If you’re looking to sell your home in the near future, you may feel inclined to list it as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) before working with a Realtor. For many, this is considered one good way to cut back on costs and possibly earn a little more profit on the sale.
However, there are certain aspects you may want to consider before going down this path. Statistically, over 80% of FSBO’s end up being listed with a Realtor at some point. After 6 months of trying to sell his house as a FSBO, the Founder of ForSaleByOwner.com ended up listing his house with a Realtor in the end. Therefore, it pays to take the time to fully assess whether or not this is the right plan of action for you.
Properly Marketing Your Property
First of all, listing a home for sale can be a very time consuming and difficult process. Unfortunately, this typically is not as easy as posting a sign in the yard and setting up a classified ad in the local newspaper. There is certainly a lot more than meets the eye.
For instance, many FSBO websites will tout that you can obtain a wide exposure to buyers nationally, but this pales in comparison to the results that you can expect from big named sites like Realtor.com, which only agents can post to.
Next, your agent will have a lot of expertise with implementing online real estate marketing strategies that will gain you a ton of locally targeted searches. And in fact, nearly 90% of all searches for real estate related inquiries start online.
Realtors will also have a strong network of both agents and buyers that they work with on a regular basis. This is a business where it pays to network. More contacts equal greater exposure.
Asking Price & Showings
For starters, a lot of FSBO’s will start at the wrong asking price. This is by far one of the most important factors that goes into marketing your home, so you want to do this properly off the bat. But, without being fully invested in your local market and understanding the current trends, it can be difficult to price the home accurately.
As alluded to in section one, selling a home can be a lot of work. Most individuals these days have to juggle a full time job, family obligations, recreational activities, household chores, etc. Where do you find the time for fully investing into the sale as well?
When the opportunity would arise for interested parties to view your property, you would need to schedule individual showings, open houses, inspectors, appraisers, etc., while also trying to stage and maintain your property’s appearance. Miss out on a good opportunity for matching schedules and you can quickly lose interest.
Negotiations & Contracts
If you get to the point where you negotiate with a buyer, it is much more difficult to handle this aspect without a qualified agent. Selling your home can be a very emotional undertaking, so it is easier to set unrealistic expectations, or to even concede on more than necessary when you don’t have a 3rd party buffer.
During most real estate transactions, both the buyer and seller will typically have a set of concessions and contingencies. For a majority of buyers, they will expect to have some type of a financing and inspection contingency.
This is set up for their protection, in order to complete their due diligence on the home before moving forward to closing. If other issues are found, this may even been grounds for further negotiation or eventually walking away from the deal.
Or you will be expected to lower the price, fix the issue or offer a concession on something else in order to alleviate the problem. Likewise, you want to ensure that the buyer is not overstepping their boundaries or that you are pressured into giving away more than is reasonable.
According to the 2010 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics
FSBOs accounted for 9% of home sales in 2010. The typical FSBO home sold for $140,000 compared to $199,300 for agent-assisted home sales.
FSBO Methods Used to Market Home:
- Listing on Internet . . . 27%
- For-sale-by-owner Web site . . . 11%
- Yard sign . . . 46%
- Friends/neighbors . . . 39%
- Newspaper ad . . . 12%
- Open house . . . 14%
Most Difficult Tasks for FSBO Sellers:
- Getting the right price . . . 23%
- Preparing/fixing up home for sale: 18%
- Selling within the planned length of time: 14%
- Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale: 13%
- Understanding and performing paperwork: 10%
In summary, it’s worth taking the time to carefully consider all of the above before making any final decisions. One more thing to consider is time and money. Every month that goes by could be one more mortgage payment you are paying. If by using a Realtor can you sell your home quicker?
If you still decide to take the FSBO route, we sincerely wish you great success and will answer any questions we can. If you decide to work with a Realtor, contact me and I will connect you with one of our preferred Real Estate Agents that has a proven track record of success. As always, we are here if you have any questions and to help with any of your home financing needs.
Comments (16)Subscribe to CommentsComment