Using a for sale by owner (FSBO) listing is a viable way to sell a house. Many homeowners do it successfully, but even more don’t. Not having to pay an agent’s commission can be an attractive reason to sell your house on your own. But if you choose this route, you need to make sure you avoid the common mistakes. Here, then, are the 5 common mistakes homeowners make when using an FSBO listing for their house in Santa Cruz.
1. Pricing Incorrectly Driven by Sentimental Value vs. Realistic Value
Pricing correctly is critical for selling quickly and at the best price possible. But, unfortunately, many Santa Cruz homeowners who use an FSBO listing don’t price to sell because they price on the basis of sentimental value rather than realistic market value.
Sellers who have lived in a home for many years develop an emotional attachment to the home. And this attachment leads them to value their home driven by sentiment rather than by market value, typically pricing higher than the market will bear. And when a house is overpriced, potential buyers typically skip right over the listing with the result that the house languishes unsold on the market for some time. And then buyers begin to assume something is wrong with it. Ultimately, sellers wind up selling for less than they would have if they had priced it right from the beginning.
Your home conveys emotions in you. So, adding the element of business to an already emotional transaction without any sort of buffer in between you and the person purchasing your home can add challenges to the actual transaction itself.
The best way to price a house is by performing a comparative market analysis. To discover more about this, contact a Santa Cruz agent at 831-588-2334.
2. Not Getting the House Listing Ready
Another common mistake homeowners make when using an FSBO listing is not getting the house thoroughly ready to list. Almost all homes, even newer ones, require some repairs and upgrades before they are listing-ready.
If you’ve lived in a home for some time, you have likely grown used to seeing flaws that potential buyers absolutely won’t overlook. Without the trained, critical eye of an agent, FSBO sellers are on their own when it comes to getting the house ready. And most of the time, owing to familiarity, they just can’t “see” what needs to be done.
3. Not Having an Effective Marketing Plan
Then there’s the lack of a well-thought-out, effective marketing plan common to FSBO listing sellers. And this mistake typically means a slower sale and often at a lower price.
Whether it is getting the house prepared for a showing, making sure that all of the information is available to potential buyers, marketing it, negotiating, etcetera. Think about the time you will save by hiring a professional to help you with the real estate transaction process.
And if you’re considering For Sale By Owner versus hiring a real estate professional, you are missing out on the large network of people, not only realtors, but potential buyers that realtors already have in their database. As a FSBO, it’s really challenging to do that unless maybe you already have a database of 10,000 people, which is unlikely.
The sad fact is that FSBO sellers often think all they have to do is stick a for-sale sign in the front yard, place a classified ad in the local paper, and wait for the offers to start rolling in. But is seldom works this way.
Without access to the MLS, you will have to find other marketing avenues and venues to get the word out and cast a broad marketing net. This would likely include traditional marketing methods such as ads and flyers, as well as the power of social media and all the word-of-mouth exposure you can generate.
4. Being Unable to Show the House at Buyers’ Preferred Times
Here’s another mistake common to sellers using an FSBO listing, one that they often don’t even consider.
Selling your house isn’t your job (as it would be for your agent), so you will have severe time constraints because you do have another full-time job. And that means you very likely won’t be able to meet with potential buyers for showings at the times they prefer. But buyers don’t want to wait around to view your house when it’s convenient for you. The result is that they pass up your house and move on to another one that they can see when they want to.
Another thing to consider when you’re thinking about doing a FSBO, is that a lot of realtors won’t show your home. Not only do they feel nervous that they don’t have their commission protected, but it is really challenging to represent a buyer in a transaction with a FSBO seller. Realtors can’t provide the disclosures for that seller as a buyer representative. When you limit the number of realtors that will show your home and potentially sell your home, you’re actually limiting the opportunity and limiting the amount of money that you can make when you sell your home.
5. Risking Personal Security/Safety
A final common mistake homeowners make when using an FSBO listing for their house in Santa Cruz involves their safety and security – or, rather, lack thereof. Showing your house means that you will be meeting with complete strangers alone and often at night. This presents a safety concern.
Without an agent’s time and expertise, you won’t be able to vet potential buyers as thoroughly as you should. Because you know nothing about these people, you may be opening up yourself to theft, scams, and even violence.
Something else to consider if you are considering selling your home For Sale By Owner is the legal ramifications. As an experienced realtor, we have not only knowledge, but access to a database of the required California state disclosures that a seller must fill out. So as a FSBO, will you have the knowledge and the access to get the disclosures that are required when you are selling your home for yourself?
And lastly, are you able to have the appropriate conversation to weed out buyers that are not yet qualified? You do not want to be spending your time showing your property over and over to buyers who have not even gone through the pre-approval process.
How to Avoid FSBO Listing Mistakes
As you can see, the road to an FSBO sale is littered with pitfalls. But there is an easy way to avoid them and vastly increase your chances of a successful sale. And that is to forego the FSBO listing and work with an experienced Santa Cruz agent instead. With her knowledge and experience, your agent won’t make the mistakes listed above. So before you take the step of using an FSBO listing for your house in Santa Cruz, be sure to contact us at 831-588-2334.
