The first risk you run is that you won't get the type of exposure you need to sell the house. Another thing to keep in mind when selling your own home is that it will require a lot of your time. After all, you have to do everything on your own, from pricing to staging and marketing. And you have to be available for all presentations.
This can be quite a waste of time, and if you have a full-time job away from home, it can be quite inconvenient. A major risk for the FSBO crowd to consider is that the whole process ends up taking longer than you expected. When you're your own agent, you're legally responsible for everything you do. If you fill out the documentation incorrectly, you could end up waiving your rights.
You May Not Follow Your State's Disclosure Laws. And buyers can sue you after the sale if you don't reveal certain facts about the house. You could protect yourself from these risks by hiring a lawyer, but then you would spend a large part of the savings of being your own agent. Research shows that FSBO homes generally sell for around 6% less than those listed with agents AND, usually, you will still be in danger by offering a competitive buyer agent commission.
FSBO homes also tend to take longer to sell and are more likely to go out of contract after accepting an offer. Repeatedly inviting strangers into your home carries risks, just as putting personal information on the Internet puts you at risk. Real estate agents have a process to ensure both their own safety and that of their clients, but you will be alone when you work with the public. It's a difficult task to learn how to sell your home without a real estate agent, and selling your home is probably one of the most important transactions of your life.
Alternatively, you could also end up giving your buyer a big deal by selling their home for very little. The only case where you can dramatically increase the odds of selling a home for sale by the landlord is when you are on a busy street or are in a neighborhood where a real estate agent lists other homes. Before you decide to sell your home by the landlord, weigh all the pros and cons to make the right decision for your situation. Since FSBO homes tend to sell for less money, you can pocket more profits if you work with a low-commission real estate agent who can sell your home for a higher price.
Unfortunately, many homeowners for sale think they can sell their home as-is and they don't need to be honest about the issues. When selling a home by the landlord, there simply won't be enough people to discover that their property is for sale. If you want to do a decent job selling your home, you'll have to spend a considerable amount of time selling. It's essential that your home is listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), so you'll need to find a good agent with a high reputation who will list you for a fixed fee, since those private home sellers can't quote themselves.
They assume that you are willing to sell for less because you don't have to pay a real estate agent, so you'll need to be prepared to deal with those buyers. Finally, the biggest risk you take when you decide to sell your own property is simply that, for whatever reason, you can't sell it; this can be the result of inadequate pricing, insufficient marketing, or something else entirely. You may have all the free time in the world and are ready to devote yourself completely to selling your home for its landlord. When you sell your home yourself, also known as for sale by owner (FSBO), it can seem like a great way to save thousands of dollars.
Selling without a real estate agent, known as a listing for sale by owner (FSBO), is a viable option for experienced home sellers willing to put in the time and effort. .
