FISBOs - For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Advantages

For Sale By Owner

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Advantages

      For home buyers and investors, there are many advantages to FSBO deals. Most of the advantages directly relate to the disadvantages of buying properties that are listed with an agent and available for all to view on the local MLS.

      1. Buyers can deal directly with the owner. When buying a home or just starting out as an investor in the business, the last thing a home buyer wants to do is go head-to-head with seasoned professionals. The home buyer or beginner investor should start with a FSBO deal where he or she is not dealing with a real estate agent, lawyer, or bank, but rather directly with the owner.

      2. Most FSBOs are not widely advertised. This is a very important point for the home buyer, but even more so for the investor/wholesaler. The buyer must understand that agent-listed properties are those that everyone knows about because they are listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS is what all realtors use across the country to advertise the properties they have for sale. It is the most widely used source available for this type of information. Most investors have plenty of real estate agents on the lookout for any money-makers in the MLS. Listed properties that can be purchased under fair market value are very quickly “cherry picked” by these insiders. If the property is not listed the buyer will probably encounter less competition in getting it under contract. It is rare to find a listed property that meets the criteria investors need for a successful acquisition. Since FSBOs are not in the MLS these investors and lucky home buyers have a better chance of crafting a deal directly with a motivated seller before other buyers.

      3. Owners may not know what their property is worth. Owners can be fairly versed in the overall home-selling process and still have an inaccurate idea of their property’s true value. They may be using old information such as an old appraisal. Perhaps they are just adding a random amount to what they had paid for the property years ago. Without a proper and current estimation of value they could be asking for far less than the property is actually worth.

      4. The buyer can be more creative with offers. FSBO deals generally allow for the most freedom and flexibility when crafting offers. In these situations, the home buyer or investor will not be under the scrutiny and oversight of that agent’s broker or the Association of Realtors in that state. Bureaucratic agencies can be a handful when it comes to putting together a creative transaction.

For Sale By Owner Guide

FSBO Real Estate Guide