Common Mistakes By FSBO

Selling your property on your own without any help from a real estate professional could spell a lot of trouble. Especially so if this is going to be your first time in selling a property. Being a first time  real property seller means that you may not have the right knowledge in selling a real estate property. Selling as an FSBO could really be a daunting task, with all the tasks that an FSBO will be facing. The tasks that is normally being done by a real estate agent will now be on the shoulders of the you as the FSBO seller. According to statistics about 90 percent of FSBO sellers fail. This may be because of the fact that FSBO’s had to do things on their own. Although selling FSBO is a very tedious task it is also very rewarding in terms of monetary value. Remember that instead of giving the commission to the real estate agent, you get to keep it for yourself which means bigger profit for you. On top of that buyers would potentially want to deal directly with you because of the fact that they want to negotiate the price directly with you, this way you are on a better position to negotiate because you could give a better price to the buyer having the property bought at a shorter span of time.

The Common FSBO Mistakes

Now let’s go back to the fact that only 10 percent of FSBO sellers are successful in selling their property. What are the other 90 percent doing wrong when selling their property?

1. Not Setting The Right Price - as an FSBO you have to understand that buyers are also doing their research before buying a property, for the obvious reason that the amount of investment is huge. This is why you have to establish your reputation as a seller by setting the right price. Do your research and find out about the fair price for your property. By doing this you will avoid having to set your price too high that the buyers would not want to buy the property from you or you might set it too low that you may be left with very little or none at all.
2. Thinks That Advertising is Not Important - how will people know about your property for sale if you do not advertise it? It is important that you get the word out that your property is for sale. This is why although advertising might entail some cash out on your part it is necessary to have your property for sale advertised.
3. Not Listing Your Property In Multiple Listing Service - advertising can be done online and this potentially opens your property to a global audience. Multiple Listing Service or commonly called MLS is a property listing service that is used by most realtors to show or advertise the properties for sale. These MLS Listing sites are not only being used by real estate property sellers but also buyers as well who are on the hunt for a property to purchase. This is why it is important, as an FSBO, to have your property listed in an Multiple Listing Service site.
4. Ask For Help - FSBO doesn’t mean that you should not ask for help. We have to admit that between work and family the tasks of selling your property is really going to be difficult. One of the tasks that will take most of your time is listing on the multiple listing service. To lessen the burden you can actually acquire the services of a Flat-Fee MLS Listing Company. Their role is to not only list your property in the MLS Listing service but also to help you in advertising offline through their extra service more than the MLS Listing. Acquiring the flat-fee mls listing service would give you lots of  savings as you will only pay flat-fee and do not have to pay percentage as what a real estate agent would get.
5. Not Improving Property Prior to Sale - Before selling your property it would be good if you fix some major issues in your property in order to make your property a lot more enticing for buyers. Fixing your property will also raise the value of your property, which means that you can sell your property for a higher value. So if you have that extra cash why not investing it on your property to increase its sale value?

To successfully sell your property as an FSBO you have to learn from the mistakes of others. By doing this you will be able to take the right and necessary steps towards selling your property fast.

The Challenges Faced By FSBO And How To Overcome Them

Homeowners who do not employ the services of a real estate agent in selling their house but instead does it by themselves are called FSBO or For-Sale-By-Owner sellers. Only 10 percent of FSBO are said to be successful in selling their home for the right price, the other 90 percent fail. The reason for this is the fact that FSBO do not have the technical skills when it comes to selling properties as compared to that of a real estate broker who is already seasoned by the experiences he has in his day to day transactions. By this time you might already be having doubts if you are still going to sell your property FSBO or you should just hire the services of a real estate broker. Before you decide on that, you should also know that every real estate broker started where you are now, little knowledge about real estate selling and zero resources at his disposal. So think of your situation as a level one or starting real estate agent.

Prepare For the Challenges Ahead

1.Time Challenges - properties that are being sold by real estate brokers are said to be sold 25 percent faster than that of FSBO. Sometimes FSBO had to relist their properties in the MLS Listing. This is definitely a huge problem for FSBO especially if you are  trying to sell your property fast.  

How To Overcome: To overcome this you have to exert extra effort and try to improve your MLS Listing. Make sure that your photos look professional and enticing. Your MLS Listing should capture the attention of potential buyers as they browse over the different properties in the listing.

2. Process Challenges - what this means is that every FSBO will encounter problems with the different processes that everyone has to go through when selling their home. From listing their property, to advertising and doing some marketing and open house. Since you have to start from nothing you have to make your own advertising and marketing materials.

How to Overcome: Making your marketing materials, conducting your open house and listing your property in MLS Listings are necessary pains that you have to go through in order to sell your property as fast as possible and at the right price. Try to look for services that will help you with these process like using the flat-fee MLS Listing service that helps you in your marketing and listing your properties in the MLS Listing. Again conducting research will be beneficial on your part as you look for affordable services that could do the job for you and lessen the burden in the process.

3. Pricing Challenges - according to research FSBO will sell their property at a lower price at an average of $40,000. Which means that is $40,000 less in your pocket. One of the reason for this is the fact that FSBO do not exercise due diligence in trying to come up with the right market price for their property. Most of the time by not doing your research you end up selling your property at a lower price.

How to Overcome: It would not hurt if you act with due diligence and do your research. Start with looking for properties in your neighborhood that is also for sale or that was recently sold. Check on their selling price and compare it with yours. Asking for information would really go a long way.   

For every problem there is a solution, you just need to look in the right direction. With the right knowledge you will overcome the problems commonly experienced by FSBOs.

Things To Expect When Selling FSBO

Knowing ahead of time gives you the power to prepare. Good planning and preparation is the key to smooth and successful transaction. Some successful FSBO were able to prepare for what possibly could be a potential risk down the road, while selling their property by learning from the experiences of their fellow FSBO’s. This is the reason why we have outlined some of the possible problems that you may ran into while selling your property. This way you will be able to know what to expect and better prepare for this.

1. Selling Your Property Requires Research - you need to do research of your property and of your neighborhood to determine the right selling price for your property. This way you will be able to give the fair price that would entice buyers and would not devalue the properties in your neighborhood. To determine the right price for your property you have to exercise due diligence and research the prices in your neighborhood or community. 
2. Marketing and Advertising is Imperative - to sell your property immediately, a certain amount of effort should go into your Marketing and Advertising campaign. How else will you be able to tell the public that your property is for sale? Which means that if you do not dedicate some time into your advertising and marketing campaign it will become a problem on your part. Good thing, there is a service that is designed to cater to for-sale-by-owner sellers that will do most if not all of your marketing campaigns. This service is called the flat-fee MLS Listing service. By Availing of a Flat-Fee MLS Listing service you will be able to acquire the service of having your property listed in the MLS listing, this is a system that is widely used by real estate agents to show the properties for sale to millions of global buyers. 
3. FSBO Will take Some of Your Time - in selling and marketing alone time will already be consumed. One thing that you have to be prepared for is the fact that you have to dedicate some of your time to plan, market, advertise and sell your property. Remember as an FSBO you are already acting as your own real estate agent, and by doing so you have to perform most if not all of the roles of a real estate agent. Which means, time and effort is really required of you.

These are basically the things that you should expect when doing FSBO, although it might look like hard work, you also have to consider that the returns are equally rewarding. Now that you are armed with the right knowledge, you are now ready to prepare yourself mentally and financially for the task ahead.