FSBO
Are you toying with the idea of taking on the task of selling your home yourself without hiring a Real Estate Professional? Taking on the task of selling your home yourself is a huge undertaking. Typically, as a homeowner the number one reason you would consider doing a “for sale by owner” or selling your home yourself is to cut costs and save money. But in the long run are you really saving money? Well that all depends on you and your knowledge of the real estate industry.
What is a FSBO (pronounced Fizz-bo) or For Sale by Owner? A FSBO is when the owner of home/ residential property tries to sell their home themselves without hiring a real estate agent or broker. So, if you are looking to sell your home and don’t know whether hiring an agent is for you, then continue reading.
When it comes to selling a home, there are so many factors that go in to getting your home sold. First, you need to make sure your home is presentable to potential buyers. Then, you need to make sure it is priced correctly. Next, you will want to make sure your have a solid marketing plan so that potential buyers can see that your property is available for sale. Finally, you must have the correct contracts and documents required by law to present to the buyer one you have an accepted offer. These are just a few things that you need to be ready for when selling your home, especially if you plan on doing a FSBO.
If you chose to do a FSBO, it may save you money but be prepared to put in the work. Let’s just say, there is a reason why most Realtors work in Real Estate full time. In todays market, you want to make sure that your home is priced correctly so there are no surprises when you receive offers from agents who know the industry. You also want to make sure it is priced correctly so that your home is not sitting on the market longer than it should. It is definitely a good idea to do plenty of research on comparable homes that have sold in your area over the last several months, and if you want to go the extra mile getting an appraisal can give you a good start to getting your home priced right.
Pricing your home is just the start to your FSBO; aside from pricing your home, you are going to want to make sure that your home is presentable. You want to make sure that when potential buyers view your home, they can see themselves living in the home. This may require you to have a professional come in and assess your home and maybe stage your home. Once your home is staged/presentable, you will want to make sure you have professional photos taken of your home. You want to make sure you present your home to the public in a professional manner so professional photos are a must.
Now that your home is ready for public viewing, have you thought about how you are going to market your home? It is your responsibility to get your listing in front of potential buyers. Typically, when a buyer is looking to purchase a property, they use a Real Estate Agent. Real Estate Agents use the MLS or Multiple Listing Service to pull properties for their clients and schedule showings. How will these agents and buyers see your property if its not listed on the MLS? How will they contact you to schedule showing? You may want to contact your local MLS and invest in getting your listing on the MLS. You will also need to market your property on different online platforms to get more visibility. This is where your solid marketing plan will come in handy.
You will need to be prepared to manage your listing and be ready to answer calls 24/7, schedule showing, and hold open houses. There are also disclosures and documents that you will need to have available for potential buyers that are required for you to have by law. In order to get these disclosures and forms that are required for real estate transaction, you will need to contact your local board of realtors to see if you can purchase these forms as they are typically not available to the public.
Are you feeling overwhelmed yet? There is so much that goes in to selling a house, this is just a quick breakdown of the most important elements to get you started if you decide to go the “For Sale by Owner” route. But if you are feeling overwhelmed so far using a Real Estate Agent will take all the stress out of selling your home away. You will not have to worry about pricing your home, your Agent will run comps and make sure your home is priced to sell. Your Real Estate Agent has access to the MLS and will make sure your property is in the MLS and ready to go. Your Real Estate Agent will market your property in several different ways, and they have access to a book of business that will get your property in front of more potential buyers. And not to mention, your Real Estate Agent will schedule showing and hold open houses.
One thing to remember is that selling a home is a legal transaction, that requires knowledge of the real estate laws and industry. The last thing you would want on your hands is a lawsuit because of something that was done incorrectly in your transaction.
Now that you have a bit of understand of what is needed for a FSBO, it is up to you to decide if FSBO is the way to go to get your home sold or hiring a Real Estate professional.