The Secret Life of For Sale By Owners

Saving money? That’s a no brainer, right? Easy-peasy choice. It is also the choice that For Sale by Owners assume they’re choosing when they attempt to sale their home themselves. This is what we call a false assumption, and I’ll tell you why. It is often believed that selling yourself will save you money because of paying the agent’s commission. However, in 2020 the typical For Sale by Owner home sold for $217,900, almost $80,000 less than the average agent-assisted home sale ($295,000). This statistic alone proves that agents earn every bit of that commission, as they can make their commission and simultaneously up their client’s profit. 

*FSBO’s reported that one of the most difficult tasks was preparing/fixing up their home for sale. A good agent can easily alleviate that headache. We come with amazing references, advice and resources to help you get the job done right with the most miniscule amount of stress possible. * They also found frustration in understanding and performing paperwork. This is likely because even the smartest person has something to learn, and lucky for you an agent can guide you along the way. Seeing as a real estate agent is already familiar with the contracts and paperwork, it is well worth it to have them on your side, ensuring the best possible outcome. 

Real estate professionals learn the best practices for pricing a home, so it was no surprise that *FSBOs reported having difficulty getting the price right. There is a math to it, and agents are pretty good at it, but we’re also surrounded by it daily. Real estate agents even study and follow the ever-changing market to keep up with proper pricing practices. Moral of the story save yourself the headache and allow your agent to be the math wiz. 

I leave you today with this simple but quintessential thought, there is a reason (or a couple) that agents are still around. A real estate agent is there to ride that roller coaster of home selling and/or buying with you. Alone or assisted, anything involving a home sale will be a roller coaster but picture your agent as Clark Kent. Kent is always around, ever the professional and ready to problem solve and/or problem prevent, and at any moment Kent can rip his shirt open and be your Superman. When a seller reaches a fork in the road and they aren’t quite sure where to go from there the roller coaster won’t stop to let them off, buttttt when Superman jumps in with those super talents surely the roller coaster can be contained, slowed down, and corrected. 

*12% of FSBOS reported difficulty preparing/fixing up their homes for the sale. 

10% of FSBOS reported difficulty understanding and performing paperwork. 

9% of FSBOS complained of not being able to get the price right. 

(These statistics are courtesy of National Association of Realtors®️ https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/quick-real-estate-statistics )