CHAPTER 3 Pitfalls of FSBOs
You’ve sold a few automobiles in your day without trading in to a dealer, and you sell antiques on eBay. You’ve done well by both and consider yourself an astute horse trader and businessperson. So, now the time has come to sell your home, and you fin d yourself considering the options of selling it For Sale By Owner (FSBO) to save the commission fee. True, some people can sell their property outside the con fin es of a contractual agreement with a Realtor®, but the harsh reality is that most can’t, and don’t, and will spend sign ifi cant time and e ff ort spinning their wheels while qua lifi ed buyers come and go, without giving their property any serious thought, or, worse yet, never even knowing it was available. FSBO is the process of an owner selling a piece of real estate without using a real estate broker or real estate agent. While in an FSBO transaction, a seller may employ the services of marketing or online listing companies or market their own property, there’s no commission paid on the sale. Th is is the perceived value of an FSBO. However, sellers o ft en need the services of attorneys to traverse the documents and intricacies of a real estate sale, and that cuts into th e fin ancial bene fi t. Although still out of the mainstream in real estate transactions, FSBO transactions seem to be increasing. Zillow reports a doubling of FSBO listings between 2012 and 2014 (up to 4%), ForSaleByOwner.com seeing 24% growth in 2013, and StreetEasy reporting NYC FSBO listings increasing by nearly 30% in that same period. According to a 2016 report by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) regarding home buyer and seller
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