Hey guys, Nick here! Lately I have seen a few FSBO’s, also known as For Sale By Owners, pop up around the neighborhood. To some it may seem like a great idea and they say “Why pay out a portion of my home to somebody else when I can do it myself?” In reality you can do it yourself but it may be a ride that you wish you never hopped on once you get started. I’m going to shed some light on why it may be a wiser choice to choose a realtor from the start and most likely save you money in the long run!
First you have to market your home. Most realtors have a personal website and an association website for the promotion of homes and drawing in those buyers. For example The Lake Minnetonka Home Team uses, Zillow, Trulia, Northstar MLS, Re/Max, Star Tribune Magazine, The Lake Minnetonka Magazine and our own personal website. How would you plan to market your home against the homes being shown on these platforms?
As a FSBO you are a one man army against a trove of other people looking at your house as a chance to save money themselves. You are going to have to deal with buyers and their agents who will take advantage of you knowing you don’t have a professional at your side. After you have been beaten up by the buyers an inspector can come through, tear a deal down, and cause future buyers to shy away as they know an inspection fell through on your home.
The greatest challenge with being a FSBO definitely comes with the paperwork. Stacks and stacks of paperwork from title companies, real estate brokerages, lien wavers, inspectors, and mortgage companies. It can all add up quickly and things can go sour fast. I’ve heard of FSBO’s losing tens of thousands of dollars because they forgot to write a price in on the counter offer. You may think you are saving money without paying for an agent but they are looking at you as an opportunity to save money and a lot of times the winner is with the agent.
If people really want to try and sell their home without professional help I would say give it a try and see how it goes. After a few weeks of banging your head against the wall go ahead and call a realtor. We would love to take your headaches!