For Sale By Owner (FSBO)

Thinking about selling your home privately?  You should know the facts before you do.  Below you will find just a sample of reasons that explain why you should choose a Realtor to sell your home instead of doing it yourself.  Many “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) websites will have you believe otherwise, and some of their arguments are worth noting.  But any GOOD agent who is honest and genuine in representing your best interests will always set you up to potentially net more money than you could on your own. Nothing is ever guaranteed, Martin can’t guarantee that he can sell your house for the amount you’re looking for, and you can’t guarantee that you can do it on your own.  The point is, that he will set you up to have a considerably better chance at successfully selling your home and netting more in your pocket at the end of the day.  Selling on your own is a gamble, and you’re gambling with your largest asset! If after reading all of this information you still decide to sell your house privately, Martin sincerely wishes you the best of luck.  And if you ever have any questions about selling your house during the course of selling privately, please ask.  While he hopes that you are successful with your plans, he does realize that most private sellers eventually do enlist the services of a Realtor.  At the very least, he may be able to help you find your new home! Martin regularly monitors and tracks FSBO websites for new private listings every week for two main reasons; first, is that he always likes to know what is for sale in his neighbourhood; second, is to keep in touch with private sellers should he ever be fortunate enough to get the chance to sell their home.  The FSBO websites are great at telling you how many properties they have sold, but they’ll never tell you how many failed to sell.  You would be surprised to see how many FSBO listings Martin cross-checks with MLS to find out that they’ve already been listed and/or sold through a Realtor. Again, if you do decide to sell on your own, Martin genuinely wishes you the best of luck and maybe he can work with you in finding your new home!  Just make sure you are well informed before making your decision.

Top Reasons Homeowners choose to Sell Privately

1. MONEY – 80% want to avoid the commission.
2. BAD EXPERIENCE – Had a bad salesperson before.
3. PAST SUCCESS – Many know someone who sold themselves so they believe they can do it.
4. CONTROL – Many like to be “hands on” with the sale.
5. HAVE A BUYER – Some might already have a buyer, or “think” they do.

Top Reasons for FSBO’s to use a Realtor

1. Serious buyers only shop FSBOs to save commission If a buyer can use a real estate agent to search for properties, set up showings, drive them around, negotiate the purchase, help them with moving – and they get all of these services for FREE, why would they shop FSBOs and have to do all of the work themselves?  To save the commission of course.  So the sellers can do all of the work and pay the buyer a commission (in terms of a reduced price) or they can have a Realtor do all the work and pay them a commission.  If you were the buyer and you knew the seller wasn’t paying a commission, wouldn’t you want a reduced price?
2. Realtors are trained negotiators. Real estate agents spend every day working with clients to negotiate better offers and get them more money than they could themselves.  Realtors are very comfortable with the process and any GOOD Realtor will always negotiate in your best interest.
3. Realtors are not emotionally involved. Real estate agents are not emotionally involved with your home so we can tour potential buyers around the property and we won’t take their comments personally – Sellers’ pride in their home can get in the way of many sales.  Also, if the seller is home, either during an open house or a scheduled showing, the buyer will never feel 100% comfortable in your home.  They won’t be able to talk freely about what they like or dislike and that alone can turn a potential buyer away.
4. Realtors are educated about market values. The sellers may know what the house down the street sold for, but they may not know the differences that could affect value.  No two homes are identical and the market can change from week to week.  It is essential to have all the information that can affect value at your finger tips.
5. Law of supply and demand. Real estate Agents have access to more buyers than private sellers do so the law of averages dictates that we can sell it quicker and for more money.  Some of those sources are through MLS, networking with other agents, visitors from past open houses and access to the Toronto Real Estate Board’s buyer registry service just to name a few.
6. Ability to qualify serious buyers. Agents are trained to be able to qualify prospective buyers before taking them through your home so that time is not wasted.  How many times will a private seller prepare a home for a showing and no-one shows up?
7. The longer it takes to sell, the more money the FSBO will lose. The greatest enthusiasm for a house is within the first 2-3 weeks on the market and that is when it will sell for the most amount of money.  Beyond that, the home will become stale-dated and market shopped – potential buyers will start asking, “what’s wrong with the house if it hasn’t sold yet?”  Because agents have the ability to attract more buyers, we can sell your house faster which normally means it will sell for more money.
8. Marketing = exposure = more buyers = more money. Any GOOD Realtor with a full service marketing campaign will give your house better exposure in the marketplace than a FSBO could.  The greater the exposure, the more buyers who will see your house, which generally means it will sell for a higher price.
9. You only pay if we are successful. There is no risk to you for using our services because the only time you pay a real estate agent is when they successfully sell your house.  Realtors are the ones who are taking all of the risk by using their own money to market your house with no guarantee of a return unless it sells.