Adventures of the For Sale by Owner Kind

Ok, for whatever reason, For Sale by Owner properties have cropped up a lot this week. As I brought one client to see one, his summation of the experience was, “OMG, why would anyone ever do that? And you’ve got to write a play about FSBOs.” He has a point.

My heart seriously goes out to hard-working, well-intentioned home owners who want to go it on their own. However, with realtors access to information and ability to reach both buyers and realtors who WANT to work with them, a home owner just cannot keep up.

Some thoughts to consider:

Realtors bring in home sale prices at 6% higher than FSBOs do. Even with paying a commission, the owner nets more from the sale.

Realtors prefer to work with realtors.  People in the business know the legalities of what must be shared, when various documents must be produced, and how to keep a transaction on track. Rarely do I see an owner seller even providing the most basic documentation from the beginning.

Owners may be comfortable showing their home, but buyers are usually not. When a buyer is shown a property with a realtor, the realtor can help interpret how features add to the value of the home.  A realtor may also field questions a buyer may have that would never be addressed face to face with a owner. Let a realtor share unbiased facts to help a prospective buyer understand how to address challenges they see in a property.

Screening prospective buyers and security are other factors to consider. Realtors work with buyers that are pre-approved by a lender and are truly prepared to purchase a home. Working with a realtor, sellers have the best of all situations with data on who has entered their home as well as unrestricted ability for realtors to schedule showings online.  Sellers don’t need to sit by their phones and get realtors with buyers have access.

Feedback is yet another consideration.  Realtors receive feedback on the property from other realtors that show it and sometimes realtors from their firm.  Buyers are often shy to share true feelings about the property, leaving for sale by owner sellers wondering why their sales efforts are ineffective.

Lastly, profession marketing is key. There’s so much more than putting a property on MLS. There are firms that will help for sale by owners to put their property on MLS, but what does not happen is all the listing being featured on syndicated sites and being shared with colleagues in the agents office. Not all realtors or realty firms are equal in doing this either. Marketing at the home is rarely done as well either—realtors have professionally made flyers and notebooks to create a polished presentation at the property.