Find Out Everything About For Sale By Owner Home Sales
For Sale By Owner or FSBO is a word that has been increasing in popularity among the real estate community. In the past, the only way you could sell your home was through a real estate professional, such as a broker, real estate agent, or other real estate professional. However, with a real estate agent costing a significant portion of the sales price, more and more people are thinking of putting in the time and work to sell the house themselves. This article will talk about what FSBO means, its advantages and disadvantages, and whether it is right for you.
What is FSBO?
For Sale By Owner is a term that means someone is selling their home without using a real estate professional. There is nothing in the US that requires you to use a real estate agent when buying or selling your home. However, some states require a real estate attorney to read the contract and one to be at the closing table when all paperwork is signed. Because of this, many people have started turning to this method and that number has been increasing in recent years. For many people, a FSBO sale means they put up a yard registration, post a few listings online, and then go through all the showings until someone finally buys their home. However, this route can include other things like selling your home at auction, selling it directly to an investor, or even something as unusual as a home exchange.
Why and why not use FSBO?
Savings are the main reason people often decide to sell for themselves. Most real estate agents keep between 5 and 8% of the total sale price of the house. If you sell your house for $100,000, and even using the 5% fee, you’ll be paying $5,000 just to the real estate agent in the form of commissions. This is a large amount of money that could be used for something like a trip, college, paying other bills, or even adding to your savings. Sometimes sellers think that the best person to market their home is the person who knows it best, which is themselves. Most good agents will typically be juggling at least a dozen listings at the same time, so the agent may not be able to devote the time and attention to your sale to get your home sold quickly.
The biggest downside to selling your home is that it takes a lot of work to get it done. Although not required, it makes the home selling process much more user friendly. They have all the contacts needed for the various professionals you need involved in selling a home, plus they will usually do all the showings. If you don’t have an agent, you’ll need to read up on all state and local laws to make sure you’re doing the best thing, and you’ll also need to study what type of marketing is currently working. You will need to list the home yourself and you will need to speak directly with the buyers when it comes time to show and negotiate.
Who should use FSBO?
If you have a full-time job and other full-time commitments, then FSBO is probably not the route for you. If you are going through a major life change, the extra work of a FSBO can only add to the stress. If you are selling a home that is extremely unique or would generate a smaller audience of buyers, having a real estate professional help you find the right buyers.
On the other hand, if you have the time and are willing to put in the work, you can save yourself thousands of dollars in the home selling process.