Most home sellers get their property sold using a broker and real estate agent. A small percentage go the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route.
I may not have a perfectly objective view on this, but I can offer realistic guidelines.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are either considering FSBO, or you are trying to sell FSBO now, but are rethinking the decision:
• It is your goal and preferences that are important, not the views of anyone in the industry like myself or any of the various FSBO-type web sites.
• That said, it is important to have a realistic view of what this involves. You probably won’t get that realistic view if you have read only the advantages or only the disadvantages. Look at both.
• Many FSBO transactions are family-to-family type transactions. This is much different that attempting to sell the property on the open market.
• Some people pull off a FSBO, and would do it again. If you keep only that in mind, and base your decision on that fact, you will be missing the other equally true part of the story, which is…
• Many..from all the stats I have read most… who start as FSBO end up either with a modified “fee-for-service” or full-service agreement with a broker. I believe this happens because..
• They entered the process without a realistic assessment of the commitment.
If you’d like a bit more on this, written from a FSBO-critical point of view, take a look at this article from my monthly E-Newsletter.
And of course, if you are considering a FSBO, or are doing it now, but rethinking the decision, feel free to contact me for my best objective perspective given the particulars of your situation. I promise not to give you a canned response on why it is a “bad idea.” I will give you an honest view based on whatever you’d like to discuss.
