Why For Sale By Owner (FSBO) in 2021 Could be a Big Mistake.

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There are several benefits to work with a real estate experienced professional when it comes to selling your house. During these challenging times, it becomes even more important to have an real estate expert in your area you trust to help guide you through the process.

 

There are key points why you should consider seriously NOT to embark on a FSBO:

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1. Safety Is a Priority

Safety always comes first. Nowadays, that’s more crucial than ever given the current health situation. When you FSBO, it is extremely difficult to control what is getting inside your home. A real estate professional will have the proper health and sanitizing protocols to protect not only your property but yours and your loved ones’ health and well-being too. From controlling and properly screening the number of people in your home at one time to ensuring proper sanitization during and after a showing, the real estate professionals are prepared to follow the latest health standards recommended by the CDC to protect both sellers and buyers.

 

2. A Well-Driven Online Strategy Is a Must to Attract Buyers

Recent studies from NAR have shown that, even before the pandemic, the first step 43% of all buyers took when looking for a home was to search online. Now with this current situation, the number jumps to a whopping 97%. It has grown exponentially. Most real estate agents have developed an Internet and social media strategy to promote the sale of your house.

 

3. Too Many cooks in the Kitchen

Here are just a few of the people you’ll need to negotiate with if you decide to FSBO:

• The buyer, who with the current demand trend, wants the best deal possible

• The buyer’s agent who solely represents the best interest of the buyer

• The inspection company, which works for the buyer and will almost always find flaws and pitfalls in the property

• The appraiser, if there is a question of value

A professional real estate agent will assist you in how to negotiate every aspect of the transaction and how to mediate the emotions felt by buyers looking to make what is probably the largest purchase of their lives.

 

4. You Won’t Know if Your Purchaser Is Qualified for a Mortgage

Having buyers interested in your property is one thing, but making sure they are qualified for the purchase, it’s a totally different story. As a FSBO, it’s almost impossible to be in touch in every aspect of the mortgage process of your buyer. A real estate professional will ask the key questions saving you a great deal of headaches, waste of precious time and frustrations. You need someone who’s working with lenders every day to guarantee your buyer makes it to the closing table.

 

5. Doing a FSBO Is More Difficult from a Legal Standpoint

All the paperwork and documentation involved in the process is growing dramatically as more and more disclosures and regulations become mandatory. In an increasingly legal-demanding society, the agent acts as a consultant to help the seller avoid future legal problems. This is only one of the many reasons why the percentage of people FSBOing has dropped from 19% to 8% over the last 20+ years.

 

 

Bottom Line

Listing the selling of your property on your own leaves you to manage the entire transaction by yourself. Why would you do that when you can hire an agent and still get the same profit from your property at the end of the day? Before you decide to take on the challenge of selling your house alone, let’s connect to discuss your options.