For Sale By Owner
Selling a house on your own is a significant undertaking. If you are interested in trying it, ask yourself these questions to see if you are ready:
| Answer These Questions to See if You're Ready for FSBO |
| 1. Do you have the time? |
| 2. Will you be available to show your home to potential buyers? |
| 3. Is there anything special about your house that makes it hard to sell (or easy to sell). |
| 4. Do you have the time to learn about the necessary paperwork at each stage of the process? |
| 5. Is it ok if you home takes awhile to sell? |
Information on For Sale by Owner
Avoid For Sale by Owner If...
- You don’t have time
- You’re not comfortable with strangers in social situations
- You have mixed emotions about selling
- You’re nervous about people being in your space
- You don’t want to take on full responsibility for marketing your home
- You don’t want to or cannot lay out anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in upfront marketing costs
- You tend to be suspicious of people you don’t know
- You don’t feel safe opening the door to strangers
- You aren’t comfortable with negotiating
- You aren’t comfortable with paperwork, legal details, and complicated processes
Perform an Internet search on “For Sale by Owner” and you’ll find a number of companies with various services available. Try your local bookstore in the Real Estate section – there are plenty of resources there, too, spelling out in great detail how to proceed. But it’s still up to you to find the time, commitment, and ability – yourself – to do much of the job an agent would do.
Give It a Shot at First
It is not unusual for homeowners to attempt selling without an agent for a few weeks or a month, just to “put it out there” and see if anyone bites. If you suspect that your home will be snatched up quickly – or you’re in an area where homes are selling like hotcakes for expansion, changing use, or because the location is so desirable, then a “For Sale by Owner” option is a way to see if right.
For ALL the details on marketing your home --whether with FSBO or with a realtor--you can skip ahead to the Marketing Your Home section of the guide.
Otherwise, let's move on to the process of hiring a realtor.
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