5 Reasons YOU Should Never Go FSBO in Malone, NY.  (Or any other city...)

By:  Craig Garrow

In times of economic downturn and uncertainty, some sellers resort to selling their home FSBO - For Sale By Owner.  While it may make sense to try to save the commission, here are 5 reasons why, in my humble opinion, going FSBO may be costing you more than you think:

1. As a Seller, you are required by law to provide certain documentation and disclosures, and failure to do so could end up in litigation, therefore costing you more money.  When you list your home with a professional Real Estate Agent, it is our duty to not only provide you with the proper paperwork, but to manage the transaction from contract to close.
2. Since a majority of people have 9:00-5:00 Monday through Friday jobs, that means you, as the Seller, will have to be available on evenings and weekends to show your property, and have to hope the Buyer has the proper financial qualifications.  Since your time off is so precious, why not leave the odd hours showings to a Realtor?  Not only will you stay in control of your own schedule, but part of our jobs as Real Estate Professionals is to make sure every Buyer that comes through your home has been pre-qualified by a reputable lender.
3. Real Estate Professionals create more exposure.  What are you going to do to get your home sold?  Put a sign in the front yard?  Maybe put it on CraigsList?  How many signs are you going to put in the front yard? One?  If my office has 50 listings, that means 50 “For Sale” signs.  Who has a better chance of getting the phone to ring?
4. It’s hard to see the picture from inside the frame.  What I mean by that, is part of our job as Real Estate Professionals, is to be a 3rd party negotiator on your behalf.  We’re able to analyze the entire deal, and help counsel you to make the best possible decision. Let’s pretend you’re a FSBO who is asking $299,900 for your home, and a buyer walks in with a briefcase containing $250,000 cash.  Things tend to get a little dicey as a FSBO with a quarter of a million dollars cash on the table.  That leads us to last, but not least
5. Sellers who list their home with a Professional Realtor average 20% more money on the sale of their home than when they list FSBO.  Wow.  What that means to you, is that for every $100,000 of home you sell, you stand to lose up to $20,000 because of the disadvantage of being a FSBO.  All for trying to save on the commission.

I hope I haven’t scared anybody too much, but these are 5 very real scenarios in the FSBO world.  For the sake of your sanity, and finances, it’s worth interviewing a Real Estate Professional to assist you in the sale of your home.  For more information, feel free to contact me personally at (518) 353-2230, or reach out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SupremePMPlus .  You can also hit me on Twitter at @TheCraigGarrow or give our office a call at (518) 483-4163.