4 tips when selling your house as a “for sale by owner“

For Sale by Owner is about more than saving commissions

There are many ways to sell a house. The most common is to put the house on the retail market using the MLS. But another approach often used is the “for sale by owner“ method. This is also known as an “FSBO” listing. There are many benefits to using this approach and not just to save money on the realtor commission. Here are four key reasons why you may consider to it to sell your house.

• Market it yourself
• Control access for showings
• Determine your own price strategy
• Save on commissions 

Good reasons can be bad reasons

It would be a mistake to not point out that these are good reasons, but they can also be bad reasons. But that’s an article for another day. For now, we will focus on why these are good reasons.

Marketing: if you are comfortable with creating a promotional plan for your home, and then marketing it is going to be a breeze. For example, most realtors will rely simply on posting the house on MLS. But you can go above and beyond that. Whether it is with social media posts (which are free) Listing it in the Facebook marketplace or on craigslist you can Control the listing being marketed. But, you don’t have to stop there. Maybe you want to put up yard signs. Or, you’re going to use paid advertising. Combining all of your marketing spend together is going to be far less expensive compared to the sales commission. But it can still be an expense. 

Showings: One of the challenges of selling a home as arranging for showings on the house. This is where realtors are a facilitator for you. But, if you’re concerned about when showings are done or what people can access, and maybe you want to handle it on your own. Especially if you’re still living in the house. Just keep in mind you will need to have some form of lockbox access to the house. Because don’t forget that a buyer is almost certainly going to be working with a realtor. That realtor will need some method of access to the home.

Pricing: This is probably one of the biggest discussion points when selling a home and working with a realtor. Realtors come in with a comparative market analysis. This analysis is meant to help the seller understand how the house will sell based on recently sold homes that are comparable. What defines comparable? That’s a whole other discussion, but as a seller, you may feel that you know the value of your home better than the realtor. So, this is where you can dictate your own price strategy. Just be sure that you have done some amount of analysis on your own so that you aren’t over or underpricing the house unrealistically. Yes, if you’re not careful you can underprice a home unrealistically.

Commissions: Of course this is the main reason why people choose to use an FSBO listing approach. But, unless you are working with a buyer who is representing themselves and you are now using a private contract for the sale, you will still be paying a buyers agent commission. Granted, you can dictate what that percentage is. But that is a negotiation you will enter into with the buyers, of course, this is the main reason why people choose to use an FSBO listing approach. But, unless you are working with a buyer who is representing themselves and you are now using a private contract for the sale, you will still be paying a buyers agent commission. Granted, you can dictate what that percentage is. But that is a negotiation you will enter into with the buyer’s realtor.

For Sale by Owner is a good approach… for some

There is no denying that homes are sold all year long using the FSBO existing approach. These are not the majority of sales, but there are sales with this methodology. This approach appeals to anyone who wants to manage the sale of the home from start to finish. And if that is your mindset, have at it. If you enjoy working with others and negotiating prices, go for it. If you have confidence in how to market a home and have some particular strategies in mind, then do it. And, if you’re looking to get as much out of the sale of the home as possible and saving on commissions is part of your goal then this is the approach for you.

And don’t worry, you can always change your mind. We are always talking to sellers and some have attempted the FSBO listing approach. A few have succeeded, but there are those who have not. If you are currently doing an FSBO listing and it’s not going to way you want it to, contact a realtor. Or, give us a shout and we will help you out. Want to sell your house “as-is”?

Thanks,

g.