If you want to sell your house for sale by owner (FSBO) it is important to advertise it where the exposure would be maximum.
There are many for sale by owner sites that allow sellers to sell their homes for free. This article looks at the best FSBO sites to help homeowners make an informed decision.
But remember that free for sale by owner sites will not list your home on the MLS, which is an important place because buyers’ agents usually find homes through local MLS listings. Hence, if your property is not on the MLS then you can miss out on a big pool of potential leads.
Also, you will not get any add-ons such as virtual showings, marketing materials, and attorney references, which can make the home-sale process a lot easier. If a free FSBO website does provide these features, it is always for a fee – at which point it’s probably better to list your property for sale by owner on a paid website.
Having said that, it is hard to argue with something that is free. Without much ado, let’s get started.
- Zillow
Zillow and its sister concern Trulia are two of the most popular real estate platforms. Though neither exclusively caters to for sale by owner properties, they do have features that let sellers post FSBO.
It is absolutely free to list on Zillow and all the listings automatically appear on Trulia. Contrary to the clunky interface of several FSBO sites, Zillow listings are visually appealing and can be managed from any device. You can check Zillow reviews to know more about them.
It is noteworthy, however, that while Zillow does draw a lot of traffic, a Zillow FSBO listing is not an MLS listing. This implies that the listing will not get the same exposure as that of an MLS listing.
- Houzeo
Houzeo is a flat fee MLS company. This means sellers only pay a small flat fee to gain access to the MLS and the proprietary technology.
Houzeo answers your question “how to list on MLS” and is 100% online so the listing is easy, can make changes quickly, and can also manage showings offline.
Listings on Houzeo get syndicated with the local MLS in addition to hundreds of other real estate platforms like Zillow, Redfin, etc. You can check Houzeo reviews to know more about them.
This flat fee MLS company also has an app that mimics most website functionality, including showings and offers. There are no hidden fees and Houzeo provides 5-star customer support that minimizes complaints.
Houzeo offers four packages ranging from $249 to $999+.
- ForSaleByOwner.com
ForSaleByOwner.com was founded in 1999 and claims to draw 7X more traffic than other for sale by owner sites. It is free to advertise your FSBO listing on this platform.
There are some really useful features such as legal forms, a home pricing calculator, etc. However, your listing will not appear on the local MLS nor will it be syndicated on any other platform. This means your property will be visible only to people who visit ForSaleByOwner.com.
- Fizber
Fizber is a popular name among flat fee realtors. It offers four packages of which one is free and three are paid. The quality of plans differs greatly.
The free plan only lists the property on Fizber, which gives limited exposure. Fizber does not get a lot of traffic so it is not worthwhile to do a Fizber listing only.
Its paid plans range from $95 to $395. To get the right kind of services you will have to pay at least $295. Anything less, and your listing will not get syndicated on the MLS.
The platform’s prices are at par with a paid FSBO website and it offers its services all across the US.
- Beycome
Beycome is a flat fee MLS listing service present in most of the Southeast, California, and some other states.
There are three plans in its kitty, however, only two are really worth your money: the Basic plan, priced at $99, or the Enhanced plan which costs $299. With both these packages, you get access to the MLS, the photo limit is quite high for the cost and sellers can make unlimited changes to the listing.
Its Concierge package is not really recommended. Firstly, it involves a dedicated agent and therefore is not even FSBO. Secondly, it comes at an upfront fee of $499 plus 1% of the sale price. At that rate, it is almost the same or more of what is charged by low commission real estate companies, which also guarantee full support and service.
Final Word
Selling a house FSBO can help homeowners save a lot of money on commissions. However, it is not meant for everyone. FSBO sales are a lot of work and can be frustrating, especially for first-time sellers. So, it is always a good idea to sift through different options to save money on your home sale.
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