Some For Sale By Owner, or FSBO (pronounced Fizz-Bo) sites, as it’s called in the real estate world, love to show you how “easy” it is for you to sell your home yourself. Hey, it’s their job, after all, to convince you to make a list with them (that’s what they’re doing, you know) vs. listed with a REALTOR®. That’s the only way they get paid is to get you to advertise with them. However, the reasons they give for someone to opt for FSBO vs. listing with a REALTOR® are flawed at best.
1. Less hassle and frustration
Somehow having to keep all the advertising (not to mention the cost of that advertising), scheduling showings, previewing buyers, showing your property, preparing your property for showing, contacting attorneys, appraisers, contractors , inspectors, etc of other “behind the scenes” things that happen when your property is on the market is supposed to be less hassle and frustrating than just letting a professional, knowledgeable and experienced REALTOR® take care of it for you. Of course, if you think you don’t have to keep your house clean and “show ready” and that you can make appointments whenever it suits you, then they may have a point.
two. You can sell your house better than anyone
The simple truth here is… it’s not true. The fact is BECAUSE it’s your home, you’ll have a harder time selling it than a neutral third party (including a REALTOR® or your next door neighbor). Why? Because you have an emotional attachment to the property. It is practically impossible for you to part with your home and “sell” it to a potential buyer. Even I, as a REALTOR®, prefer to list my personal home with another agent because they will be better than me at selling it.
3. Sell for a price on your terms; you have control
Well, you can choose to price your house for whatever you want. However, it is the market that will ultimately decide why that property is sold. So you can decide to price your home within current market prices, or you can simply wait for the market to “catch up” with your price. If you are ready to sell, which would you prefer? A broker can help you set an accurate price based on current market conditions, not just guessing.
Four. More $$$ in your pocket
This is the “save the commission” argument. The facts are that, on average, agent-assisted homes sell for 32% MORE than FSBO sales. Now, would you lose 32% to “save” between 5% and 6%? Also, most buyers looking seriously at FSBOS (admittedly most are just “spectators”) expect a DISCOUNT on their purchase of a FSBO for the usual commission rate for their market. Both the buyer and the seller cannot obtain the “savings”. Guess who wins if you want to sell?
5. sell your house fast
Supposedly, because you don’t “raise” the price to include a commission, your house will sell faster. The truth is, as stated above, buyers looking at your home will deduct commission from your asking price, so if you’ve already reduced your price, they’ll hit you TWICE (assuming you’re priced right in the first place) . Additionally, almost 90% of all homebuyers use an agent to find a property. If yours isn’t listed, it’s not “on the market” for those buyers. Can you really sell your home faster AND for more money by marketing it to ONLY 10% of active buyers on the market?
6. less uncertainty
You will have less uncertainty because you will be able to interview the buyer and you will meet the “serious ones”. I ask, how exactly? Do you have a lot of experience dealing with homebuyers to determine how serious they are? How would you know if they are qualified for the price of your home? Sure, they’ll say they are, but what if they’re lying (buyers DO do that sometimes)? Also, buyers who didn’t like the property would like to know why. However, most buyers won’t be honest about this when dealing directly with the seller either, as most don’t want to say anything negative about their home. However, they will do it with an agent and you can use that to help you sell. An experienced professional REALTOR® will have a system for you, as a seller, to get good feedback on listings.
7. It’s easy… like selling a car
Seriously, this is just a complete myth. That’s the definition of comparing apples and oranges there. They say a lender or attorney will “take over” the sales process once he gets a contract on the house. That, too, is simply not true. A lender will make sure the buyer gets the loan (assuming they are qualified). They’re not going to do anything about the sale other than that. A lawyer will make sure that the documents provided to HIM (if he forgets something, that’s his problem) are legal and valid for his state, that’s all. They’re not going to make sure everything goes as it should, and they won’t care if it does. Also, in many states (NC, for example), the closing attorney works for the BUYER.
If you would like more information on listing and selling your home, please visit my website at www.RogerAJohnson.com