To FSBO or not to FSBO
At first I did not know where to go with this blog, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt I needed to write this. I am writing this for those folks that are presently and in the near future thinking about selling their home on their own. Good luck, I really wish you well, but not everyone is ready to go this road alone. I went on many For Sale by Owner sites and right away I found issues.
No. 1 Why are almost all the builders on these sites, I thought this is for homeowners selling their residence. Many homebuyers especially novices or 1st time buyers have no idea that they will be unrepresented when they act on this advertisement. Most people have no clue how far this is from the truth. Sure there is room for this symbiotic relationship between Realtor and Builder, but real estate agents already know were the new homes are. We go to all the grand openings and agent events, but more on this subject later. Back to the FSBO.
No. 2 The listings lack in up-dates. The homes seem linger for month on these sites. Either the homes have been sold, been taken off the market or in the end what should be a better solution, given to a real estate agent. So one can waste hours on listings that are "poof" gone.
No. 3 There is a self proclaimed guru on the forum site, that proclaimed himself know it all and feels he is the sellers answer to selling his home and dispensing advise. Hope he passed his Bar Exam.
No. 4 They sell you a $50 packet of forms and then you get to fill them out or do you? Most people don't even do their own tax return and now you are to find yourself through this maze.
No. 5 Next they ask that you do your own appraisal and send you to some site or for another $30 they send you a report which you can review. Charted valuation, trends, detailed maps and comps and supposedly it's same informations lenders use to make loan decisions. Guess what, you get to read and interpret them. I bet if you ask any real estate agent he will give you one for free and want's you to come back and ask questions.
OK, so you have sold a home once, twice or more, congratulations but you are some of the few folks that ventured down that road. The truth of the matter is that many have not and for those the best advice is seek out a Realtor, interview several, you don't have to settle for the first one. If you don't like what you hear; interview another and another, until you find the one for you. It's all about relationship building.