Five FSBO Fears
Introduction:
Selling by owner (FSBO) can be frightening. You’ve been told by brokers
that you can’t do it. Your friends and neighbors may be skeptical and you’re not too sure you know what to do.
Yes, you need a sign in the yard and an ad online and in the local paper but then what?
There are five legitimate things to be concerned about, they are the Five Fears of Selling
FSBO
Five Fears
1. Traffic
Without traffic you will not find a
buyer. Brokers have the MLS which gives them exposure to thousands of qualified buyers. What do you have? What can
you do?
I suggest you consider cooping with a buyers' agent since
they have qualified buyers. Pay them two or three percent. You still save one half of a full commission.
Or find a company who will put your house in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for
a Flat Fee, usually $200.00 to $300.00.
Make sure that you can still
sell without a Broker and pay no further commission. Ask for an Exclusive Agency contract. Not an Exclusive right
to sell, with an exclusive right to sell contract you lose your right to sell by owner.
2. Advertising
Do you know how to write an ad?
Search online for ad writing tips. You’ll find several tip lists. Pick a simple one and follow it, you’ll probably
do fine.
Where to advertise? Here again, Brokers have access to many
online sites that you as a for sale by owner do not, such as Realtor.com.
Recently
many areas offer their Broker members access to List Hub which gives them access to Google, Yahoo, AOL and at least
twenty other real estate sites. That is heavy duty exposure.
You
will automatically be placed on these sites with a Flat Fee listing.
Think
about it.
3. Contracts
Where will you get contracts?
Will they meet your States requirements?
Do you know how to fill them out?
If you know the answers to these questions then you’re fine, if not you might want to consider hiring an
attorney to write your contract or find a Broker who is willing to write and review your contract for a nominal Flat
Fee. A contract review service should cost you around $280.00 to $300.00. That’s still, a lot less then paying a
full service commission.
With either an attorney or a Broker writing the
contract, you are assured of their using the correct State approved forms.
Avoid legal hassles down the road.
4. Contract coordination
A huge mistake that many FSBOS make is to think that once they and the buyer have signed
a contract that the deal is done. NO.
The
transaction is closed only when you have a check from the title company in your hands.
There can be as many as thirty inspection and completion details in a real estate contract, each with a separate
contract deadline. If any one of these deadlines isn’t met, your contract can be void.
Brokers have the edge here too, as they do this all the time and are familiar with how to
follow a contract to closing.
You can do it; however, I would urge you
to consider hiring a broker to do the contract coordination. You can find someone to do it for a Flat Fee usually
$380.00 to $450.00.
Take the hassle out of closing. You should
be busy packing and reading for your move.
5. Forms
There are numerous disclosure forms that your State will require. If they’re not
filled in on the appropriate form, you could have legal hassles later.
If
you choose to have a Broker do you contract writing and review, they will provide you with the required State approved
forms.
Think about it. $280.00 to $300.00 is cheap for peace of mind.
Summary:
These are the five concerns
you should have as a For Sale by Owner.
They are real and you should consider
carefully if you know how to handle each and every one. If not, consider Flat Fee services for:
Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
Contract
Writing
Transaction Coordinating.
Here’s a sample breakdown the savings to you, even after paying all the Flat Fees.
Let’s say you have a $200,000 house for sale and you pay six percent for a full service listing
that’s:
$12,000 in commission.
Hypothetically, if you used all three Flat Fee services and paid:
$249.00 MLS,
$279.00 contract review
$379.00 Transaction coordination.
$907.00 Your cost
$11,093 Savings
Even If you paid a Buyer Agent three percent ($6000)
You would still save $5,093.00
Worth thinking
about.
Copyright © Wee Dilts 2009
