Top 10 For Sale By Owner Real Estate Myths And Facts

There are so many FSBO myths and misconceptions held by home sellers considering selling their home FSBO. As an Indiana real estate agent I have heard it all. Unfortunately, if some FSBOs knew some of what they believed was unlikely to hold true they could have saved themselves time bny just hiring an agent straight away. Here, I will provide some comments about the top 10 FSBO myths I most commonly hear sellers say.

Top 10 FSBO Myths

Myth 1. FSBO Has No Cost

Selling your home yourself is not a zero cost experience. Correctly marketing a home costs money. Quality photos, edited videography, signage, and flyers all have a cost. Additionally, there are unavoidable transactional costs such as title work and other fees. Lastly, time is money, and it is your time which will be put into selling the home.

Myth 2. FSBO Sellers Always Walk Away with More Money

FSBOs do not always walk away with more money. First, FSBOs may incorrectly price your home leaving thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on the table. Secondly, FSBOs may be more likely to miss the mark in marketing your home to the widest possible audience and attracting the most buyers. Lastly, FSBOs are more likely to make mistakes or negotiate poorly at different phases of the transaction. All of that will come at a cost.

Myth 3. You Must Be a Marketing Master to Sell Your Home FSBO

No, you do not absolutely need the marketing prowess of a savvy real estate agent. Honestly, as a real estate agent I have seen so many real estate agents who appear to know nothing about marketing a home yet they still sell. Homes are bought by buyers and not sold by sellers.

However, what FSBOs can easily make the mistake on is the law of attraction. Buyers need to be attracted to the home. The more buyers you can successfully attract to tour FSBO the more options you will have from the many offers you receive. So, no you do not need to be a marketing master to sell your home, but knowing how to attract people to your home will help.

Myth 4. It’s Easier to Sell FSBO than with An Agent

This is not true at all. Home sellers underestimate the amount of time it takes to sell a home. Despite the experience I have from start to finish it takes 30 to 60 hours to sell a home. Home sellers should be prepared to commit that time to the process. Home sellers must market the home, take the calls, answer the questions, schedule and manage showings, address the offer, amendments, inspections, and appraisals.

Myth 5. FSBOs Sell Faster Than a Home Listed With an Agent

FSBOs are less likely to sell their home faster than if they had used an agent. A real estate agent can get your home in front of more buyers faster than you. Also, FSBOs are notorious for overpricing their homes which puts a chilling effect on the home early on in the sale process.

Myth 6. You Can’t Correctly Price Your Home

Yes, FSBOs commonly overprice their homes. However, in this day of available information home sellers can get information about other nearby homes in order to price their home. So, it is wrong to say FSBOs can’t price their home for sale. They can. It just takes some research.

Myth 7. I Know My Home So I Am the Best at Selling It

A common mistake made by FSBOs is believing they know how to be a salesperson. Sales is the highest paid profession in the world. Trust me, it’s a lot harder than you think. Though you know your home does not mean you know how to sell your home.

Myth 8. An Agent Will Give Me the Documents I Need to Sell My Home

As a real estate agent I know I won’t give you the documents you need to sell your home. Those are copyrighted materials which I have the privilege to use. FSBOs need to know how or where to get the right documents so a buyer can actually make the seller an offer.

Myth 9. Homebuyers Would Rather Work Directly With the Seller

Dead wrong. Decades ago only about 60% of homebuyers used their own agent. Today, study after study has indicated over 90% of homebuyers have their own agent to look out for their interests. Homebuyers are more reluctant than ever to speak directly with a home seller.

Myth 10. FSBOs Are Likely to Succeed

The majority of FSBO sellers fail at attempting to sell their homes. Whether it is the pressure of marketing, understanding the nuances of selling a home, or all of the events which occur throughout the sale most FSBOs throw in the towel and hire a real estate agent.

Conclusion

I hope this has helped you better understand real estate myths and instead have some FSBO facts. FSBOs have many unfounded beliefs about what it takes to sell a home. On the other hand, real estate agents do not have a magic wand to get homes sold. FSBO sellers can do most anything a real estate agent does.

It’s just more challenging compared to the tools and experience held by a real estate agent. Despite this, home sellers considering FSBO should carefully weigh whether saving on a 4% to 7% commission is really worth doing all of the work themselves.

About Quadwalls

Quadwalls.com is a real estate website started by a Valparaiso, Indiana real estate agent. The purpose of the website is to help homebuyers and sellers make better decisions and save money when buying or selling real estate.

If you are looking for a real estate agent in Northwest Indiana to sell your home consider my services.  The team of Quadwalls Connected Agents offers some of the lowest real estate commission fees in Indiana.  Click here to learn my answers to the questions most commonly asked by home sellers.