Selling your home in the Tampa FL real estate market can be a very complex and time-consuming affair. Using a licensed Tampa FL real estate professional can be a huge step in the right direction. But, many people will try …
FSBO – For Sale By Owner
Many people will try to sell their homes, on their own, once. This is known as for sale by owner or FSBO. After their first time, about half never do it again. After the first attempt to sell on their own, most owners realize that it is simply too much work and too much risk.
There are many reasons to use a licensed Tampa Realtor. So why go with a licensed Tampa Realtor? Well, REALTORS are not SCUBA instructors, so we’re not going to assume to know how to dive the ocean and caves properly, right? Let’s face it, homeowners are not licensed professionals and usually have NO idea how to properly market a home, or what is legally required of them.
In particular, in Tampa’s real estate market where there is a lot of competition, it takes a lot more effort and knowledge to be able to sell your Tampa home fast and at the right price. The right price, of course, is one that best meets your desired amount AND sells the home!
Obviously, these homeowners are trying to do the right thing for themselves and save money. But in Tampa Florida’s real estate market, saving money may not mean doing things on your own. This simple misconception usually ends up causing many more issues than these homeowners were ever aware. For example:
- Are you going to stay at your home to show it all day long? Or maybe pass up buyers when it’s incovenient to your schedule?
- What about the “window shoppers” who have no intention to buy? How would you know who is actually qualified financially?
- Security — Are you comfortable with a total stranger coming in off the street to go through your entire home?
- What are you required to do by law? How long after the transaction can you be sued by the buyer for something you did or didn’t do at the time? Have you discriminated against a group of people just by placing an ad?
- Are you familiar with today’s marketing and technology tools to attract buyers worldwide?
- How do you know where to price your home RIGHT NOW and what is your competition?
- What is your time worth?
- What if the contract is done improperly or you signed it and now the buyer has a huge advantage over you or the ability to wiggle out of it later leaving you back at square one?
DID YOU KNOW that FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sales have been steadily decreasing? In 2005 only 13% of sales were FSBO BUT out of those, 1/3 were to people they knew. So the true figure is that only 8% of people choose to “go it alone” and take their chances!!
DID YOU KNOW that 87% of homebuyers in 2005 used a real estate agent? That means that as a FSBO you probably will not get exposure to that market. Why not? Keep reading.
DID YOU KNOW that 45% of real estate licensing materials are legal questions? We live in a litigious society and real estate is no exception.
REALTORS (licensed professionals) largely do not like to get themselves OR their clients involved with a FSBO transaction for several reasons even if you are listed on the local MLS and offer some commission:
1. FSBOs often times do not offer a commission at all, or it’s not a competitive commission. They don’t know the market well enough to know that. Real estate agents work for commissions and they will not waste their time showing a home that does not offer a commission or ones that will pay them much less than an equivalent home. Most of their clients are willing to respect that, otherwise, why would they hire a REALTOR anyway? To work for free?
FSBO’s lack of knowledge regarding legal requirements, disclosures, and contracts often leads to hassles and legal risk for buyers and their REALTOR. FSBOs are not licensed professionals. This is not a yard sale!
FSBOs usually do not price their home properly. They expect TOO MUCH but they statistically end up getting LESS! A study conducted for the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) found the cost a FSBO seller in Florida paid in 2005 for “going it alone” without a REALTOR was $45,000. The median price of a home sold represented by a licensee was $255,000; the median price of a FSBO was $210,000.
A HUGE misconception is that people selling on their own home (FSBO) should price their properties equal to those that have a REALTOR hired to sell theirs. And they do! But guess what happens? Buyers (and a buyer’s REALTOR) know that commissions or other professional marketing fees are built into the price of a home being sold and marketed by a professional. However, knowing that your house does not have that requirement, the buyer will not pay the same amount for the FSBO house. They are NOT going to give that money to the seller instead! The logic already makes sense but the results of the study prove it! Many FSBOs that do eventually sell, go on thinking “We sold our house in one day! Wow, we did great!”…or did you?