Tip #1– Put your phones on silent the night before you list your property FSBO
When you list your home FSBO your phone will be ringing off the hook from real estate agents trying to convince you to sell your home with them instead of doing it yourself. You will literally receive hundreds of phone calls starting at 4am so avoid being woken up by putting your phone on silent.
Tip #2- Watch a youtube video of a real estate pro giving a home tour
Just because your home is FSBO doesn’t mean the prospective buyers should get any less of an experience than if your property was represented by an agent. Watch a youtube video of a home tour and practice a couple of times before your first showing. A good tour highlights your home’s best features and don’t forget to turn the lights on each room before the prospective buyer arrives!
Tip #3– Hire a professional photographer
In the world of HGTV, Instagram and the rest of social media people expect to see beautiful pictures of the homes they are looking to purchase. Even if you are selling your home FSBO, beautiful photos are vital to getting a great sale price.
What to know before you start the FSBO process?
There are a lot of phone calls and emails to answer! Selling your home FSBO is very time consuming and you must block out a large chunk of time each day until your home is sold to make it happen! FSBO can be incredibly rewarding but it is not as simple as “I will sell my home myself and save 3%!”
Buying a home FSBO Tip #1
If you are working with a buyers agent do not forget that you still owe your buyers agent commission even if the seller is FSBO. Be sure to ask the seller if they are paying buyers agent fees or if not you will be on the hook for that amount in cash to your buyers agent. One of our users had this happen to them last year and owed their buyers agent big bucks!
Buying a home FSBO Tip #2
As with any transaction, be very careful and work with a competent buyers agent, real estate attorney and/or title company. With real estate agents involved there is a certain level of professionalism on gathering the appropriate information for a closing. When you are purchasing from a FSBO a lot of that goes out the window but that doesn’t affect your rights as the buyer. Hire a property inspector, use the title company you would like to use and do everything as you would in a traditional home purchase.
