Selling FSBO or with Realtor Assistance

In this emerging real estate market following the now famous 'busted bubble', sellers are now realizing that their homes are taking more than two weeks to land a contract. In addition, as the months creep by, sellers consider cutting their prices in order to cut their increasing losses.

One of the ways some try to cut costs is by attempting to go FSBO - For Sale By Owner.

The Realtor's commission has been one of those expenses that many sellers consider optional - kinda like deciding to buy a new BMW or a used Kia. Both get you to your destination, but one does it with more style. However, using a Realtor is not about style at all. As the FSBO goes it alone, many will find that this market - abundant with housing options - needs a sales approach that is nothing short of Expert!

The selling strategies and resources available to Realtors are often unknown by Mr. & Mrs. FSBO, and the outreach of the FSBO to the illusive Buyer is usually very limited.

The FSBO approach may be worth attempting if:
* you are able to show your property on short notice at any time of the day
* you are familiar with the legally required steps to transfer ownership with a clean title
* you have a way to identify qualified buyers from curious tourists
* you are willing to identify and create ads for various marketing opportunities
* you are prepared to protect yourself when you allow unqualified strangers into your home
* you are able to disconnect your emotional connection to the house as strangers tour it
* you have a objective system for coming up with a fair market price to sell at
* you have no problem negotiating with those who see your home as less in value than your asking price.

Other ways to make the FSBO more effective in the current market are:
* be prepared to work with and compensate the Buyer's Realtor - their client is likely to be prequalified to afford your home
* find a Real Estate Broker that will agree to handle the paper work of the transaction for maybe 1% or a flat fee, after you have identified a Buyer
* use a service that offers marketing assistance, contracts and forms to the FSBO

Using a Realtor is the smart way to go if you have tried going the FSBO route unsucessfully, and or, you need a greater probability of getting your home sold. Remember, Realtors are constantly outreaching to Buyers and when your home is listed on the MLS - Multilple Listing Service, all those hundreds of thousands of Realtors are able to see your home and its attributes. Realtors work hard to find Buyers for your home and to follow through on the steps to bring the Buyer to closing the transaction and putting $ in your pocket.

Just as you work hard for your income, so does the Realtor. Because their income is linked to closing the transaction, getting your house sold is their focused agenda. Much of what the Realtor does to get your home sold takes place outside of your view, but they are working for that specific goal - relentlessly. They don't get paid if they don't close the deal.

Realtors, unlike Licensed Real Estate Agents, are also bound by a code of ethics in the course of meeting with clients, buyers, and vendors.

FSBO or Realtor Services? Well, each situation is unique, and the seller must decide. The smart seller will not wait till the situation is desperate to call in the experts, so if you decide to go FSBO, set a time line that if you have not contracted your property for sale by that date, that you will contact a Realtor to maximize the statistical possiblity of landing that qualified Buyer.

Trudy Beerman, CPMS, Realtor
Broker/Owner
Residential Investor Services, LLC
www.residentialinvestorservices.com
(813)760-5624