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9 Reasons Not to Sell “By Owner”

On the Market
By Nancy Puder ~

In a strong housing market, you will sometimes see homes offered “for sale by owner.”

These properties are referred to as FSBO’s.  In most cases, the reason a seller chooses to market their home as a FSBO is to avoid paying the real estate commission.

Nancy Puder
Nancy Puder

Statistics repeatedly show that the average FSBO nets the same amount of cash (or even less) than the seller who sells their home with a Realtor….and they ended up doing all the work!

Here are some reasons to think about if you are planning to sell your home yourself.

1.  Buyers want to save the same commission – Savvy buyers understand that the seller is not paying a real estate commission and expect the seller to discount their price accordingly so they can also share in the savings.

2. Knowledge – Realtors know the market and can help pinpoint the value of the property and create a pricing strategy that will help you get the most for your home.

3. Negotiating skills – A great Realtor has negotiating skills that will get you the best price and help you avoid the multiple opportunities for a train wreck during escrow.

4. Experience – An active and experienced Realtor will help you avoid obstacles before they become a problem and help navigate your transaction to a successful closing.

5. Staging – Staging is important but often the seller has a different opinion of what staging is as opposed to what will work to sell the home.  A good Realtor will advise you on how to highlight your home’s best features.

6. Marketing – A Realtor with a great marketing system can present your property to the greatest amount of buyers.  With more people competing to purchase your property, the higher the likelihood of getting the best price for your home.

7.  Legal Compliance – Staying legally compliant is important when selling a property. The responsibilities of a seller can become complicated and providing all of the necessary disclosures can be overwhelming.  An experienced agent will help you with the purchase contract and the disclosures to make sure you are in compliance with the law.

8. Buyer Concern – Buyers are sometimes puzzled as to why a seller has chosen not to hire a Realtor.  Some buyers are concerned that the seller may be trying to hide something that would be revealed if the home were being sold professionally.

9. Remember the 80/20 Rule – 20% of the people are doing the heavy lifting and 80% will do the least amount of work they can get away with. In the real estate world, this is especially true.

Sometimes a seller has had a “less than impressive” experience with a Realtor, resulting in a clouded view of the industry.

Before making the decision to sell your home, my recommendation is to interview one or more Realtors who sell a significant amount of homes each year and ask them to share their marketing plan with you.  If they don›t have one…move on!

Nancy Puder is a real estate broker with Nancy Puder & Associates, a premier real estate boutique company in Arroyo Grande, CA. Nancy Puder is one of the largest listing brokers on the Central Coast. Call or Text Nancy (805) 710-2415 with your questions anytime. She always enjoys hearing from you!  To access other real estate articles written by Nancy Puder, go to www.nancypuderassociates.com or email [email protected]

About the author

Justin Stoner

Justin is a journalist of more than 20 years. He specializes in digital technology and social media strategy. He enjoys using photography and video production as storytelling tools.

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