Some people say it’s hard to sell your home privately, I say… have you ever tried?
Usually the people telling you “you won’t be able to do it”…”you’ll lose a lot of money”…”you’ll sell at the wrong price” are the very same people who have NEVER tried to sell their home privately. Why is it always so much easier to listen to someone with no knowledge whatsoever in the field of private house sales, telling us how it won’t work blah, blah, blah. Instead we should be asking them what qualifications they have to lecture us in the first place!
As a seasoned veteran of many private home sales, and author of an e-book on the very subject, I believe I’m suitably well placed to offer a totally biased (yes that says biased!) view on the FSBO market.
I read so much propaganda and rubbish written on the internet about this subject, probably written by Estate Agents themselves, that I’m attempting to fight back from the opposing corner. Had I been so inclined, this article could have been filled with the many facts and figures available on the web to support my case. But no, I’m not going to clog up the article with this % and that %, I’m just going to give you a few very simple pieces of advice that may or may not persuade you to take a chance. Please bear in mind it makes no difference to me whether you use an Estate Agent or not, I’m simply trying to open your mind to the possibilities that are available to you.
Lets take a quick look at the major pro’s and cons of FSBO
Pros
· Save lots of money
· Be in control
· Decide who you allow to view your property
· Potential to discount sale price without losing money
· Better placed to sell (you know your home better than anyone)
Cons
· Have to conduct viewings yourself
· Have to purchase your own For Sale sign
· Have to advertise your property
· Have to deal with the paperwork
· Have to value your property yourself
These seem to be the major pros and cons, although the list can be pretty much never ending the further you dig into the process. However, in this instance I’ll just address the cons as the pros are fairly self-explanatory and I probably don’t need to elaborate on these too much. The negatives on the other hand do need to be addressed.
Lets take a brief look at these in order and see if they really are negatives that will put a stop to your FSBO plans before they even start:
1) Have to conduct viewings yourself – In a recent survey, it was found that a large proportion of Estate Agents were “unable” to conduct viewings on a weekend. Is that unable or should it read unwilling! A lack of available staff was usually cited as the main reason. But hold on a minute. Don’t most of the population have to work during the week? Don't they want to view on the weekend? Why then do Estate Agents run a skeleton staff at the weekends? Isn't it now highly probable that you'll be showing the prospective purchasers around yourself?
2) Have to purchase your own For Sale Sign – This may be true, but there are many websites offering off the shelf signs where you can add your phone number and at an average cost of £20 or $30 it’s not really going to break the bank. If you think about saving money by not having a signboard outside…DON’T. Signboards sell houses, period.
3) Have to advertise your property – This is probably one of the major overriding fears of people entering the FSBO market for the first time. But it shouldn’t be as it’s one of the easiest to overcome. Prior to the internet, this was a major hurdle to overcome, and there were not many sellers prepared to take on the Estate Agents at their own game. The internet has changed all that, we don't have to physically visit Estate Agents anymore, just click and view. There are hundreds if not thousands of websites that cater solely for the FSBO market and new ones opening every day. Perfect advertising space that’s a lot cheaper than the local paper! They also offer an abundance of information, forms, signage and literally everything you need to compete head to head with the High Street Agents.
4) Have to deal with the paperwork – Yes this is true. As briefly mentioned above, many of the FSBO websites offering to advertise your property will also allow you to download template forms, and these are also included in many of the publications available about this subject. Do not let this point deter you from becoming a private seller as the vast majority of the paperwork will be dealt with by your Lawyer/Solicitor anyway, so there is actually very little to concern yourself about.
5) Have to value your property yourself – This is a lie. I’ve read on many occasions the facts and figures about private sellers overvaluing their property and taking forever to sell, and the reverse, undervaluing and selling for a loss. I presume that the articles are in fact written by “the professionals”. Why should we have to work out the valuation ourselves? Just visit three local Estate Agents, ask them for a valuation and take the average as your starting price. Every Agent I've known has always been delighted to offer a free valuation, as long as thy think they're likely to get yor instruction!
You should now be able to see just how easy a FSBO sale can be. Many negative comments about FSBO on the internet are completely incorrect and should be taken with a pinch of salt! Please keep an open mind and use the multitude of websites now at your disposal. Good Luck.
Gavin King is the Designated Broker of Realty In Idaho.
