Pass on the FSBO Savings

Typically a FSBO home sale tends to offer more challenges; it is harder to find a buyer, and can take longer to sell. While these seem obvious they are not always the case.

A For Sale by Owner (FSBO) home possesses something you can give to the buyer that no real estate agent and MLS listing, can match – a significant discount.

Consider, assuming that you would otherwise pay a 6 percent commission, on a $400,000 house that' represents a potential $24,000 savings through FSBO. Ultimately, by listing your home FSBO, you hope to save all, or at least most of that commission.

However, if you want to facilitate a faster sale, why not consider an alternative? Why not give some of the commission, in effect, to the buyer in the form of a discount off the price. For example, instead of pricing your home at $400,000, price it at 3 percent less, in this case, $388,000.

Now, consider it from a buyer's perspective. A home similar to yours is listed with a real estate agent for $400,000. However, an almost identical home, yours, is listed FSBO and is selling for $388,000. Which home would you be more likely to make an offer on, even if the second home is being sold by owner? You still save $12,000 and use the balance of savings to facilitate the quicker sale of your home based on the discount. It can be advantageous to explain this to a perspective buyer so they don’t “assume” the price reduction is based on other factors.

By passing some of the savings on to the buyer you can sometimes sell your FSBO home faster.

Of course, in today's market with prices skyrocketing in some areas, it may not be necessary. If you can sell within a few weeks to a month for your asking price, the money is always better in your pocket then the home buyers.

It's certainly something to consider.

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