If seller doesn’t take help of an agent in listing the property, then it is called FSBO (For Sale By Owner), it is preferred because you need not pay real estate commission.

DC Fawcett Reviews whether it is advisable to opt for FSBO or not.

Selling a property is quite like a nightmare for many sellers. Your property should be in a good location, you need to advertise and promote, find buyers, fix price, and legal formalities should go on smooth and sell the property to the buyer. So many would take help of agents, property management companies etc as the seller cannot do single handedly.

FSBO sign is kind of misleading to many buyers when they see on the MLS. They assume that the sign means price can be bargained or it is a distressed property. This leads to property being unsold. Many presume the FSBO as for sale by bargain.

DC Fawcett complaints that the amount charged by the agents gets rolled in to the sale deal and is paid by the buyers only indirectly. The next complaint put forth by him is that the agents make false statements to sellers like the property will be sold at a price lesser than the expected price (asking price) but if they opt for an agent, they will be able to sell more than the expected price. This is actually scam.  In this way the real estate agents get benefitted by asking more commission.

Benefits of FSBO

• All the profits reach to the seller directly and he is the only one to get benefitted, it is a reward to his hard work as he does all the work by himself.

• The seller fixes all the appointments, meets the potential buyers, screening and choose the one he finds to be genuine and responsible.

• The negotiation is discussed between the seller and the buyer alone. You can show your apartment to the buyers from an owner point of view rather than agent showing with a different mindset. He may favor either of the sides. The other highlight is the seller knows to explain the positive features of the household and avoid talking about the drawbacks. These all cannot be expected from an agent.

• It is an absolute freedom to quote the asking price as no agent is involved. You don’t get fumbled as there is no agent involving.

• You can decide about advertising, where to post and promote. This can save you lots of money.

Drawbacks of FSBO

• This is not suited for first time home sellers, people who don’t know to advertise, quote the asking price and sell their property on their own.

• In case, you aren’t part of any network like REIT, investment groups etc the word of mouth is that your home is for sale is not spread like wildfire.

• When you are out of reach / busy in a meeting, you miss many calls who might be one of the potential buyer.

• Chances of getting betrayed are high.

• If you are unaware of rules and regulations, you may violate many laws. You need to take care of the entire paper work.

The buyers who visit your home, take pictures of all the possessions, make documentation and post it online, these kinds of scams happen often. Beware.

The sellers who are interested to know more about FSBO can check out the blogs in DC Fawcett real estate virtual investing club.