ForSaleByOwner.com Founder Sells with Realtor
Colby Sambrotto, one of the founders and former COO of ForSaleByOwner.com recently spent six months trying to sell his condominium himself through online listings and classified ads before turning over the condo listing to a New York broker. The broker told Sambrotto that he had actually priced the condo too low and was not attracting the right buyer for the condo. At first Sambrotto would not let the broker increase the price, but finally gave in. The condo soon attracted multiple offers and ended up closing recently for $150,000 more than the original asking price and Sambrotto paid a 6% commission on the $2.15 million sale. While this story is very ironic, it details a typical scenario that happens everyday.
Each year less sellers take the risk of navigating the real estate market on their own. In 1991 19% of sellers sold their home For Sale By Owner (FSBO), but the total number of FSBO sales have decreased dramatically since then. In fact, the National Association of Realtors reports that in 2010 the number of FSBO sales decreased to 9% of total homes sold and only 5% of those were sold on the open market (the seller did not know the buyer).
The number one reason that people try to initally sell For Sale By Owner is to save money, but statistics show that 90% of all FSBO sellers end up turning to a real estate professional for help. In these times we all understand trying to save money, but statistics show that FSBOs actually end up saving more money by having professional advice which sells the home faster, for more money and also greatly reduces monthly carrying costs (and frustrations).
FSBOs report that the most difficult task in this real estate market is setting the price correctly as demonstrated by Sambrotto’s story as well. There are a number of other factors to consider when determining how you will approach the real estate market with your home.
TIME: Selling a home is a full-time job and requires answering multiple phone calls, showing buyers, following up with interested parties, writing offers, negotiating contracts, coordinating appraisals, inspections, surveys, keeping up with lenders and brining everyone to the final closing which also requires understanding and answering numerous questions. Another factor of time is ensuring you are only spending your time dealing with serious, qualified buyers.
MORE COMPETITIVE MARKET: All sellers are not just competing with their neighbors, but also foreclosures and short sales and the difficulty of positioning a home correctly on this market is why 23% of FSBOs report that setting the price is the most difficult task. Remember REALTORS® see and sell hundreds of homes over the life of their career while most sellers sell only a handful and most likely have not seen their current competition when they put their home on the market.
MARKETING: While there are websites that cater to FSBO properties, they have no access to major online marketing avenues in a time when a large majority of buyers are selecting their homes online. Sellers also have no avenue to advertise their homes to other real estate agents who are guiding the majority of buyers on the market.
SAFETY: Safety should always be a factor when letting someone unknown into your home whether you are alone or your family is in the home.
LEGAL PITFALLS: Today there are more disclosures and legal requirements for sellers than ever before.
The Marr Team helps FSBO sellers with required disclosures and consulting or if you are ready tolet someone else do all the work and get your homes sold let us put our aggressive and successful marketing plan to work for you today!
No need to worry all you need is a knowledgeable real estate professional to guide you. The Marr Team will spend time answering questions and explaining the entire process. You don’t need an agent to just open doors and point out home features – you need knowledgeable advisors to explain the entire process and to guide you through it.