Going FSBO? Consider These 3 Things Before Selling Your Home Without a Real Estate Agent

Homes for sale by owner (FSBO) is a real estate transaction where the homeowner sells the house themselves without any real estate agent. It’s understandable why this is appealing for many, as the costs saved in real estate commission can be significant, yet not all FSBO transactions are successful.

After all, there is a reason real estate agents charge a commission – they are doing a lot of work to try and sell a property. Yes, sellers can do much of this work themselves but that doesn’t necessarily mean they should!

There is a serious amount of time and effort required to sell a property at the various stages of a real estate transaction, so it’s important to seriously consider whether FSBO is the right choice.

Here are 3 things to think about if you are going FSBO:

Do You Know How to Market the Property?

Advertising a home for sale is no longer a case of hammering a for sale sign in the yard or placing a listing in the local classifieds. There is a lot of work required to effectively market a home for sale, with online now being the first port of call for any prospective buyer.

This means you need to list the property on various online listing portals, but even that won’t guarantee the same level of exposure as you’d get from an estate agent. Realtors have developed a wide marketing network that will better advertise a home for sale in most instances.

Marketing isn’t easy and you’ll need to deal with all inquiries and other aspects of selling the home, so be prepared for a lot work!

How are Your Pricing the Property?

Most people doing FSBO value their property by comparing it to similar properties online or whatever offer their neighbor received when selling. This can be very misleading though and often causes a home to be mispriced.

Overpricing is never a good idea as it means you probably won’t be selling any time soon, and properties that sit on the market for extended periods often see lower offers. Under-price and you could lose thousands, so make sure you have a solid plan for how to accurately price your property.

Real estate agents have years of market experience to draw from, which is why their valuations are so accurate and likely to get the desired offer.

How is the curb Appeal?

How your home looks will have a huge impact on prospective buyers, so when selling the property, you need to think about the curb appeal and whether more work is needed to improve it. The goal is to always make the house appealing to the widest market possible, which often requires a spot of paintwork, tidying the front yard, and fixing any minor issues outside the property.

Objectively identifying the curb appeal is difficult for a property owner, so you need to ensure that you can look at it and see what – if any – improvements are needed.

The last thing you want to do is spend more money than is needed on improving curb appeal, as this only takes away from your sales profits. Conversely, underspending may make it difficult to sell the property, so be sure to find the right balance!

Inland Empire Escrow  provides escrow services for a diverse variety of real estate transactions.  With offices in Chino CA and San Bernardino CA, we quickly and professionally service all the surrounding cities such as Chino Hills, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Riverside, Redlands, Colton, Grand Terrace, Yucaipa, and more.  To hear more about our escrow services for residential, mobile home, short sale, REO, bulk/business sale, 1031 Exchange, or agricultural escrow, contact us today at (800) 917-9387.