Sell Your House Yourself (FSBO)
So, you need to sell your house. Selling in a market like today’s can sometimes be frustrating. With so many other houses on the market it gives buyers out there more choices… and quite often, sellers can wait 3, 6, 12+ months to sell their house for a price they feel is fair.
This brief guide will walk you through the decision process to help you decide what’s best for you. Do you go the traditional route and work with a real estate agent, sell it yourself (For Sale By Owner), or work with a real estate investment company?
Each of these strategies have different pros and cons and each one will help you reach a different goal. It’s for you to really look and see what you need to accomplish with the sale of your house… then make the decision that helps you get there.
The 3 Options For Selling Your House
Like I mentioned above, there are 3 real options for you in selling your house. I’ll dive into those 3 options a bit more below and spell out what’s great about each… the drawbacks of each… and who each option is really going to help the most.
Last week, we covered option 1, “Working With a Real Estate Agent”. Today we will discuss the second option.
Option 2: Selling Your House Yourself (FSBO)
In the last 10 years, selling your house yourself, aka “For Sale By Owner” has become very popular. With sites like forsalebyowner.com, craigslist.org, and others like it… it makes it easy to list a house online… even get a “FSBO” sign for your yard… and hit the market taking control of the sale process for yourself.
The general process of selling a house on your own is…
- You determine the value of your home. Sometimes this can be tricky… but there are resources out there. Usually paying for an appraisal is the most accurate and best way to find the true value of your home (or ask a real estate agent who is willing to give you a value).
- Take pictures of the house, gather all the details about the house (sq. footage, etc.), and create a listing on a FSBO website. Also, put a FSBO sign up in your yard.
- Then, you market it. Since marketing is your responsibility… you can do as much or as little as you want. Many people list in the newspaper, online, and there are even “flat rate” MLS services out there where you can get your house on the MLS for under $500 (with no agent commissions).
- You handle offers, showings, and putting together the paperwork for the sale.
- You and the buyer show up at the closing table and complete the purchase. This can be a very attractive if you’re familiar with the real estate sales process and are a good marketer.
Cost
The only real costs are whatever fees there are to list on a FSBO site (between $100 – $1000), if you choose to get it listed on the MLS with a flat fee agent (about $300 – $500), any cost to fix your house up so it shows well, and potential closing costs that you may share with the buyer. Plus, if you decide to pay a buyers’ agent fee (usually about 3%) to entice agents to bring their buyers to see your house… you’ll want to figure that into the cost. Again, on a $200,000 house… 3% is about $6,000, plus, the other costs above and that is about $7,000 – $8,000.
Timeline
This really depends on your ability to market the property. Usually FSBO houses stay on the market longer than with an agent… simply because agents sell homes every day and know the tricks to sell. But, you should budget 6-12 months to sell with this strategy in most markets (some more, some less).
Pros
You can save a big chunk of money by not paying agent fees. And, you have control and full responsibility over the whole process.
Cons
It’s a lot of work to sell your own house, and if you’re not comfortable and experienced in the process of selling a house, the paperwork, valuing your house, etc… you could end up in over your head and having it cost you more than working with an agent. The largest drawback with going the FSBO route is the amount of time it could take to sell.
Who the FSBO Route Is For
Selling your own house is great for people who don’t need to sell quickly and who have no urgency to get out of the house. Also, people who have a certain comfort level with negotiations, working with offer documents, etc., usually like this route. If you need to sell quickly and/or don’t want to hassle with everything that goes with listing and selling your house yourself… this isn’t the strategy for you.
Jack BUYS Houses – FL is Florida’s premier house buying company. We pay CASH for our properties, which allows us to close in as little as 7 days. We purchase all types of houses, As-Is and in any condition, so there’s no need to fix up the property. If you or someone you know needs to sell their house quickly for any reason, please visit www.JackBUYSHousesFL.com or CALL 407-307-3245 NOW and say, “I WANT A CASH OFFER FOR MY HOUSE”, and you’ll get one in 24 hours, GUARANTEED!!