FSBO Myths Exposed

FSBO sites i.e. (For Sale By Owners) as commonly referred to in the real estate world, portray how easy it is to sell your home which is primarily there job as they want you to list with them rather than the realtors. For them, this is the only way they can make money, as they get paid if you advertise with them. Quite regrettably, the reason they give you to go FSBO vs. listing are not accurate.

The costs and hassle associated with advertising, the scheduled showings, getting your property ready to show, the long number of behind the scene tasks and people you would need to actually make the FSBO a success is so long that you would rather wish that a professional, experienced Realtor take care of all that. But if you are from the school of though that you do not necessarily have to keep your house clean and maintained then FSBO might suit you. But a good advice is that it is just a bad idea.

The way FSBO's tell you that, "It's your house and you can sell it better than anyone else" is very much far from truth, the actual scenario is quite the opposite. Consciously or unconsciously you tend to hold back in a certain way because it's your home and you are emotionally attached to it. Thus it is only human that one resists this separation. The sense of ownership is being let gone of and that is not an easy thing. So precisely because it is your home, you will have trouble letting go of it. It is easier that Realtors do it for you.

You can simply choose to pick on any price that you may set up for your home. The pricing is based upon the current market situation and fluctuates according to the marketing mechanisms as well. Thus you can really base it on your preference, thus it is better that you seek professional help, this way you will be able to sell for a good price.

The prime argument in favor of FSBO's is that it saves money in terms of the realtor's commission, actually the fact is that agent assisted houses go for 32% more than FSBO sales. Consider the bargain here; you are technically letting go of a 28% profit to save 5-6%. Do the maths and figure out who's the winner and who's the loser here?

The myth that your house would sell fast through a FSBO is false as well. Assuming that you do not opt to "up" they price to include the commission in bid to sell your house faster. The reality is that eventual buyers would deduct the commission from your pitted price anyways, so if you've already discounted your price, you're going to be losing money twice! Also as is the norm, 90% of the people sell their homes through agents so if your house is not listed then technically it is not on the market and to whom exactly are you targeting? The meager 10% or would you rather offer it to the 90%.

Moreover with agents, there is less certainty and ambiguity. Firstly you will have the option of interviewing the buyers, this way you can easily filter out the serious buyers from the non-serious. Secondly you can pick out on the appropriate target audience because it is important to know if they are even qualified to suit your offering. Also it is important to know if someone didn't like you house then what was the reason as this could help you with potential buyers in the future. Buyers would not be truthful with you directly however with an intermediary involved, they would not hesitate speaking their mind. An experienced Realtor would be able to get your important feedback that would facilitate the process of selling your home.