5 Reasons Real Estate Brokers Will Give You for Not Selling Your Home FSBO - And Why They Are Wrong

Real Estate brokers hate the concept of for sale by owner - and for very good reason. The average real estate agents commission on a home sale is 2% of the sale price plus marketing costs which adds up to be quite a nice chunk of change. So every time a "For sale by owner" sign goes up in someone's yard it represents a opportunity they missed out on.

Therefore no broker is ever going to tell you that selling your home without their help is a good idea. In fact many of them will do their very best to scare you off the idea for good. Here are just five of the reasons a real estate broker may give you that FSBO is the wrong way to go when selling your home as well as the reality behind those statements

"You don't have the right negotiating skills" - This one is real biggie that agents like to throw out at those considering selling their home for sale by owner. Yes they have been wheeling and dealing for years but there are plenty of resources to help FSBO sellers negotiate in just as savvier manner.

"You'll never get your property listed in the best places" - Real estate agents will often make out that the only way for you to get your home listed on the big websites where home buyers tend to begin their search for properties is to let them place the ad (for a hefty fee).

"Have you thought about stranger danger?" - Some real estate brokers also like to pull the "stranger danger" card when discussing for sale by owner selling. They will scare homeowners with tales of bad bad people doing bad bad things because some poor FSBO seller did not know how to "screen" potential buyers properly.

So what is it that agents do to screen the strangers they bring into your home? Do they have some special way to check a persons background that you would not have? No, they take a copy of their drivers license and make sure they have an address and phone number on file. Both of which you can do yourself.

"You'll have no time for yourself" - Real estate brokers will remind FSBO sellers that they will have to be available to take potential buyers calls most of the time and show their home at a time that is convenient for the buyer as often as possible. Think of the disruption they will tell you.

Actually arranging your own showing times with a potential buyer directly is a lot less of a hassle than having a real estate broker ring you up while you are in the shower and tell you that they need to bring a buyer over right now. And as for those phone calls? Potential buyers will be able to get you at 7pm while all they are likely to get out of calling a real estate broker at that time in the evening is voice mail.

"You don't understand all the legal issues" - No you probably don't, but seller's resources can refer you to a good solicitor who does. And you would still have to hire a legal team even if you decided to work with a real estate broker so that argument is a bit of a non issue in the end.