What about buying a “for-sale-by-owner” home, A.K.A., a FSBO. By definition, a FSBO seller isn’t working under a listing agreement whereby a real estate agent will administer his side of the deal. But don’t assume the FSBO seller doesn’t have a non-realtor helping out. Unless he already knows the state regulations governing realty processes and procedures, a wise FSBO seller will have sought the help of some else (like a title company or lawyer) who knows the realty ropes and can assist with the in-and-outs of making sure the sale conforms with governing statutes. If the seller isn’t working with someone who knows real estate, and, if he’s not well versed in realty, he’s putting everyone at risk, including himself and anybody buying the property.
Whereas most FSBO sellers will have someone advising and assisting in the background, the non-represented FSBO buyer is at an negotiating disadvantage. That’s why, even for a FSBO, it’s preferable for the buyer to have an realty agent in his corner to make sure the FSBO seller has the property appropriately priced & is acting in conformance with realty law, processes, and procedures.
A FSBO seller is usually an exceptionally hard ball player, even when a friend, relative, or acquaintance is the buyer. That’s because the FSBO seller is his own face-to-face negotiator, as opposed to having a listing agent handle the negotiations as an intermediary. Keep in mind that negotiations done directly by a seller more often than not become contentious, leading to hurt feelings, and a significant level of distrust.
So, why does a home owner decide to venture into FSBO territory? Usually, it’s to avoid paying a realty brokerage commission. Avoiding the realty sales commission is understandable, but what’s not understandable is the tendency of FSBO sellers to overprice their property. It just seems natural for FSBO sellers to be tempted by the possibility of having their cake (avoiding the realty commission) and eating it too (selling the property significantly above market value).
Sometimes, to encourage showings, a FSBO seller will be willing to offer a commission to a buyer’s agent. The amount of commission to be paid to the buyer’s agent should be negotiated up front and carefully documented. Also, all parties should be working under a documented understanding that the buyer’s agent is not representing the seller and must maintain the buyer’s best interest throughout the home acquisition process.
If a FSBO seller won’t pay a buyers agent’s commission, the buyer himself might agree to pay either a negotiated commission or fee-for-service charge for having the benefit of having a trained realty professional administer his side of the deal.
What about ”friend-of-friend” FSBO leads? They can be very valuable and afford a great buyer’s opportunity. But, that happens in a very small percentage of cases. Why? In my San Antonio Texas market, the average home buyer sees 20 houses before making an offer. How likely is it that a friend-of-friend FSBO seller will have just the right house for any particular buyer? The odds are very low (but it could happen).
Here’s something else to consider if you are home buying or selling in Texas. There is a unique Texas circumstance that might work against FSBO buyers and sellers in the Lone Star State. Specifically, Texas law doesn’t mandate public recording of realty sales prices. That means that neither a home seller or buyer can go to the court house to find the sales prices for homes that were last sold in a particular neighborhood. Here’s the signifigance. A realty property’s current market value is set by the recent sales data for nearby comparable properties. Whereas there’s no public realty sales price database in Texas, there’s only one alternative source for determining a property’s market value and that source is the sales data recorded inlocal multiple listing service (MLS). That MLS database is available only to Realtors (R). That’s why, in Texas, a Realtor’s (R) help is invaluable for setting an appropriate and reasonable offering bid for a realty property (as opposed to the listed sales price which is almost invariably set above the property’s real market value).
Do you have realty questions? Do you need home buying or selling advice or assistance? Do you need mortgage loan advice? Look to the SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team to answer all your realty questions. Our never ending goal is to serve you exceedingly well.
Our team members are Randy & Stephanie Kelley & Tara Kelley-Guariglia, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, telephone toll free (800) 201-9145, or (210) 867-8743 for Stephanie, (210) 863-2661 for Randy, and (210) 792-8726 for Tara.
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