FSBO- For Sale By Owner- More Information!

Coming out of a strong seller's market, many people want to try to market and sell their home themselves.  Just a few months ago all any seller had to do was to place a "For Sale" sign in their front yard and they would be inundated with calls.  That's not the case any longer, however. 

Generally, the motivation for a person to offer his/her home for sale by owner, is to keep some of the money that they would pay for a realtor's commission.  However, what most sellers don't know is that the studies and comparisons of homes sold by owners themselves and homes sold by real estate professionals have shown over and over again that the homes offered by realtors have sold for 16%+ more than those sold by the homeowners themselves.  This more than compensates for a typical real estate agent's 6% commission. Therefore, by using a Realtor a seller can actually make money.

One other fact is that when a buyer sees a home offered FSBO, his/her expectation is that he/she can aquire the home for less.  Both the seller and the buyer are vying for the real estate agent's commission.  This is a mutually exclusive position. Sometimes, on the other hand, buyers don't want to negotiate directly with the seller.  In today's market with so much inventory available, it's more likely than not that the seller will lose out, if not in price, possibly the sale since the buyer has many more choices now. 

Additionally, when a seller is represented by a REALTOR the agent will weed out the "tire kickers".  The sales agent will make sure that the potential buyer can qualify for buying the home or property so as to not waste but rather make good use of the seller's time when showing the property. 

It's also safer for the seller to use a realtor. Because there are lots of "bad" people out there, I insist on the initial meeting with a new client take place at one of our 11 office locations.  I obtain ID and the client's image is caught on surveillance video tape.   Prospective Buyers are always escorted through your home by a licensed agent.  This is how agents protect themselves and their clients and their client's property. 

By using a licensed realtor, the seller is letting a professional worry about all of the proper documents for sale of the property.  This protects the seller against liability for mistakes.

Finally, time is money, for the seller.  More than 90% of all homes offered FSBO are eventually listed and sold by real estate agents.  Most sellers can't afford to wait for their homes to sell. Statistics show that homes sold by real estate agents usually sell 90-180 days faster than those sold (of those that do sell) by the homeowner himself/herself.  One only needs to calculate the morgage interest for 3-6 months to figure out the savings with using a REALTOR to sell their home in the shortest time possible.