In talking with dozens of Lawrence, Kansas, Homes for Sale, For Sale By Owner, FSBO owners I have learned some things from them. Many have decided to sell a home themselves to:
1) Save the commission.
2) Need the highest amount of money possible when selling a home to be their down payment for the next home they want to buy.
3) Got poor treatment or service from a Realtor at some point in the past so decided they would be a For Sale By Owner FSBO owner rather than get bad service from another Realtor.
Getting poor service from a Realtor does not mean that all Realtors give bad service. Interview Realtors and ask them to tell you about their marketing plan and ask them to do a listing presentation. Ask specific questions as to how they are going to get the highest number of buyers to see your home so it will sell fast. Ask how many MLS's they will list your home on. Ask how many websites they will put your home on. Ask them for a free CMA that tells you your home's value. Select a Realtor who will do more than just put your home on the MLS and put a sign in the yard. Select a Realtor who will tell you what you "NEED" to hear not what you "WANT" to hear.
Need the highest amount of money possible when selling a home to be your down payment for the next home you want to buy simply does not make sense. If you were getting transferred to Tokyo, the home that would cost $200,000 here in Lawrence Kansas real estate would cost $1,000,000 or more over there. There is NO correlation between the fair market value of the homes for sale and the homes you look at when you want to buy a home. However, many Lawrence, Kansas, Homes for Sale, For Sale By Owner, FSBO owners will price their home high enough so they will be able to get the down payment they need in order to buy their new home. All this produces is a lot of overpriced homes for sale on the FSBO market. They will never sell when overpriced and then they call on a Realtor to help them get their home SOLD when they have run out of time. When that occurs, the home is branded as a former FSBO that didn't sell in the buyers' minds and they don't want to see the home.
Saving the commission is by far the #1 reason Lawrence, Kansas, Homes for Sale, For Sale By Owner, FSBO owners give when they tell me why they are trying to sell a home FSBO. But what happens is the home buyer comes and says how much is your house and the FSBO says $200,000. The home buyer then subtracts $25,000 off the price in their mind and that is the highest they want to offer because they "inflate" the 6% or commission to a much higher amount in their mind. Then the buyer thinks about offering the $175,000 only doesn't want to offend the FSBO so nothing is ever offered which helps to tell why over 95% of all FSBO's evidentially list their home with a Realtor.
A good Realtor will actually be able to explain and show to you how he can "save" the FSBO their commission by getting the FSBO home SOLD at a higher price than what the FSBO could get it SOLD for themselves.
Being a Lawrence, Kansas, Homes for Sale, For Sale By Owner, FSBO owner is a lot of work. A Realtor removes that work load so the FSBO can have time to do the things they consider important. Sure, you can change the oil on your car yourself, but do you really want to. I know I don't. Sure you can run a package over to a town an hour away but more than likely it makes more sense to just mail it overnight. There are just some things best left to the professionals and marketing and getting a home sold for the highest possible price is the job of a professional Realtor who has graduate level real estate course work and designations like myself to get the job done. It is a full time job!
If you would like to know more of the why's of why you should list with me, please visit www.MLSPlease.com to see my "30 Days to SOLD" Marketing Plan.
Thanks and "Don't keep me a secret--I'm never too busy for your referrals!"
Rob (FREE Home Warranty with every home you buy or sell through me!!)
Rob Lang, CRS, ABR, ePro, GRI, CFPS Realtor®
Sellers www.MLSPlease.com (Marketing homes to 4 MLS's, to over 100 websites, "Showcase" Realtor.com listing, and virtual tours)
Property Searches www.LetRobDoIt.com
Places for Rent or Lease www.KSLease.com
Blog www.ActiveRain.com/blogs/langrob
Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate (three convenient locations)
(Serving Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin, Topeka, Olathe, Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas City, McLouth, Wellsville, Ottawa, Berryton, Tecumseh, more)
300 Rockfence Place, Lawrence, KS 66049
1037 Vermont, Lawrence, KS 66044
3300 Clinton Parkway Ct., Lawrence, KS 66047
785-393-2274 (cell) 206-339-3199 (fax)
Rob@YouWantHouses.com
