Tips and Tools for For Sale By Owner

		FSBO HOW TO
In this issue: • Intro • Selling FSBO Vs. with an agent • Saving the commission • Tip of the week	Spring is here :) Spring selling season is here! We are definitely seeing an uptick in the activity. Buyer inquires are up and things are moving a bit. That does not mean the market is turning though, we always see an uptick in activity around this time of year. But make sure you take advantage of it, be priced right and make sure your home is easily available for potential buyers. The coming months are your best shot at getting your home sold.
THE DREADED TOPIC...SELLING FSBO VS. SELLING WITH A REALTOR® There are advantages and disadvantages with both. Lets look at all the pros and cons from a neutral standpoint. Selling FSBO: Pro's Saves 3% commission if you are offering 3% to buyer's broker, or 6% if no commission is offered. You get direct feedback from all buyers, as they deal with you directly. No one knows the home better than you. Con's Time consuming. You need to be available at all times when potential buyers call, in addition marketing your home takes time. Safety. You have no way of pre screening your potential buyers, even if you get their contact info and something goes missing or God forbid something else happens, chances are that contact info is bogus. You might not have enough knowledge about all the legalities connected to selling your home. A NAR study (which I am sure is somewhat jaded, so the number is probably lower), but it gives you at least an idea, shows that 87% of all residential real estate law suits involves a FSBO. Limiting yourself by excluding many potential buyers that are working with a Realtor®. Being on MLS as a limited service listing helps somewhat, however (and this is very unfortunate and I do not condone it) many agents will not show your home even if on MLS when you are limited service, as they think it threatens their livelihood. Having Realtors® knocking on your door at all times, soliciting your listing. ;) No easy access to market information on a daily basis. This info is imperative to make sure you are following the market trends and don't lose time and money by being behind the market. Costly. FSBO's tend to sit on the market much longer due to the limited exposure. Have you even calculated how much money you have spent on signs, advertising, flyers etc? Did you remember to add your holding costs of your home? Such as mortgage, utilities, HOA etc? Average days on market in the valley right now is 120 days with a Realtor®, of course days on market varies greatly depending on many factors. But by using the 120 day current time, how much holding costs have you paid so far above that? Selling through a Realtor® (a good one): Pro's Maximum market exposure through MLS, Enhanced listing on Realtor.com, professional marketing to the public, direct exposure to top agents working your neighborhood through your agents network. Faster selling time due to increased exposure. By using an agent you are protecting yourself from a lot of the pitfalls FSBO's usually fall in. All legal aspects of the transaction are being covered. An agent will also guide you in preparing all paperwork, ensuring a smooth transaction. An agent knows what buyers are looking for and can advise you as to what can be done to maximize the impact your home has on potential buyers. Other than keeping your home ready for show, no time taken from your life to sell your home. Buyers are pre screened for your safety. Your agent has access to daily market activities and can advice and work out a selling strategy accordingly. Your agent does this for a living, they are professionals, just as you would hire a plumber when you have a plumbing leak, a roofer when you have a roof leak etc, you should hire a professional to sell your home. Con's Finding the right agent, I admit can be a task, unfortunately as in any profession, there are good Realtors® and bad Realtors®. The rest of the con's for hiring or working with a Realtor®, would be the pro's on selling FSBO.
SAVING THE COMMISSION You might think you save money by selling FSBO because you are eliminating any or part of the commission Realtors® charge. That might be true in some cases, however from my experience that is not necessarily true. A real life example is the buyer I worked with this weekend. He has bought and sold many homes in his lifetime. He has always bought or sold FSBO. We have been looking for a couple of weekends now and we finally found one that he wanted to put in an offer on. When we wrote up the offer he told me about his negotiating tactics in previous transactions. He simply subtracts a 6% commission off of the asking price to get the number he is willing to pay. Like he said "The sellers are saving 6% by selling FSBO, so therefore I want that savings transferred to me." Unfortunately, that is how most people look at it when dealing with FSBO's, especially in a buyers market. Most people buying a FSBO buy it because they can save the 6% themselves, which leaves you, the seller with no savings at all. So, from a monetary standpoint, selling FSBO is not necessarily beneficial to the seller.		TIP OF THE WEEK Exclusive agency listing Did you know about this type of listing? Probably not, most agents will not advice you that it exists and will not take an exclusive agency listing. An exclusive agency listing means that you are listed with an agent, and owe him/her a commission if the agent produces the buyer from his/her efforts. However, the exclusive agency also allows for that if you the seller, find the buyer yourself, you will owe the agent no commission. An exclusive agency listing is a win/win situation for both parties. If the agent does his/her job, then he/she gets paid. If you sell your home from all of your efforts, then you don't need to pay. Something to think about.
	Tonje Kearney, Realtor® 623-205-9976 Tonje@TeamKearney.com www.TeamKearney.com
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