As I drive down the street I see numerous homeowners attempting to sell their homes by owner. Several companies are now offering flat fee listings and marketing packages to assist “for sale by owners”. Sellers are attracted to the low fees and compare them to the fees of a Realtor. There are advantages to the “for sale by owner” companies but only if you have the expertise and time to perform literally hundreds of tasks to complete the real estate process. I believe the benefits of listing with a Realtor far outweigh the benefits of using a “for sale by owner” company.
Let us compare the upfront cost associated with both options. To sign a listing contract with a Realtor it will cost you nothing. The only way a Realtor earns a commission is if and when the home sells. When signing a contract with a “for sale by owner” company the seller must pay the company a predetermined fee which is not refunded regardless of whether your home is sold. Remember that this predetermined fee typically doesn’t last until the home is sold so you may need to pay fees several times depending on how long it takes your home to sell…
Now keep in mind that once you have negotiated and settled on a commission with a Realtor that price is set and there aren’t any extra features that you need to purchase. “For sale by owner” companies typically require you pay extra for features including signs, photos, ads in magazines, internet advertising, and more. In addition, a Realtor’s commission includes payment to a buyers agent with no extra cost to you. Most “For sale by owner” companies require you pay buyers agents commission on top of their fees…
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FSBO Channels announced today the launch of FSBO Managers, a sister site which is touted as being a revolutionary business service model that will finally take For Sale by Owner real estate mainstream. The number of homeowners choosing to sell their own homes is growing at triple digit annual increases in many US cities, and double digit increases on average nationwide. As popular as For Sale by Owner is, a year long survey of 3,000 home sellers was conducted by FSBO Channels - fsbochannels.com - who found that only 26% of those who were interested in selling their own homes ever follows through in trying it on their own. The main reasons cited for not selling their own home were: not enough internet experience, no time to monitor emails and answering calls, and last but not least, they do not want to be hassled by a myriad of solicitations. FSBO Managers™ is committed to attracting the 74% of those who don’t want to go through the hassles by providing them with the personalized services they desire.
FSBO Managers™ - fsbomanagers.com - is the first to offer For Sale by Owner sellers nationwide with “ala Carte” services that make selling their home effective and painless. FSBO Managers™ services such as e-home evaluations, recommendations on enhancing the homes’ appeal, home interior staging, professionally created keyword rich ad copy complete with photos, placement of the listing on several of the most visited internet sites, daily monitoring of ad placements, hourly checks of email, screening of all responses to identify and remove all SPAM and solicitations, and immediate notification of responses that are deemed legitimate…
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