The Wrong Price

It is the most critical element when selling any product, especially when you’re talking about something as large as a home sale. Homes that are listed with a Realtor® that are overpriced stand a slim chance of selling. Overpricing by owners makes it next to impossible!

Often times people want more money for their homes because they have done some kind of recent improvement. Not all improvements increase the value. For example if you replaced a roof, a furnace, hot water tank, or new appliances, don’t expect to see much payback on the money you invested.  It will probably help your home sale faster, but may not add to the price.

Lack of Exposure

Some for sale by owners do nothing more than put up a for sale by owner sign in the front lawn and expect that will do the trick. Then there are others that think that going in one of the for sale by owner sites like I sold my house.com, for sale by owner.com or buy owner.com is going to bring lots of traffic. WRONG!

These sites generate a pittance of traffic in comparison to the sites some of the top web savvy Realtors® use to promote homes. Just go to Google or any other major search engine and type in a local search with keywords a buyer would use, and see what you get. Go ahead and try it. You will find your search will be dominated by sites that show homes listed by Real Estate agents. These FSBO sites promise the world and deliver empty promises the majority of the time.

Buyers Want to Save the Commission and Looking For Bargains

One of the other factors associated with selling a home by owner is the fact that many of the people viewing the home are going to want to share in the commission savings. Many of the potential buyers who will be looking at for sale by owner homes are bargain hunters. Their line of thinking is since the seller is not paying a commission, they should be able to offer less for the home. Sellers end up receiving low ball offers on many occasions. Buyers will often take 5-15% right off the top regardless if the home is priced well or not.

Home Accessibility and Buyer Qualifications

These last two reasons are often overlooked by someone trying to sell their own home. It is hard to sell a home if a buyer can’t get in to see it. Often times when a FSBO is trying to sell they need to match their schedules with the buyer which sometimes is not that easy especially for those that work full time. A Realtor of course makes this part of the home sale process go much smoother. Lastly, home sellers need to be equipped with the knowledge of knowing how to qualify potential buyers. There is no point in having unqualified foot traffic going through a home. This is also part of a Realtors job. Most buyers that view homes today are pre-approved. As a FSBO you need to make sure that the same holds true when showing your home.

For complete information about what RE/MAX the Matthias group offers and the experienced we have to help you, just go to www.coloradorealestate.com and check us out.