Should I Sell Without a Realtor?

When I was new to real estate I remember working with a couple trying to sell their home on their own.  They were retired and were trying to save money and couldn't afford "to pay a big commission".  Many Realtors will report the same experience and invariably it begins "when I was new to real estate" and there is a simple reason for that.  Actually, there are several but let me highlight the biggest here:

  • Here in Sarasota nearly 100% of the sales have a Realtor involved, so when you meet a for sale by owner (FSBO) person, they are part of the 1% of the people who don't understand how much time and money goes into marketing.  Essentially, having a FSBO property is an indication that the owners may be stubborn or difficult to work with, and many Realtors will pass on using their valuable time deal with a difficult seller.  Real estate is a commodity, and we can find a similar property for our buyer.
  • The FSBO home is often difficult to access.  There is definitely no electronic lock box, so you may deal with a combination, hidden key or (much worse) having the owner home when you show the property.  All these are indications that a Realtor may be wasting his or her time and they will tend to suggest their clients see some other house in the neighborhood listed with a Broker.
  • Contract negotiations, the sellers probably do not write several real estate purchase agreements each month and will not know how to do it.  The Realtor will have to do all the work on both sides of the transaction.  Most Realtors will say "no thank you" to this scenario.
  • Aside from these obvious issues with trying to have a Realtor show a FSBO home, sellers who have paid a nominal fee to be in MLS may have many mistakes or misrepresentations in the listing.  Correcting all of these mistakes will cost the selling Realtor a ton of time, which they don't have.  So most will use the most powerful word in real estate...."Next!"

I could probably go on, but I do have preapproved clients to take out this afternoon.  We are seeing four homes before dinner and they are all listed with other Brokers so I know I'm not wasting my time. 

© John Gaudiano
http://johngaudiano.com

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