For Sale By Owner - A Good Idea?

Selling your home without the assistance of a professional real estate agent or broker, known as FSBO (For Sale By Owner), is an alternative approach to consider. By taking on the task yourself, you can potentially save the approximately 6% commission that would typically go to an agent.

Although 6% may not seem significant, it can accumulate, especially for more expensive properties. However, it's crucial to recognize that achieving such savings comes with a cost. Selling your home through FSBO can be considerably challenging.

Statistics show that only around 10% of FSBO sellers achieve success, and not all of them actually save money. In many cases, FSBO sellers end up accepting a lower price for their home compared to what they could have obtained with an agent's assistance.

Moreover, there are additional factors to consider. Are you financially capable of making selling your home a full-time job? Many FSBO sellers find themselves devoting significant time and resources to marketing, advertising, inspections, paperwork, phone calls, showings, and troubleshooting that inevitably arise during the home-selling process.

Opting to work with a professional real estate agent also offers distinct advantages. An agent can list your home on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and various popular websites, enabling not only potential homebuyers but also other agents to easily discover your property. Additionally, professional agents possess an extensive network that facilitates the process of finding suitable buyers.

Before making a decision to sell your home independently, it's important to carefully assess the time and effort you can dedicate to the process, as well as the urgency with which you need to sell your home.