Two Worst Enemies of FSBO

1 “It’s Lyin’ There on the Table” Syndrome

In its beginning, this affliction is actually not painful at all to the seller. In fact, it can almost be euphoric in the early stages.

I can make the seller feel quite sly that he or she has built in a cushion that can be used to rescue a marginal deal.

The actual onslaught of this syndrome comes from a savvy buyer, or more frequently, an agent who has sold a house in thins like this. While constructing an offer on the house, the agent realizes, and subsequently suggests to the buyer, that whatever commission he expects to make, there is still that much again the seller is saving. He tells the buyer that money is still lying there on the table.

The suggestion would be, of course that the house should be sold for at least that much less, or even that the sellers might participate that amount toward closing costs or pre-paid interest for the buyer.

I must remind the seller that it does not always save a marginal deal, but does always makes them (the seller) have gone through all the time and effort of selling FSBO for no pay or reward.

Bottom line: You don’t gain anything for all your FSBO efforts.

2 “No Cheerleader Syndrome” (low commitment)

Sometimes when people decide to sell their house By Owner, they sign up for mls inclusion for ninety days or even six months. Their excitement usually follows a curve.

In the beginning, they are very excited, and sit in front of their computers, gazing at it, waiting for their listing to appear. They’ve already stopped at the liquor store to pick up extra boxes to pack. They are ready to call the power company to put in a shut-off order.

Then two weeks go by and there may be no offers. There may not be that many showings in the beginning. One or two traditional real estate agents try to list them, but really sound more like they are trying to scold them.

Even after I, as the broker, try to tell them that the FSBO route is a difficult one, they discover before the end of the ninety day agreement, that their commitment was not as great as they thought.

In a standard “exclusive right to sell” listing, the seller has the agent around cheering them on. They, of course want a price reduction and a listing extension, but to a seller, it sounds like, “rah rah rah – you go, seller! It’s about to sell!”

It seems as thought the cheerleaders for a FSBO are crickets!

And some people just need to be cheered on.

Bottom line: You work a couple of months, get dejected, and spend money on a traditional agent after all.

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