Is selling your home yourself really the best use of your time? Real estate agents sell about 80% of real estate in this country.

There is a lot more to it than the 4 “P”s of real estate: Putting a sign in the yard, Putting an ad in the paper/internet, Putting it in the MLS, Praying that it will sell. Realtors are trained in all aspects of real estate from staging, properly placing your home in the market place, producing ad material and brochures, compliance with state & federal laws (which FSBO sellers are not exempt from, but are usually very ignorant of), pre-qualifying, matching appropriate buyers to your home and securing suitable financing.

Realtors “screen” who sees your home and know something about them before they get there, reducing the opportunity for thieft. How does- better yet how can a FSBO do all of that and maintain their full time job? Virtually impossible!

Realtors pay for themselves in that they usually secure substantially higher contract prices for the home than FSBO sellers, in turn helping maintain neighborhood values, putting more money in the seller’s pocket, and they are more likely to timely get the seller out of an investment that no longer works thereby stopping further investments in the no longer wanted investment.

A missed sale cost the entire sale, as in missed opportunities. Would you hire a surgeon with a 10% success rate? 20% of real estate is not sole by Realtors, meaning that of the 20% remaining, some are builders with in house agents, some are corporate relocation companies, and some are real FSBO. Statistics show that about 80% of sellers who start out as FSBO usually, following a failed contract or several weeks on their own end up placing their property in the hands of a Realtor. Realtors are connected and co-operate with each other, even from other real estate companies, to put sales together and reduce market time and expenses for all concerned.

There are some licensees, as in any industry that do not need to be in the business, but by far if you select a full broker with professional designations you typically will get a good one. You do get what you pay for in the business world. Pay too little and you have a potential failure situation. Pay too much and you end up short. Interview the broker you want to use and choose the best qualified broker. Brokers can own their own brokerage or manage a brokerage for another broker; affiliate or associate brokers must work under a broker and have fewer licensing requirements. Brokers have more training and usually more experience, and the brokerage fee is the same.

Get the full broker.

If he actually brought some one he is working with over to see the house and has a valid offer, then he will be in touch within 72 hours. If not he is full of bologna or he is busy trying to talk those folks into something else that is a moresure thing for his commission. I would just wait it out.

Don’t fall for it.

If he actually does bring an offer, tell him that you are FSBO and will pay NO MORE than the usual split commission (3% – 3.5% depending upon where you are). Get that agreement IN WRITING before you look at the offer. Have your attorney review it before signing. If he’s a buyer’s agent, he won’t have a problem with this arrangement.

Best of luck to you!