Confessions of a FSBO Lister...

Working closely with many REALTORS® as a lender, I know that a lot of them cringe at the term FSBO (For Sale By Owner). Even so, I put my home on the market to sell on my own because I didn’t want to ‘hurt anyone’s feelings” or alienate anyone by not listing my home with them. I was a FSBO!

Many homeowners have done the same, and put their homes up for sale by themselves, thinking it will bene t them. Why you may ask, do so many sell their house on their own? Well, in my opinion, here are some of the top worst reasons:

My home stayed on the market as a FSBO from October 2016 to March 2017. We even had an open house. There were showings, but very minimal. There were phone calls, but no follow-up. There were questions like, “Will you do a rent to own?” but no legitimate interest. Feeling overworked and that my beautiful home was under appreciated, on March 7, 2017 we listed our home with a REALTOR®. On March 24, 2017 we had 2 offers. Notice the short time it took to sell our home! YES it works, yes, REALTORS® know what they are doing, yes you need to list with an REALTOR®! You may think you don’t need an REALTOR®, well I say you do!

Maybe you are like me, very active on social media, know many REALTORS®, familiar with Zillow, using newspaper ads, or even leading people to your home with arrow signs.... It doesn’t work! Why? I am not a REALTOR® and I am not trained to do this! I may have all these connections BUT not the right type to make the sale of my home happen. I did not have the time to sit on these sites or answer calls and questions for the “lookie loos,” because I have a job and a family. There are not enough hours in a day to do all this.

Don’t get me wrong, selling your home by yourself is possible, absolutely, it just is not for everyone.

Now remember I am a mortgage loan officer so I get to see and hear about both sides of the transactions. I have seen appraisals for a FSBO listing come in a lot higher than what it was listed for. I have heard of nightmare negotiations. I have heard of promises not kept, and both sides losing money on things that could have been resolved through proper negotiations.

If there is anything that I have learned from my experience, it’s to let the professionals take charge of your listing. Rest easy, let the professionals do the worrying of selling your home, so can you worry about your new home!