Want To Meet Zillions of Realtors? Then try to sell FSBO!
Right now, selling as a For Sale By Owner (we call them FSBOs) can seem pretty tempting, at least on the surface. You've heard there is a shortage of attractive homes on the market. New listings are flying off the shelf, often with multiple offers. And the listing agents job looks pretty easy - stick a sign in the ground, et voila! Buyers start falling out of the tree in the front yard.
OK, for veteran, experienced Realtors, it's easier to sell a house in this market than it was a couple of years ago. But working a sellers' market does require skill to help a home owner take full advantage of current market conditions.
Not convinced?
OK. So you stick your sign in the front yard, then you call the Washington Post to place a classified ad for the coming Sunday. And what do you get?
Your phone starts ringing off the hook. But it's real estate agents who want to see your house. Then on Sunday, you get more, um, real estate agents.
Do they have buyers? Well, probably not. You see, it's more likely that they are doing home work for the training classes in the firms where they are beginning their careers.
They are being trained to seek you out, in fact they may be the only ones who read the Washington Post classified print edition. Then they are leaning how to "connect" with you - that would be to stick to you like glue as they try to convince you that listing your home with them is the only way to go.
And I'll give these agents credit - there is something infectious about newbie Realtor energy.
But here's the thing. Your strategy is likely to attract more enthusiastic newly minted Realtors than buyers.