For Sale By Owner is one of the fastest-growing segments of the real estate industry. Also abbreviated as FSBO, this refers to the practice of selling property without the intervention of a broker. Some FSBO sellers do use limited services of a real estate broker for getting their homes listed with a Multiple Listing Service. With the right research and marketing efforts, you can sell your home FSBO and avoid costly broker fees. These real estate broker fees can range between 5% and 10% of the final home price. FSBO selling allows the home owner greater control over the sales and marketing process and brings in buyers who might not be attracted by ordinary real estate listings. Because FSBO sellers are often willing to make arrangements with a buyer, such as a rent to own situation, buyers can negotiate directly with the owner. For Sale By Owner selling accounted for 12-13% of the properties sold in 2005 and 2006.
Marketing your FSBO property is an important part of the selling process. Buyers can’t come to see your house if they don’t know it’s there. The simplest and least expensive method is the yard sign. In areas with hot real estate markets, a yard sign can be enough to bring buyers to your door. Even in slower markets, signs can bring in interested parties in your immediate area.
Next up from the yard sign is the classified ad. This is still inexpensive, and allows you to reach a large number of people easily. Local papers are read by many prospective customers every week. A short ad that runs multiple times will reach more people than a long ad run only a few times. You can announce open houses and other such events with a classified ad, also.
Brochures and bulletin board ads are other good ways to get your house noticed. With the help of a camera and computer, you can produce announcements about your FSBO sale. Many public buildings and workplaces will allow posting of these ads. You can also make brochures available in a container attached to your yard sign. Be sure to keep a few at home so that visitors can remember important information about the house that they have come to see. Home shoppers see many houses in a day, so having a brochure could be the thing that makes your FSBO property stick in their minds and eventually sell.
Another great way to market your For Sale By Owner property is through Internet FSBO sites. These sites allow you to put up details and photos of your house, including dates for open houses and other events. A site like FSBOmarketing.com or one found through a search engine can help you reach a wide range of browsers. Many people in the real estate market now start their house hunt online with a FSBO site. For a small fee, these web sites can improve your exposure dramatically. If you’re comfortable with the sales and negotiating processes, there is no reason at all that you should pay a Realtor to do things that you could very well accomplish on your own. Hot real estate markets can make real estate agents almost irrelevant.
