Real Homes

Professional Home Ideas

Why Home Sellers Shouldn’t FSBO

A for sale by owner (or FSBO) means a home is being sold without the representation of a listing agent. Instead, the owner sells the home completely on their own, including setting the listing price, staging, photographing, and marketing the home. They also negotiate directly with buyers, or through the buyer’s agent. Selling FSBO is usually chosen to save the seller money by avoiding agent commissions. But, there are some downsides, which we’ll discuss here. Additionally, the seller may not be saving as much as they think.

FSBOs sit on the market longer

FSBO homes typically spend more time on the market before a buyer is found and the sale is closed. On average, 18 percent of FSBOs were unable to sell within their chosen time frame last year. There are several reasons for this — the most obvious being marketing.

While FSBO sellers do have access to popular listing platforms like Zillow, Trulia, or Facebook Marketplace, they’re unable to post to their local multiple listing service (MLS) unless represented by a licensed real estate agent. Exclusion from the MLS means that buyers and their agents who regularly scan these lists will miss the listing, resulting in a smaller buyer pool for the FSBO seller.

Additionally, FSBO sellers typically overvalue and overprice their home. This results in buyers skipping over the home, as they assume the seller would be unwilling to lower the price to a more reasonable number. Good real estate agents find the sweet spot to make the most profit, while also selling the home quickly.

Another reason for the delay in the sale of a FSBO home is that these probably have full-time jobs and families and may not be able to keep up with all the interested buyers or expedite paperwork and negotiations like a real estate agent would.

FSBOs sell for less

According to the National Association of Realtors, 91% of sellers are assisted by a real estate agent when selling their home. Many that start as a FSBO eventually sign on with an agent in order to sell their home. On average, agents sell homes for 33% more than if the home were listed as a FSBO.

Hidden costs of FSBO

While on the surface it may seem a seller could save lots of money by listing the home themselves, costs begin to add up. Lots of extras are included when you work with a real estate agent that are often overlooked — this may include signage, flyers, photography, MLS listing, negotiations, contracts, etc.

It is true a FSBO seller can save on the commission they would have otherwise paid a listing agent — usually around 3% of the purchase price. The costs add up in expensive areas like Chicago neighborhoods or San Diego.

However, sellers are probably still on the hook for paying the buyer’s agent, which can also be around 3%. Sellers often overlook this cost and think they won’t need to pay any agent commissions. On a $200,000, you’d only save around $6,000 and have to do all the work yourself.

One often overlooked cost is the expense of being unable to line up your closing date with the date you can move into your new home. While agents are quite skilled at this, it can be tricky to manage if you’re inexperienced and could result in you having to pay for storage for the in-between time, a bridge loan while you pay two mortgages, etc.

Agents have expertise and experience

You can’t assign a dollar amount to the expertise and experience of a long-term agent. Experienced agents can, however, save you money by streamlining the selling process, pricing your home at the best price for the market, and using their extensive marketing connections — both through their brokerage and personal network.

Agents can protect sellers

An agent’s expertise could prevent costly errors in contracts or negotiations. Having an agent that has worked in the industry for several years — if not decades — will help you feel at ease. There’s a lot at stake and potential legal issues may arise if certain paperwork is not filed correctly or other mistakes are made.

An agent will carry errors and omissions insurance, which covers any potential mistakes an agent would inadvertently make. FSBOs, on the other hand, don’t have such protections and may not have the experience or know-how to make sure things are done exactly right.

How to Get your Kitchen Ready When Selling a Home

Selling a home and you want to know what you can do in your kitchen to ensure that it is most appealing to prospective home buyers. What can you do?

Getting a Kitchen ready when selling a homeHere in the beginning of my series zeroing in on the rooms of your home when selling a home, I begin with one of the most treasured parts of a home, the Kitchen. Keep in mind that you’ll want to view your Kitchen as if you are a prospective home buyer. This means you need to put aside your own emotional attachments; hard…I get that. Yet, a must.

Look at your Kitchen – what do you see – how can you get your Kitchen ready to sell?

This is a great way to begin. You want to step back and just look around your Kitchen as if a visitor. What do you find appealing or what do you find not so appealing? Be honest with yourself. No sugar coating. What is the condition of your Kitchen? Now you’ll be able to break it all down, as we get into specific areas within your Kitchen that we’ll address. By doing this we’ve already prepared your mind for what’s to come when getting your Kitchen ready when selling a home.

What about your Kitchen’s countertops?

If they’re already appealing made out of granite, quartz, or another popular top, then you’ll likely simply need to make sure it’s sparkling clean. On the other hand, if your countertops have seen their better days, you could consider replacing your countertops with an affordable granite. You’d be amazed at what a new slab of granite can do to a worn out Kitchen.

What about your Kitchen’s cabinets?

Similar to countertop appeal, if your cabinets have been well kept and are made of quality classic cabinetry materials, such as wood, you’ll likely just need to ensure their cleanliness. A solution of Murphy oil soap is superb for cleaning wood cabinets and the natural smell is amazing. In fact, whenever I clean my home’s own Kitchen wood cabinets I use Murphy oil soap and the scent lingers reminding me of growing up when my childhood home was often cleaned with the use of the soap.

However, if your Kitchen cabinets aren’t in the best of condition, a coat of paint to compliment your Kitchen could do wonders. I’ve seen Kitchen cabinets that were very drab and after a coat of paint, done well, makes a world of difference to brighten the appeal of a Kitchen. Gaining attractiveness without having to get brand new cabinets. Now that’s music to your ears.

At the very minimum, you’ll want to make sure your cabinets are thoroughly cleaned no matter the type of material. Cleanliness will always add value.

What about your Kitchen’s appliances?

Matching appliances make a world of difference. Are yours matching or mix-matched? Money would be well spent to replace that white dishwasher when all the rest of your appliances are stainless steel – kind of like bringing your appliances up to code. we buy houses Roseville

What about upgrading all your appliances? Will this really be worth the investment? Read more about such options here – Upgrading appliances when selling a home.

Then you’ll want to clean all your appliances:
Clean the exterior of all appliances so they shine.
Turn on the automatic self-cleaning feature in your oven.
Clean the interior shelves/drawers of your refrigerator and by all means, make sure you get the old and rotten foods out while selling a home.
Clean the inside of your microwave. An easy way to accomplish that is by placing a mug of water in the microwave, bringing to boil and letting the steam from boiling water work on removing the crusted-on gunk.
Clean the inside of your dishwasher too! Have you ever taken a look at the inside of your dishwasher? A good cleaning of it can remove some not so good looking gunk in it too.

What about your Kitchen’s faucet and sink?

Unless you have recently replaced your kitchen faucet, consider replacing it with a shiny new fixture. How about a hands free one, which would be particularly welcome in our nation right now with all the focus on cleanliness to avoid viruses. Hands free is brilliant!

Or how about your sink? Is it in good condition or is it full of scratches and stains? If you cannot bring out all of its glory, you could consider replacing it.

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