Pros and Cons of FSBO (For Sale By Owner)
Finding tons of articles to support FSBO is as easy as turning on the internet. And you’ll discover tons supporting hiring a REALTOR® for the best real estate transaction experience, too.
The real answer to the question of whether you should use a REALTOR® to sell your home or if you should go it alone is really up to each individual seller. There are definitely pros and cons to each situation, and choosing one over the other depends on the criteria you deem most important to your desired outcome.
If trying to save a few dollars is your main concern and you have the relative experiences needed to negotiate, write a contract, and perform all the legalities of such, then by all means, you may find doing an FSBO more beneficial in your circumstance.
However, if time, security, expertise, peace of mind, and minimal stress are of greater importance to you, then you will probably find that hiring a real estate agent is the better route to accomplish your goals.
For your consideration, we present these pros and cons to be examined as you make your decision:
1. Pricing your home according to fair market value is not as simple as knowing what the neighbor’s house sold for and pricing yours the same. That can lead to leaving a great deal of your hard-earned equity in someone else’s wallet! True market value can be hard for a homeowner to realize because the majority of homeowners have a personal attachment to their home which inflates their perception of the value.
Hiring a licensed agent is your best probability of pricing that fairly represents your property’s market value. This also helps you avoid one of the biggest mistakes, which is overpricing. Overpricing ultimately leads to longer periods of time languishing on the market, continued mortgage payments, underqualified buyer interest and often helps other homes in the area sell faster!
2. The legalities of a large monetary transaction are usually something that you would not want to put in the hands of a novice. The experience of an agent coupled with required continued education credits each year goes a long way toward ensuring there won’t be serious mistakes made that end up costing you more in the long run.
Although the internet is full of the kinds of information needed to sell a home, it isn’t a substitute for having the expertise to wield that information productively in an actual sales transaction.
3. Most people have a limited understanding of the time and effort it takes to market a home, attract the right type of attention, arrange viewings and follow up for feedback, coordinate the many necessary activities it will take to complete each element of a sales contract and achieve a successful closing while protecting each aspect of the transaction.
Factor in the time and effort to research and secure a new home while packing for a move while carrying on your normal daily activities and, well, you will be glad you have someone taking care of all of these details on your behalf!
4. Real estate transactions can be tricky and often present unexpected complications to be resolved. Compounded by limited knowledge of things like disclosures, hazard tests, inspections, and counteroffer negotiation tactics, and it becomes transparently obvious why a professional at the helm is a better choice. Intentionally or not, failure to fully disclose things like pest infestations, flood damage, sewer problems or property line disputes (unfortunately common with FSBO) can result in serious legal consequences.
These are not false statements designed to frighten you into hiring an agent, but instead are real circumstances which many homeowners have encountered or suffered when trying to sell a home without professional assistance.
Again, is it better for you to use a real estate agent to sell your home or to try to do it for sale by owner? Only you can make that call.
Statistics and stories of those who attempted FSBO indicate you have a better chance of making the process more pleasurable when you have a licensed RE/MAX Alliance Associate in your corner!