FSBO

It might as well be a four letter word at my house. I have seen a couple potential listings go the way of For Sale By Owner. "If we list it eventually, we will list it with you," one said. The other felt their hands were forced based on the money owed the bank and the current value of their condo. FSBO can work, it has worked and it might work. It will be harder than you could even imagine, frustrating, and in the end it might not work. Can you get lucky, sure, so can I. Do you have a thousand agents scouring your listing for the next match? No. Do you have the ability to within 15minutes of a prospect clicking the non-committal "more info" button connect that person with an agent and the requested information? Can you research hundreds of previous sales and lean on years of experience and market trends to determine the probable sales price? Can you be available at any hour of the day to show your home, return calls, set up appointments and confirm showings? Can you let the dog out, light candles put on sexy music when you should be at work? Can you shovel the drive for a showing while you are out of town? Can you look objectively at your home and its shortcomings, really?

I could go on, really I could. Here are a couple key points.

With more than enough homes to choose from you can not limit your exposure to only the people that check the fsbo site.

Buyers are more likely than ever to use an agent to buy. An agent can help you make sure you are not on the "Morning Show" in two years asking an "expert" why my house only worth 75% of what I paid for it. Agents are far less likely to show your home as there is no guarantee that they can get paid for selling it.

The perception of many fsbo homes is that they are overpriced an are the sellers inflexible. I would agree, and I am not just saying that.