The Troubles of Selling For Sale By Owner

Understanding and Performing Paperwork

The paperwork involved in selling and buying a home has increased dramatically as industry disclosures and regulations have become mandatory. This is one of the reasons that the percentage of people FSBOing has dropped from 19% to 9% over the last 20+ years.

​Getting the Right Price

Many homeowners believe that they will save the real estate commission by selling on their own. Realize that the main reason buyers look at FSBOs is because they also believe they can save the real commission. The seller and buyer can’t both save the same commission.

The median selling price for all For Sale by Owner homes was $210,000 last year. However, homes that were sold with the assistance of an agent had a median selling price of $249,000 – nearly $40,000 more for the typical home sale.

This doesn’t mean that an agent can get $46,000 more for your home. However, it does show that selling on your own might not make sense.

​Selling Within Your Planned Length of Time.

The days of selling your house by just putting up a sign and putting it in the paper are long gone. Having a strong internet strategy is crucial. Most real estate agents have an extensive internet strategy to promote the sale of your home.

Where do buyers find the home they actually purchased?

43% on the internet

9% from a yard sign

1% from newspapers

​Having Enough Time to Devote to all Aspects of the Sale

Forty-eight percent of home owners who sell their home without a real estate agent believe that if they sell themselves they’ll have to just do a little extra work and then be able to save on having to pay a commission or closing fee. But research shows that for-sale-by-owners actually end up having to spend a lot more time than they ever imagined and tend to end up with a final selling price that is lower than comparable listings that were sold by an agent.