Should you sell your home on your own? We’ll go over 10 reasons why For Sale By Owner properties can actually cost you more time, money, and headaches.
Many homeowners think they can sell their own home. However, there are 10 reasons why you should avoid listing your home as “For Sale By Owner.”
1. There are common scams that target FSBO properties. The scammer sends you fraudulent papers from an attorney requesting your private information and, before you know it, your identity has been stolen.
2. You will have all of the liability. We all make mistakes, but if you make a mistake selling your home, it’s more likely that the buyer will sue you personally. When you work with a real estate agent, we have insurance that covers up to $1 million for each incident.
3. The paperwork is daunting. The current purchase agreement is more than 50 pages. Filling out the wrong information or checking the wrong box could cost you thousands of dollars or land you in court.
4. You could end up in a bad deal. If the buyer makes a low offer, you’re stuck with it once you sign on the dotted line.
5. You will sell your home for a lot less money. FSBO properties sell for about 16% less than properties represented by real estate agents. The median sales price for a For Sale By Owner home is $210,000, while homes represented by an agent sell for an average of $249,000.
6. Your home will not attract as many buyers. A lot of buyers do not want to deal with FSBO properties because they don’t want to deal with the lack of representation, liability, or headaches that arise without a professional Realtor involved. As a result, you will be selling your home to a smaller buyer pool.
7. Inspections can be problematic. Sellers who don’t know the rules can get stuck with unnecessary costs for repairs. For example, when Sue sold her 10-year-old home, the inspector said she needed to change a variety of things because the code had changed. The inspector did not understand that since the home was built before the code changed, Sue did not have to make those repairs. So, because Sue and the inspector did not understand the code and the current law, Sue wound up paying thousands of dollars for unnecessary repairs.
We recommend hiring a professional real estate agent to sell your home.
8. Your marketing is limited. The National Association of Realtors did a study to figure out where FSBO home sellers found their buyers. 42% of those sales came from the yard sign, 32% came from family and friends, and 15% came from social media. No disrespect to any For Sale By Owner sellers out there, but if all you have is a yard sign and your uncle Bob to promote your house, you can see how that impacts your bottom line. We spend over $45,000 a month to advertise our listings, so we will get your home in front of every potential buyer in your price point.
9. The little costs add up. The main reason most people want to sell their own homes is to avoid paying the Realtor commission. However, there are so many hidden fees involved in selling a home that not hiring a Realtor may cost you more money. Whether it’s photography, fliers, or listing your home on the MLS, you will get nickel and dimed through the whole process.
10. Selling your own home will cost you a lot of time. It takes time to take the pictures, study the contracts, find an attorney, find a title company, and research whether or not a buyer can obtain a mortgage.
Ultimately, we recommend that you work with a real estate agent to help sell your home. We can help you sell your biggest investment; after all, we are the No. 1 real estate team in Minnesota.
If you have any questions for us, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!
