7 Fsbo Myths Exposed
7 Fsbo Myths Exposed
Some For Sale By Owner sites or FSBO pronounced FizzBo as it’s called in the real estate world love to show you how “easy” it is for you to sell your home yourself. Hey it’s their job after all to convince you to list with them that’s what they’re doing you know vs. listing with a REALTOR. That’s the only way that they get paid is to get you to advertise with them. However the reasons that they give for someone to go FSBO vs. listing with a REALTOR are flawed at best.
1. Less hassles and frustrations
Somehow having to maintain all the advertising not to mention the cost of that advertising schedule showings preview buyers show your property getting your property ready to show contacting attorneys appraisers contractors inspectors etc and a whole host of other “behind the scenes” things that go on when your property is on the market is supposed to be less hassle and frustrating than simply letting a professional knowledgeable and experienced REALTOR take care of it for you. Of course if you believe that you don’t have to keep your house clean and “ready to show” and that you can make appointments when it suits you then they may have a point.
2. You can sell your home better than anyone else
The simple truth here is…it ain’t true. The fact is BECAUSE it’s your home you’ll have a harder time selling it than a neutral thirdparty that includes a REALTOR or your next door neighbor. Why? Because you have an emotional attachment to the property. It is practically impossible for you to separate you from your home and “sell” it to a potential buyer. Even I as a REALTOR prefer to list my personal home with another agent because they will be better at selling it than I will.
3. Sell for a price on your terms; you’re in control
Well you can choose to price your home for whatever you want. However it’s the market that will ultimately decide what that property sales for. So you can decide to price your home within the current market prices or you can simply wait for the market to “catch up” to your price. If you’re ready to sell which would you prefer? An agent can help you in setting an accurate price based on current market conditions not simply guessing.
4. More in your pocket
This is “save the commission” argument. The facts are that on average agentassisted home sell for 32 MORE than FSBO sales. Now would you lose 32 in order to “save” 5 to 6? Furthermore the majority of buyers that do seriously look at FSBOS truth is most are just “lookers” are expecting a DISCOUNT on the purchase of a FSBO by the usual commission fee for your market. Both buyer and seller can’t get the “savings.” Guess who wins if you want to sell?
5. Sell your home fast
Supposedly because you don’t “up” the price to include a commission your home will sale faster. Truth is as stated above buyers looking at your home will deduct the commission from your asking price so if you’ve already reduced your price you’re getting hit TWICE that’s assuming that it’s priced right in the first place. Also almost 90 of all home buyers use an agent to find property. If yours isn’t listed it’s not “on the market” to those buyers. Can you really sell your home faster AND for more money by ONLY marketing it to 10 of the active buyers in the market?
6. Less uncertainty
You’ll have less uncertainty because you’ll get to interview the buyer and will know the “serious” ones. I ask how exactly? Do you have a lot of experience dealing with home buyers to determine how serious they are? How would you know if they are even qualified for the price of your home? Sure they’ll say they are but what if they’re lying buyers DO do that sometimes? Furthermore for buyers who didn’t like the property you’d like to know why. However most buyers wouldn’t be truthful with this either when dealing with the seller directly as most don’t want to say anything negative about your home to you. They will to an agent though and you can use that to help you sell. An experienced professional REALTOR will have a system in place for you as the seller to get good feedback on showings.
7. It’s easy…as selling a car
Seriously this is just a complete myth. That is the definition of comparing apples and oranges there. They say that a lender or an attorney will “take over” the process of the sale once you get a contract on the home. That too is simply not true. A lender is going to make sure that the buyer gets the loan assuming that they’re qualified. They are not going to do anything about the sale other than that. An attorney is going to make sure that the documents provided to HIM if you forget something that’s your problem are legal and valid for your state that’s all. They’re not going to make sure everything is moving forward as it should and don’t care if it does. Furthermore in many states NC for example the closing attorney works for the BUYER.
If you’d like more information on listing and selling your home visit my website at www.RogerAJohnson.com
About the writer: Roger Johnson is a NC license real estate agent and REALTOR in Hickory NC. Roger is the coowner of CENTURY 21 American Homes which markets and sells property within Catawba County NC and surrounding areas. Contact Roger for your Source For Hickory NC Real Estate.
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