The title of Chris Elizabeth Griffith's post Just Because Someone's Holding A Hose , Does That Make Them A Firefighter? caught my eye. I'm an active duty firefighter and an active duty realtor.
Do you ever see those people on ESPN with a garden hose, standing precariously on their roof, flames in the background, shooting water at who knows what? I'm sure one thought crossing their mind is, "I can do it, I can save this home..... fire fighters do it every day". Little do they know that the little green water hose in their hand spitting out 3-4 gallons per minute of water will evaporate in seconds prior to reaching that wall of flame approaching their not so solid perch on the roof of their home. God bless them because they really are trying to save their home or help their neighbor. God save them because it isn't going to happen. They just don't have the training, skill set or resources to handle a job routinely dispatched in short order by a trained team of fire personnel.
Those people are your equivalent FSBOs in the firefighting field. A firefighter makes it look easy because he or she does it as a matter of course on a daily basis. They have the fire truck that will produce the up to 2000 gallons per minute of water flow if necessary, the safety awareness to not stand on a roof that may collapse because of fire beneath it and gear to protect them from inhaling noxious fumes and heated air that will kill them or cripple them for life.
The comparison drawn by Chris is excellent. The FSBO, unlike the firefighter, is not prepared to handle the sale of their home. They lack the training, the skills and the necessary resources to do the job properly. God bless them because they are really trying to do a great job in selling their home. God save them because they have a higher probability of doing something that may produce long term negative results affecting them or the buyer.
Comments(16)