:42 PM
Daniel Lowery
1st Choice Real Estate - Jefferson City, MO
e-PRO, Broker - Owner
What a wonderful post, I really enjoyed reading it, keep up the work, Thanks Again
Apr 11, 2007 04:33 PM
Greg & Brian Perry
Windermere Real Estate N.E. - Kirkland, WA
Working-for-you
Well written.  Yes, discounters focus on the commission savings.  Saving commission often costs  the Seller a great deal more.
Apr 11, 2007 04:37 PM
Tina Furtado
Moving to Marana - Tierra Antigua Realty - Marana, AZ
Realtor Tucson, AZ
Also unrepresented sellers often don't realize how time consuming and costly our business can be! They can get caught up spending money on print ads that don't work and taking time showing their homes to unqualified buyers only too late realizing they have to start again. Time is money!  
Apr 11, 2007 08:48 PM
Real Estate Guy in Madison, Wisconsin
Powered by: Real Broker LLC - Madison, WI
Real Estate Guy

Good post.  You could post it to FSBO too?

 

Guy

Apr 12, 2007 04:24 PM
Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573
MOOERS REALTY - Houlton, ME
Northern Maine Real Estate-Aroostook County Broker

Had a relative who worked for Caveman Realty, it is not as easy as it looks on TV compared with out in the jungle swinging from vine to vine to hustle to showings.

Jan 07, 2018 04:12 AM