Home : Blogs : Lori Lincoln- Taunton-Fall River MA Assonet MA, Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea : Taunton, Assonet, Freetown MA Real Estate and more- Lori Lincoln

For Sale By Owner..

Preface: As some of my readers know, I can be pretty darn direct, not because of ego or wanting to be right, but because I genuinely care about people.

If you saw someone about to jump off a bridge wouldn’t you try to help too? So forgive my directness, and understand it is because I care.

Mr and Mrs FSBO,

You want top dollar for your home, who can blame you.

First you try to list it For Sale by Owner, only to realize that even with the cheap MLS listing, and a few open houses the house isn’t receiving offers. Months pass, maybe years… then you goals and plans have to be revised due to the unsuccessful attempt to sell on your own. In the meantime, the market is losing 3% per month.. 3%! , but you don’t reduce your price.. or hire a realtor or even seek the advice of a professional..

Somehow, the media and/or others have mislead those who want to save money by not paying a realtor commission.

You see…Before I was in real estate sales, I sold my house myself, only to realize ( after the fact). After my house went under agreement I received a call from a buyer who was going to give me more, but since I was under a binding contract, there wasn’t anything I could do.. So I could have sold my house for $30,000 more! Even with a Realtor Commission, I would have made $20,000 more on the sale of my house… minus the headaches. Not to mention, my husband I had to deal with all the minor and major items from the home inspection. If I had a Real Estate Professional, he or she might have saved me the trouble.

For Sale by owners mis-price their homes more times than not.

Most of them overprice thinking that a buyer can make an offer and they can “negotiate”. The truth is that this isn’t the way it works anymore ( as if it ever worked this way). Buyers stay within $10,000 of the price they will pay.

Also, nearly 90% of home buyers use buyer agents. Buyer agents are reluctant to show For Sale By owner homes due to the risk involved and that quote end quote “generous” 2% commission isn’t enough and isn’t worth the hassle.

I saw an ad one day boasting on how the seller will pay the buyer agent 1%-2%, like it was going to get a buyer agent to run red lights to bring their buyers there!. Preposterous!

My unsolicited opinion: If you cannot sell your home for market value because you need more money, then sell in a few years IF the market turns..

…OR.. if you owe more than what the house is worth and can make your payments.. wait to sell.

If you cannot wait to sell and you are in a financial debacle, then see if you can sell it on a short sale.

But PLEASE, PLEASE, talk to professionals before you put your home on the market. Talk to 3 Realtors, get the facts of record first.

If you need information on how to sell your home on your own please contact Lori Lincoln at Keller Williams Realty.

You can also visit http://www.LoriLincolnTeam.com for Facts of Record and comparable sales in your area.. FREE.

Lori Lincoln sells homes in Bristol County Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Search the MLS for Taunton, Rehoboth, Somerset, Swansea, Dighton, Assonet homes and real estate

Posted by Lori Lincoln- Taunton-Fall River MA Assonet MA, Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea on 08/30/2008 08:18 PM

Comments (10)

realtor taunton, for sale by owner, massachusetts, short sale, mls, listings, search, fsbo

This post has been included in Massachusetts Information

10 Comments on For Sale By Owner..

Anyone with an IQ above 10 can get a license. That certainly doesnt make them any more qualified that the average homeowner.

08/30/2008 08:20 PM

by San Diego Short Sales (San Diego Homes)

For some it is easy to get a license, but to continue with education, marketing, market trends, psychology, communication and more.. is a different story. I also believe a proven track record with testimonials with phone numbers, is what sellers should be requesting and a professional should be offering as well

08/30/2008 08:29 PM

by Lori Lincoln- Taunton-Fall River MA Assonet MA, Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea (Keller Williams Realty/Realtor Taunton and South of Boston)

Lori: LOVED your blog! I just spoke to a buyer who put in a contract on a waterfront home. When I asked her why in the world she didn't use a Realtor to negotiate on her behalf, she said the sellers were adamant that they did not want a Realtor involved. I told her she should have had sirens screaming and red flags flying everywhere! I explained to her that she had put in an offer of about $20,000 MORE than the market is reflecting right now for that house... not to mention that she is running a severe risk of purchasing a home with a lien on it or a cloud on the title, or an encroachment problem, or any manner of other "sneak up on you after you sign the dotted line" problems. In our recreational lake area, there are several different versions of leased properties. We have recreational leases, marginal leases and the list goes on and on. So many things could come back to bite an unrepresented buyer. Unfortunately, she allowed those demanding sellers to bulldoze her into not having representation of her interest, all in the name of saving money. Well, as you know, the only ones saving money were those sellers! I could blog until I'm blue in the face about nightmares I have seen just recently from unrepresented buyer transactions. Think it will change anything? Our best bet is to keep educating the public.

Speaking of education and raising the public IQ: as for the comment from San Diego MLS... I'm not quite sure how to receive your IQ comment. Could you "splain" for us?

08/30/2008 08:47 PM

by Celina Gleason (AgentOwned Realty)

Lori,

Yes unfortunately you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Some people just cannot be convinced even after a bad experience.

08/30/2008 08:53 PM

by Larry Story Real Estate Greensboro, NC Triad (Coldwell Banker Triad of Greensboro)

Celine,

Thank you for your compliments. Sounds like you have some challenges in your market "weird properties".

Buyers think they are saving, but really get into some messes when they don't use an agent.

I think you are right, Celine, keep educating the public. I don't know what this person from San Diego was trying to say.

08/30/2008 08:54 PM

by Lori Lincoln- Taunton-Fall River MA Assonet MA, Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea (Keller Williams Realty/Realtor Taunton and South of Boston)

Celine,

Thank you for your compliments. Sounds like you have some challenges in your market "weird properties".

Buyers think they are saving, but really get into some messes when they don't use an agent.

I think you are right, Celine, keep educating the public. I don't know what this person from San Diego was trying to say.

08/30/2008 08:54 PM

by Lori Lincoln- Taunton-Fall River MA Assonet MA, Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea (Keller Williams Realty/Realtor Taunton and South of Boston)

Larry,

Yes, some are just stubborn. We even sometimes work for FREE and they don't listen to us.. who are in the trenches of this business every day

08/30/2008 08:57 PM

by Lori Lincoln- Taunton-Fall River MA Assonet MA, Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea (Keller Williams Realty/Realtor Taunton and South of Boston)

Buyers need representation, that's the whole reason Buyers Agency was created in the first place. Gee it is sad to hear stuff like this... FSBO's are OVERPRICED most of the time! What a shame that Buyers don't realise they Are Losing Money on the BIGGEST INVESTMENT OF THEIR LIFE! Realtors work within the Realtor CODE OF ETHICS...we work hard to earn your TRUST! Does the Seller have Code of Ethics to abide to? Nope...they don't lose nothing if they give you a bad deal! If a Realtor gave you a bad deal...it's the reputation...see the Realtor cares about their Reputation since Real Estate is A Reputation Business PLUS A Realtor Wants You To Be So Happy With Their Service That YOU REFER SOMEONE TO THEM ! This is the Service A Realtor Can Do! As Realtors we know this but do BUYERS?

Thanks,

Tom Davis

World Class Delaware Realtor

08/30/2008 09:51 PM

by Dover Real Estate, Dover Homes For Sale Real Estate & Delaware,Dover's Tom Davis (Delaware Real Estate: Delaware Homes: Delaware, Dover , ERA)

As in every industry there are people that lead you astray. It has happened and will continue to happen. This is why, IMHO, that people list their homes themselves. When they do not trust the people that facilitate the market, they turn to other resources. This is just one of them.

08/31/2008 03:17 PM

by Danny Thornton (Home America Mortgage, INC.)

Tom- Thank you for your additional info.

Danny, yes, I agree, nothing wrong with trying to save a buck, and we know that mistakes can be made that can cost the sellers more than what they would have paid in commission.

08/31/2008 07:26 PM

by Lori Lincoln- Taunton-Fall River MA Assonet MA, Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea (Keller Williams Realty/Realtor Taunton and South of Boston)

Leave a response…

Name:

Notify me of new comments:

Comment:

What does the graphic say?