| There are many web sites on the internet that want you to
place your property with them. You need to learn to the difference
between the truth and myths before you select that route.
Here are some statements found on several FSBO web sites and the truth:
"In a buyer's market FSBO sellers can use the money they save
on the listing agent's commission to do one or more of the following: (1)
raise the buyer's agent's commission, (2) market the home more aggressively,
or (3) lower the price."
Truth: In a Buyer's Market, listing with an professional
is much more important. Just make sure the professional has
experience in Buyer's Markets (ie, has been licensed more than 15
years!). Your property is competing against many other properties
for a lower number of buyers!
Increasing the payment to the the buyer's agent assumes that all real
estate professionals who are working with buyers know about your home and
want to do the extra work required. But if you double the amount
they'd be happy to do all the work. But then you might as well list
the house.
Remember, the only reason buyers want to purchase a By Owner home is to
save the money on the commission, too. So they will expect the price
to already be lower. And now these "experts" tell you to
lower the price. Some savings that is. They just want you to
pay for the MLS Only service they offer!
"Though buyer's agents may have a fiduciary duty to search
all homes for sale in the area for their clients, there's evidence that
agents in some areas boycott FSBO homes or steer their clients away from
them. If you're in a hurry to sell, it might be best to give in to
this bullying and work with an agent."
Truth: Our fiduciary duty is to work in our
"clients" best interest. We are NOT required by our
fiduciary duty to pull out the newspapers and drive around neighborhoods
and call all FSBOs to see if the home is right for our buyers. The
best interests of the buyer are usually served best by finding them a home
owned by a reasonable seller who has someone working for them.
Because of the number of Independent Contractors in the real estate
industry (all of them), it is doubtful that in any area there would be an
agreement to boycott ANYONE!
Remember, would you want to do twice as much work on your job for the
same amount of money...or less? Many buyer's agent contracts require
the buyer to pay the extra commission if the seller is offering less than
the amount the buyer's agreed to. When this happens, the
professional will tell the buyer and ask for their decision as to whether
to view the property or not. Usually, the buyer doesn't want to see
it, as paying extra will not be in their best interest.
"Once a listing contract is signed, listing agents have
little incentive to spend money on marketing"
Truth: Listing companies and their licensee usually spend
a lot of money marketing a house before it sells. Just wait until
you find out how much a small classified ad in the newspaper costs
you! They actively market your home because they want to bring in
buyer leads! Sure there are some who just "put it in the MLS
and hope it sells", but you need to avoid listing with some one like
that. A true professional will give you a detailed marketing plan.
"Signing a contract with a listing agent can be risky.
You might find yourself locked into a contract for several months with a
flaky or incompetent agent."
Truth: All you have to do is make sure that the listing
contract contains some form of a "out" for you....and never sign
a long time contract (meaning over 6 months). You also need to do
a lot of work interviewing real estate professionals from several
different companies to find the best one for you.
"Selling "For Sale by Owner: (FSBO) isn't much
different from listing a home with a traditional real estate agent."
Truth: WOW! What a lie that is. Doing
everything on your own (pricing, knowing what to do to get your home in
top showing condition, negotiating, knowing what to disclose, having all
the legal liability, and problem solving) is the same as having a
professional help you? Yeah, sure! Again, they just want your
MLS Entry Only fee.
"There is no secret! If you can sell a used car, you can
sell your home."
Truth: See the answer above!
This article could go more, but
hopefully you have get the
point. The web sites out there with these outrageous statements are
in business. Their business is to make a fee for putting your home
in the MLS...and then not doing any work for you.
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