Any for sale by owner success stories?

DH and I have decided to sell our house and were thinking of listing it for sale by owner.

Anyone gave any success stories?

Any for sale by owner success stories?

we are currently in contract on a house that is being sold by the owner directly though looked at a ton of FSBO homes previously. This purchase happened to be a much easier experience (as someone told us about it and I knew the location well), but as a previous buyer (for yearssss) I'd say to take good photos, spread the word to EVERYONE, do your research and price accordingly, and have good communications. We saw some homes that were priced so high that is was just silly (and they probably would have benefitted from an agent helping them price the home), and others where setting up a time to see the home was just a series of emails and phone calls that never lead anywhere. Good luck!

Re: Any for sale by owner success stories?

Obviously, as a real estate agent, I have my biases about this issue. But I really think that you ought to consider a few things --

1) I assume you are considering going the FSBO route to save on real estate commission. But there are many studies showing that FSBO generally net less money than those who list with an agent and pay a commission. I recently saw a stat that FSBO homes sell for 16% less than a home that is represented by an agent. So even if you pay 4% to 6% in fees to realtors, you would still make out ahead of the game in terms of net dollars with an agent. I think FSBOs generally get less because it is hard to do widespread marketing, so they typically market to their circle of family, friends, and friends of friends. So it is not a true arms' length negotiation, when you sell to someone you know. In those situations, you generally don't get top dollar.

2) Also, many agents (and buyers) are wary of dealing with FSBOs -- the stereotype of a FSBO is that they are not serious, or they are not realistic, and that it will be a lot harder to get the transaction done.

Just yesterday, I tried to show a FSBO home that my buyer clients found... I scheduled an appointment on Saturday, homeowners weren't there at the appointed time. We left 2 messages, waited 15 minutes, no one called back or showed up. Then a half hour later, the seller texts me that his wife is on the way and will be there in 15 minutes. At that point, we had moved on to other appointments, and couldn't go back. I texted that we would contact him to reschedule. No response. My buyers are so motivated and very financially qualified. The seller is trying to sell a house for over $600K. Not the way to do it!

3) Consider how you will market the home. (Which goes back to point 1). Internet marketing is really essential these days, and it's important to be visible on the big real estate sites (MLS, Zillow, etc.). You can pay certain companies a flat fee to get on MLS, but then you also have to offer out a commission to agents who are going to bring buyers. So are you really saving much? Same with Zillow - you can pay to put your home on there, but most buyers are going to bring agents, who are going to expect to be paid. I sold one FSBO last year -- I actually did a mailing to a condo development where a buyer client wanted to live, and found someone willing to sell. But my fee was negotiated into the transaction so that it came out of the seller's sale proceeds.

4) Consider access to the house. If buyers can't get in for showings, they can't make offers. Do you work a lot? Do your kids have evening and weekend activities? Are you willing to sacrifice weekend recreational and family time to sit around waiting for buyers (who may cancel at the last minute or not show)? At least with a listing agent, he/she can assist with showings by taking a key, or putting a lockbox on, or making a courtesy key available to other licensed agents, who will need to schedule an appointment through a real estate office (and are less likely to just not show up).

5) Consider safety - Will you feel comfortable having a total stranger knock on your door to see the house and letting them in? What if you are home alone? What if your kids are there? If you list, then all buyers will be coming in with a licensed agent who is verified through your listing agent's office. With a FSBO, anyone can call you or contact you to set up an appointment, with good intentions or not good intentions.

6) Do you have all the information you will need to sell? Pricing information? Do you know how to navigate through the required disclosures for sale? Dealing with the buyer's lender? Dealing with the town if you have C/O issues? Your attorney can help, but they are usually a step removed from the process as they typically don't see the house and usually just handle drafting the contract and the closing. An agent is the one who usually deals with home inspections, appraisals, and other trouble shooting that comes up.

Hope this helps! If you have any questions about selling or specific concerns about listing with an agent (or going the FSBO route), let me know. I'd be happy to chat with you about it.

Re: Any for sale by owner success stories?

Re: Any for sale by owner success stories?

Great! I am happy to talk with you guys some more... I am very low pressure, so at least I can talk through more of the pros/cons with you, and then you can decide when you have more info. But I would be thrilled to work with you to list it!

When you are ready to meet, just call me (516) 587-7618 or email, [email protected] (or FM me), and we can set it up.

Any for sale by owner success stories?

not sure if you're looking for failures as well....

we put ours up FSBO in 2010 (I think) the market was moving, but not really busy. we had a very nice 2br house that was completely redone. we received a lot of interest, a lot of people came through the house through appointments....

we had what we thought was a solid offer, they dragged their feet going into contract, made a big stink at inspection and tried to get us to drop $20K b/c they wanted a new gas boiler, we had a working boiler.... so we terminated.

Either or, the process was a lot of trouble and the market was tough at the time. Our house was unique in being a 2/1 that was in primo condition, basically the main complaint of the house was the 2 bed, everything else was huge for a 2br.

we eventually sold through an agent.

I'm sure its doable to sells FSBO, but if I do sell my current house, I'll probably go straight to an agent.

Re: Any for sale by owner success stories?

Re: Any for sale by owner success stories?

Also, sometimes I am not great with matching screen names with people I've met "in real life," but I just reviewed my FMs and I totally remember you and your husband and your house and all of the details of the situation! (I wasn't making the connection when I first responded).

So yes - of course - let me know when we can get together and I can at least update the market analysis for you.

Any for sale by owner success stories?

We bought our last home direct from the owners. We actually became friends through the sale and remain friendly today, 8 years later.

We have been through home sales and purchases before and were very familiar with the processes involved.

They obviously did their homework, staged their house well for showing, advertised sale and open houses, prepared spec sheets for prospective buyers, had comp information at their open houses.

On our end, we did a lot of research, got comp information for the neighborhood, verified tax/school information, knew what we wanted to pay for the home, had inspection done, had a RE attorney who did above and beyond usual.

It took some work on both ends, but we were all happy with the transaction. I wouldn't hesitate to buy or sell by onwer in the future.

Re: Any for sale by owner success stories?

My ILs sold one of their homes FSBO when the market was in the downswing. They ended up selling to a real estate agent within a month so they must've did everything right.

Their house was a custom home and one of the most expensive in the area. Because of that, she wanted bank pre approval letters before showing it. She had trouble with one guy harassing them, saying he could pay cash but never producing the pre approval. It may be worth doing so that you are dealing with serious buyers only.

Any for sale by owner success stories?

Both neighbors did it with signs off the Main Street and balloons both got full asking price or above - reale state agents came through the open house to tell them they couldn't do it, wrong! They did it and did it well. I would say that having a lawyer will help you.