In here, we’re going to talk about selling your home by yourself, For Sale by Owner.
I can tell you the allure of selling your home by yourself is undeniable. Like, who doesn’t want to save money on commission? So I’m not going to lie to you that in for sale by owner, it actually work, but it’s not going to be easy.
You’re going to save money on commission, absolutely! You won’t have to pay a listing agent, and so that’s where you’re going to save your money, but the reality of the situation is, if you want viable pre-approved buyers that are ready to go. Those people are most likely already working with an agent. So you’re going to have to pay something out to a buyer’s agent in a moment. It’s going to be around 2%, most likely 3% somewhere around there. So, you’re still going to have to pay on commission, you’re not just going to pay the full commission, and let’s talk about that.
You’re going to save on that part but you’re not going to have anyone representing you or your best interests or being able to be objective and fight for you. You’re not to do everything yourself, and that’s where the stressful part is going to come in and let me remind you, if you’re selling your home and you’ve been there for a while, it is going to be an arduous task of just to sell it much less representing yourself in the transaction.
On top of all that, you have to do all the work a listing agent would do to represent you. The preparation, marketing, and photos. Then once you’re under contract, they would do everything to make sure that it closes on time. Yes, you’re going to save a little bit of money. The negative side of being for sale by owner is that you’re not going to be on the MLS, which means there’s less exposure on your property. It will be on some internet site but it won’t be the mass indication of being on the MLS. Like MLS has hundreds of websites that it goes out to. Because of that, what happens to most of for sale by owners are going to sell either for a lesson they would have if they had gone with the traditional agency or they’re going to net less. There’s a stigma around FSBO that they’re not quite as serious or maybe they are not ready to sell and they’re just sort of testing the waters.
A lot of people that goes at FSBO homes are looking to get a “deal”, but I won’t just sit here and say that it doesn’t work. It does work. It’s just going to be more work, more stress, but for some people it is worth it. For some people it is not. Either way.