House Sale By Owner: Selling a Home For Sale By Owner Pros and Cons

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Pros And Cons Of a House For Sale By Owner

Have you seen home for sale by owner signs and wondered if you should do the same with your place? Do you want to know how to sell a house by owner? We will take an in-depth look at the house for sale by the owner process and the pros and cons.

A house sale by owner is easier when the market favors sellers, but it is still not simple. As a home seller, you naturally want to make as much money as possible from your home’s sale.

You may be thinking about selling a home yourself to avoid paying a real estate agent, which is understandable. The potential is there to make more money when selling without a Realtor.

However, there are some cons to selling a house by owner without the help of an agent.

Frankly, real estate agents do make a lot of money. Having been in the business for thirty-four years, I realize this.

I would never blame an owner for trying to save money by selling their own home. Just be sure you realize selling a home for sale by owner is a lot harder than you think! Ensure you know the drawbacks and benefits to the for sale by the owner process before taking the leap.

Keep reading to see all the pros and cons of selling a home for sale by owner.

Pros to a House Sale By Owner

1. You May Make More Money From The Sale.

When you sell the home yourself, you don’t have to pay for the help of a real estate agent.

Since real estate agents can charge a percentage fee based on the sale price, you could save thousands of dollars by doing it yourself – maybe even tens of thousands, depending on the value of your home. Saving a commission is the biggest reason homeowners attempt to sell for sale by owner.

The trick, of course, is making the sale without a real estate agent a reality. This is easier said than done. According to The National Association of Realtors, over ninety percent of all for sale by owners fail and end up hiring a real estate agent.

Do you want to increase your odds of success? Please look at my comprehensive article providing tips on selling a home without a real estate agent. With these home sale tips in hand, your odds will increase dramatically as a FSBO.

2. You’ll Have Complete Control Over The Home Sale.

When you do it yourself, you are in complete control of the sales process. You do not have to listen to anyone’s opinions about how you will market the home, how you will price it, how you negotiate, how you prepare the home for sale, or any other decisions. It’s all up to you. There is, of course, good and bad with this.

While you are your own boss, you’re losing the valuable counseling and expertise of a potential professional. A house for sale by owner means just that – you’re on your own.

3. You Can Devote Your Full Attention to The Sale of Your Home.

If he or she is worth hiring, a real estate agent will have other clients besides you. That means that you will not be the only concern of the agent.

In contrast, when you sell your own home, you can devote all your available time and energy to the sale. Ideally, you have lots of free time to market the home extensively, show at any time of the day and well into the evening, and be available to talk to buyers any time they might call.

Having time is only an advantage if you really do. If you work during the day or evening when potential buyers want to see the home, and you’re not available, it’s going to be even more difficult to accomplish a house sale by owner.

4. Additional Thoughts on Selling a Home By Owner.

The one instance where you can dramatically increase the odds of selling a home for sale by owner is when you are either located on a busy road or are located in a neighborhood where a real estate agent lists other homes. When located on the main road, you have the benefit of a lot of people noticing you’re selling your home as long as you have prominent signage.

A for sale by owner can also reap the benefits if their home is located in a neighborhood or subdivision where quite a bit of traffic is generated from other properties listed for sale by a Realtor. You will basically be profiting from the real estate companies’ ability to draw buyers into the neighborhood from other properties they have listed.

When buyers enter the neighborhood, they will probably inquire about your home. When someone asks how to sell your own home, this is one of the primary methods. You are capitalizing on all of the traffic the real estate agent is bringing in the neighborhood.

Cons to a House Sale By Owner

1. There May Not be as Much Financial Benefit as You Imagine.

While you will not have to pay a real estate agent, you will not likely fetch as high a price for your home as you would if you worked with a professional.

An established and respected real estate agent knows how to market your property to the right buyers, price it competitively, and negotiate based on the hard facts about your home.

One of the biggest reasons for sale by owners fail is an incorrect asking price for the home. Without the guidance of a competent real estate agent or appraiser, pricing the home correctly can be extremely difficult.

In fact, many real estate agents price homes incorrectly every day. Two factors determine every home sale, including:

Price – Without the right price, it is nearly impossible to sell a home. Being overpriced is the #1 reason homes do not sell!
Marketing – The purpose of a well-designed real estate marketing plan is to get as many qualified buyers in the home as possible.

Without having both of these down, a for sale by owner loses any potential for multiple offers. Even when everything is done spot on, a house for sale by owner rarely ever has a bidding war. Without having multiple offers, a house for sale by owner won’t ever sell over the asking price.

This speaks to the laws of supply and demand. When selling a home, your goal is to get multiple offers from different parties. When doing so, a seller is in the driver’s seat. The price often gets bid up over the asking price in such circumstances.

When selling a home by owner, there just aren’t going to be enough people that find out your property is for sale.

2. Marketing a Home is Not Easy – Especially Without an Established Network.

You can list your home online without much effort. But so can everyone else. Good marketing ensures that your listing is noticed and noticed by buyers that are a good fit for what you have to offer. Sure, an agent will list your home online. But he or she will also get the word out across a network of agents working for buyers in your area.

This is part and parcel with the multiple listing service (MLS) and established online real estate sites such as Realtor.com. Your agent can reach people that your online listing never would, and in a way that is far more compelling than one of the thousands of listings on a web page. The best real estate agents have their own websites that are prospect magnets.

3. Selling a For Sale by Owner Home is Hard Work.

If you want to do a decent job selling your home, you will need to devote a considerable amount of time to the sale. Your home needs to be inspected, repaired as necessary (but only repairs that will make for a better sale), photographed, filmed, listed, shown, and more.

When you do get interested buyers, you will need to be available to answer their phone calls, to show the home when they are available, and you will need to negotiate a good price. Plenty of people sell their own homes. Few of them do it well, so you need to be prepared to put in the work.

4. For Sale by Owner Websites Aren’t That Effective.

When selling a home, the vast majority of buyers find homes by looking online. Unfortunately, having your home on the most popular for sale by owner websites isn’t going to help you much.

The for sale by owner sites only garners a fraction of the traffic sites that market listed properties for sale. In case you want to give them a try, some of the most popular FSBO sites include:

www.forsalebyowner.com
www.fizber.com
www.owners.com
www.fsbo.com
www.homesbyowner.com
www.propertysites.com

5. Even With Your Full Attention, You Will Struggle to Replace an Excellent Real Estate Agent.

Selling a home without a real estate agent isn’t a walk in the park. You may have all the free time in the world, and you may be ready to devote yourself fully to selling your home by owner.

Unfortunately, you will still not be able to do many things at the same skill level as an established real estate agent.

An exceptional real estate agent does not need to spend every hour of the day selling your home because he or she is efficient, practiced, and able to choose what to do and when with accuracy.

You will be new at selling a home, which means every step will have a learning curve, and you will not have the opportunity to practice – to fail and improve – to reach the level of a professional.

6. You Need to Qualify The Buyer.

If you are lucky enough to find a buyer on your own, it’s going to be imperative to make sure they are actually qualified to buy. One of the problems with selling by owner is not having any skills in determining a buyer’s qualifications. Sure, you may be thinking all I need to do is get a mortgage letter. Not so fast.

There is a huge difference between being pre-approved for a mortgage vs. pre-qualified. I have seen specific instances where for sale by owners were burned because they didn’t understand the distinction between the two. Often a pre-qualification isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

7. You Need to Be Careful to Ensure Your Safety When Selling by Owner.

Inviting strangers into your home repeatedly carries risks, just as putting up personal information on the internet puts you at risk. Real estate agents have a process for ensuring both their own safety and the safety of their clients, but you will be on your own when working with the public.

It would help if you were extra diligent about what you put in your listing, and especially about how you show your home. Don’t show alone; ask visitors to sign a guest book and present id, and remove all your valuables from sight before showing.

Be especially careful as well if you plan on doing an “open house.” Open houses are a magnet for crime. Lots of sellers don’t realize how foolish having an open house can be. Do open houses work to sell homes? Statistically speaking – no, they do not. Real Estate agents hold open houses to prospect for business. Open houses might be convenient in your situation, so if you plan on having one be cautious!

8. You Need to Do Your Research and Ensure You’re Legal.

Each area has its own laws and regulations related to selling a home. You need to read up on what will be required of you as a seller, and you need to prepare all of the necessary paperwork for making a real estate transaction. This stuff is important, so take your time and make sure you understand how to do things right before you move forward.

For example, does your state require a septic system inspection or possibly a smoke/carbon monoxide detector inspection before closing? There could be many other requirements of a seller as they vary from state to state.

One of the biggest areas for lawsuits is not understanding your state’s disclosure laws. Unfortunately, many for sale by owners think they can sell their home as-is and do not need to be honest about problems. This is NOT the case in most places and could easily put you in the middle of an ugly lawsuit.

9. You Will be a Target For Bargain Shoppers When Selling By Owner.

For sale by owner attracts certain buyers, those looking for a good deal. They assume you are willing to sell for less because you do not have to pay a real estate agent, so you will need to be prepared for dealing with such buyers.

One of the biggest misconceptions of a house for sale by owner is that they think they will pocket ALL of the commission savings. This is RARELY ever the case. In fact, most buyers want to share in the real estate commission savings.

10. You May Want to Consult a Real estate Agent or Appraiser About Pricing Your Home.

Even if you do not hire a real estate agent for the full sales process, you can still benefit from talking to a professional about pricing your home. The price you set for your home will have a significant effect on the results you get.

Price is too high, and you will drive away buyers and may cause your home to sit on the market for far too long.

There are lots of real estate agents who will gladly complete a market evaluation on your property.

Don’t just pick any real estate agent you come across, though. Do some research on who is selling what in your area. Look for a top-producing Realtor who gets the pricing right from day one.

11. At The Very Least Offer to Pay a Buyer’s Agent Who Procures a Buyer.

You can still save money by making a house sale by owner. Instead of paying a full commission, which can typically run anywhere from 5-7%, offer to pay just the buyer’s agent for procuring a buyer. This will save you half a commission and could end up getting your home sold much quicker!

12. Consider Using a Flat Fee MLS Brokerage

One of the additional options many for sale by owners are using a flat fee MLS. With a flat fee agency, you’ll get your house into the multiple listing service. Doing so will be a significant factor in getting your home sold. One of the major advantages of using a real estate agent is their ability to get the word out that your house is for sale. The MLS ensure that happens.

When you go with a flat fee MLS arrangement, your home will appear online for a fraction of the cost. Most flat fee companies charge anywhere from $300-$800 to get your home listed.

Keep in mind when doing this, you’ll still want to offer a competitive buyer’s agent commission to get your home sold.

Top Reasons Why For Sale By Owners Fail to Reach Their Goals

The list price of the home was wrong from the start.
Not making the home accessible when the buyer’s schedule dictates.
The home was not prepared properly to sell. This can include fixing items that should have been repaired and knowing how to stage a home properly.
The home was not marketed properly, including presentation, photography, and internet exposure.
Not knowing how to properly qualify a buyer to ensure they can get a mortgage.
Not knowing how to negotiate home inspection repair requests.
Being stubborn enough not to offer a buyer’s agent a commission if they bring a buyer.

These are the biggest reasons why for sale by owners fail. Knowing this, make sure you pay attention to these things to increase your chances of success! As you can see, before selling for sale by owner, weighing the pros and cons is a wise move.

House Sale By Owner Near Me

One of the questions buyers sometimes ask in really tight inventory markets is how do you find homes for sale by owner. There are a few different ways. Of course, you can ask a real estate agent if they know of any. You can also try looking at some of the house for sale by owner websites I mentioned above.

Lastly, you could do an online search for house sale by owner near me or houses for sale by owner near me. You might get lucky and see a for sale by owner advertisement. A house for sale by owner is more challenging to find when the market heavily favors buyers, as more folks realize they need the services of a pro.

Final Thoughts on a House Sale By Owner

Selling a home for sale by owner offers the opportunity to save a substantial amount of real estate commission. But is the time and effort really worth it? Only you can decide. Hopefully, you have found this information on selling a home by owner useful.

Additional Home Selling References

Is hiring a real estate agent worth the cost – should you sell your house by owner or hire a real estate agent instead. The article offers guidance on how to choose.
Steps to take when selling FSBO – get solid tips on what you need to do when selling without a real estate agent.
The pitfalls of going FSBO – get more advice on why a home sale by owner is not easy to pull off. A house for sale by owner often ends up listed with a real estate agent.
Is going for sale by owner the right move – find opinions on why an owner’s house sale might not be the best decision. A house sale by owner often ends in failure.

Use these additional resources to make sound decisions when weighing the pros and cons of selling for sale by owner.

About the author: The above Real Estate information on the pros and cons of selling a home by owner was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 34+ Years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!

I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.