FSBO, why its more than just a sign in your front yard. When I speak with FSBO home sellers the number one reason they want to do FSBO is that they want more money. I can understand that and the logic is important. What most FSBO’s don’t know is that a whopping 80% of home buyers come from other Realtors visiting a home for sale.
If you do a search for FSBO, do it yourself home selling, sell my own home, etc. You are more than likely going to come to a page that was created in hopes of getting your money to buy basic information from them on how to sell your own home. Some are valid sites with good information … but what they are not telling you are the statistics on the actual number of homes sold by owner. Very few homes that are FSBO actually sell and close with a buyer off the street.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics
The average FSBO home sells for $31,000.00 Less than with an agent representing them.
The various Methods FSBO’s use to try and sell their Home:
- Yard Sign . . . 61% (Ever try getting a cheap one to stay up?)
- Friends/neighbors . . . 46% (Well, you could try telling these folks, mostly they’ll just be curious about your price)
- Newspaper ad . . . 37% (Expensive!)
- Open House . . . 29% (How boring for you! you have better things to do!)
- Internet . . . 17% (Do you have a productive Real Estate Web Site)
Don’t you imagine that if FSBO was as productive as some might think that everyone would be doing it?
Most Difficult Tasks for FSBO Sellers:
- Getting the right price for the home. . . 14% (How does FSBO guess at which price?)
- Understanding paperwork . . . 17% (Forms, disclosures, signatures … )
- Preparing/fixing up home for sale . . . 16% (what will bring the best return on my investment?)
- Attracting potential buyers . . . 9% (How does a FSBO really achieve that?)
- Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale . . . 8% (You have better things to do!)
Right off the top is the safety of your home and family, opening your home to people you know nothing about is dangerous! don’t risk it. When you work with a Realtor, they have pre-screened those buyers and know something about them. And not to mention staying home all the time to mind the telephone- what if Mr. Buyer wants to see your house and no one is home?
Additionally the frustration for an untrained individual in deciding which offer is a valid offer, how to handle multiple offers, deposits, opening Escrow and Title, inspections, how to fill out the disclosures, what to disclose- and the legal fall out if you miss something!, title reports, time frames, escrow process, money transfers, closing. Taking time off work to meet the pest inspector, the home inspector, the loan appraiser, is your employer that forgiving to allow you so much time off? Not to mention a host of "what ifs and what to do now" that may occur during the sale of your most valuable asset.
Statistics Source: 2005 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers