How to ‘For Sale, By Owner’ Your Home [Pros + Cons]
‘For sale by owner’ when an owner sells their property without hiring an agent or a broker.
If you’re thinking of selling your home, you may be interested in saving some money by selling without a real estate agent. Here are a few of the pros and cons of selling your Massachusetts home by owner:
Pros of For Sale by Owner
You call all the shots.
Price? Open house times? Sites to list on? That’s all up to you. If you’ve sold a house before or have experience in real estate, you may be able to make educated decisions on how to best advertise, sell and close your house.
You build the relationship with your buyer.
Without an intermediary, you can share details about your home with potential buyers. This means that you can directly share tips and tricks about maintaining your home, as well as share information about the neighborhood, neighbors and lifestyle.
You don’t pay a commission.
When selling a home, you typically pay 3 percent commission to your agent, and 3 percent commission to the buyer’s agent. Without real estate agents, these costs are negated.
Cons of For Sale by Owner -- or why you should consider working with a licensed realtor
You don’t have the inside market intel.
Realtors and real estate agents have unprecedented insight into the homes that have sold recently both in your neighborhood and throughout the state. These trends in buyer and seller preferences can make a huge difference in correctly marketing your property.
You don’t have enough information to price strategically.
Sure, you may know what price your next-door neighbor sold their house for 15 years ago. But do you know what the home is worth now? Do you know what the value of the renovations are? Do you know the pressures or popularity of your local market?
Realtors have the data and intelligence to price homes at their maximum value to sell quickly. If you’re not working with a real estate agent, you’re missing out on information that can help you properly set your home’s price. This is backed up by sales data: the typical FSBO home in 2018 sold for $217,900 compared to $295,000 for agent-assisted home sales.
You don’t have the time.
Selling your house can’t be done on nights and weekends. A realtor or agent is fully dedicated and motivated to sell your home quickly and for top dollar. If you are working, taking care of a family and managing your move, selling your house is an extremely time consuming task. By outsourcing to a professional, you can actually make more money more quickly.
You don’t have the direct line to buyers.
Buyers are incentivized to work with realtors and agents. With low or no buyer agent fees, buyers rely on agents to help them navigate this process. If you’re also working with an agent to sell your home, you have a better chance of reaching the buyers who have also already built relationships with agents. About 29 percent of homes are bought because they were sent the listing from a real estate agent.
You are not ready to manage digital marketing.
52 percent of buyers find the home they’re purchasing online. This means using sites like Zillow, Redfin and Trulia to list and market the home effectively. Real estate agents are already well versed in these sites, how they work, and how to use them to generate buyer leads. If you work with an agent, they can make sure these sites are used to their full potential and increase interest in your home.
Generally, FSBO is a good choice if you have experience selling property, and have the free hours to dedicate to this process. Otherwise, I recommend working with an established realtor who can ensure you get the best price for your home.