FSBO? Think Again!
When thinking about selling your home, do you think it would be easier to do it yourself? Think again. Many people believe they’ll save money by listing their home as “for sale by owner” (FSBO), and sometimes they do. But selling a home is a lot more complicated than selling practically anything else. You might have heard this before, but know that just because you are good at selling stuff on Craigslist doesn’t mean you should make the jump to the housing market when selling one of your largest investments.
Think about it: This isn’t an agent’s first time to sell a home, but it might be yours. A good real estate agent knows how to price your home for sale in your area, isn’t emotional about the sale, understands the amount of paperwork involved, and so much more that comes with selling a home.
Here are a few of the costly mistakes FSBO sellers tend to make.
Price your house to sell!
Unless you devote time and usually money (hiring an appraiser) to figuring out the best price to list your home, chances are, you’ll get it wrong. Pricing your house wrong from the start could set you up for your home sitting on the market longer than it should.
It’s common to think your house is worth more than it really is, especially if you’ve “improved it.” But not everyone appreciates a garage converted to a functional living space. They might prefer a garage to be a garage. And a pool doesn’t necessarily increase the value of your house either. A real estate agent knows the difference in home improvements that add true value and those that don’t. Of course, there is also the other end where some FSBO’s will shortchange themselves by underpricing their homes because they do not understand the current market. In the 2017 National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 15% of FSBO sellers said the most difficult task what getting the right price and 9% said preparing/fixing up home for sale.
A real estate agent stays in the know with the current real estate market and can run CMAs based on sales in your area to price your home for the top dollar possible while not overpricing so that it will be competitive to get it sold.
Good photos can make or break a listing!
Homebuyers shopping online want to see photographs, and if yours don’t impress, your home will likely be passed over. Buyers are drawn to photos, and high-quality photos definitely could drive more showings.
Just because you can post photos online that you’ve taken with your phone doesn’t mean you should (no matter how fabulous that phone filter is). Your photos will be competing with professional ones, and it’s almost guaranteed that yours won’t look as good. In fact, amateur photos usually give the opposite- no one will want to see your home from the start. So again you will need to spend more time and money upfront by hiring a professional photographer, coordinating the photoshoot, etc…
Real estate agents take professional photos, either with their professional equipment or by hiring a professional, to achieve the best pictures possible to make your listing standout on all marketing avenues so that homebuyers are drawn in and want to see your home.
Buyers not only want to see a home, but they will need to be qualified to make that offer!
When people want to buy a home, they expect someone to respond to their inquiries and show the home when they want to see it. But many FSBO sellers show the home only when it’s convenient for them. Today’s buyers want instant gratification and expect to see it when they want to see it, which is why a real estate agent will communicate with buyers to show home in a timely manner on a buyer’s schedule. If not, the buyers could move on. Not to mention all the security concerns that a FSBO should consider when opening the doors of their home with their family and belongings in it to anyone that calls.
A real estate agent can confirms that buyers are qualified and have lender pre-approval ready before showing them homes. Many FSBO sellers don’t know where to even begin with this part of the process. A real estate agent works directly with lenders who can assure the buyers are ready to purchase a home.
Emotions can get in the way!
When selling a home, it’s a good idea to try to use logic instead of emotion. Otherwise, you might not take a strong first (and possibly best) offer from fear of making a bad deal.
Your connection with the home can also get in the way as a FSBO seller as this is not just another house on the market, but your home. Having a real estate agent assist you with this helps put someone between you as the seller and those emotions. To be able to think clearly and make sure the facts don’t get lost in the emotion is important during a real estate transaction.
Marketing is very important!
A For Sale sign in your yard is not the only thing that will sell your home. Only agents can input the listing in MLS, which is the biggest tool that agents use when looking at homes for their buyers. A good agent understands marketing and how the MLS works so that the most buyer eyeballs are on their listing.
With a good real estate agent also can use other marketing options available, such as:
- Websites (posting the listing and syndicating it)
- Flyers / Text for Info
- Open houses
- Mailers
It can be possible for FSBO sellers to take on at least some of these marketing strategies, but a strong real estate agent is going to be able to market a property to a much wider, and more qualified, pool of buyers.
Also consider some FSBO sellers don’t want to offer a buyer’s agent commission, or they offer an “extremely low” commission, so if the agent isn’t being paid at all, or isn’t being paid very much, they have little incentive to encourage the sale to their buyers. Especially when there is only one agent in the transaction and they are expected to handle all the paperwork for two sides. As seen in our previous post on Real Estate Commission, the cost is very much worth it. FSBO sellers try to maximize their profit with no real estate commission paid when in the end it could end up hurting them when not received well on the buyers agent side. If you are going to pay a buyer’s agent commission anyway, how much are you really saving by the time you spend money for appraisals, photographers, marketing, etc….
Everything we mention above are items that our team handles on a daily basis and have handled on hundreds of home sales, so when considering selling your home give us a call! We offer a complete listing presentation, free to you, and would love to tell you more about how a good real estate team who is on your side saves you time and makes you more money! Remember knowledge and experience are not expensive, they are priceless!