There are many Reasons why you should not sell your house using “For Sale by Owner”. If you would really like to sell your own home, make sure that you have the right team players on your side of the deal. Many buyers for sure will bring their team to the game. Keep in mind that selling a home is a team sport in all situations. When a buyer comes to the table, they are immediately bringing their team to the table.

1. Their agent to help them with the negotiations for the best price and conditions. The buyers Agent will only have the best interest of their buyers in mind and they are guiding the buyer on how to get the deal done.
2. Any good buyer will hire a home inspector to have the property inspected prior to closing. A good home inspector always will find issues with the home, which a buyer will use during their negotiations. Keep in mind the home inspector is hired by and works solely for the buyer.
3. In some states there will be an attorney as well as a real estate agent that will represent a buyer during their negotiations.
4. The buyer has the right to choose the closing Title Company or representative for the purchase. The representative of the Title Company will do a title search on the house and remember, title company has been hired by the buyer and works for the buyer.
5. When the buyer uses a mortgage to finance the purchase, there will be the appraiser that is hired by the buyers lending institution to verify value. The appraiser is not allowed to speak with the seller. They are hired by and representing the buyers lending institution.

When you consider selling your home as a FSBO seller you need to keep in mind that you are SELLING A HOUSE, nothing less, nothing more, and you still have to do all the traditional things you would do when you are working with a REALTOR. You will not get past that point and you will still have to price your home for sale.

How do you price your home, you ask. If you overprice your home you will not attract any interest. If you under price and you will leave more money on the table than you hoped for. Sure there are sites out that could help you price your home but have you ever read their fine print? Many times their fine print disclosures are located in a hidden corner of their website or in very fine print at the bottom and many of them will give themselves a 20% +/- margin of error of the quoted market value that is published.

When your property’s market value is quoted to be $200,000 they have given themselves a margin of error of $40,000 +/- error to protect themselves.

Before you consider tackling selling your home as a FSBO take time to speak to some local REALTORS and find out what they have to offer. When you have any questions about the selling process feel free to contact the Settles Team.