Why not to be a For Sale By Owner

For Sale By Owner(FSBO)--the ads on TV make it look simple--put a sign in the yard--hold some open houses--get a buyer--close on the house and save thousands of dollars!! Sounds easy but I have not seen a transaction go that smoothly in 25 years in the business. I have a list of 72 things that can go wrong with real estate transactions, and that is just what went on the list probably 10 or more years ago. Now a days, people want to purchase a property and "get a great deal". They will look to the FSBO to get that deal--after all, you are saving the commission of 6% so they want a piece of that savings so they knock 3% right off the top of and then they start to negotiate the price. You are able to negotiate with no emotion in the negotiations--even though it is your money they are taking, and your house they are not paying what you think it is worth. Not to mention, are they there to really see your home or case it, are they OK to let into your house and do they really have money to buy it or are they just "tire kickers" and want to get decorating ideas? Do you know them? Do you trust them? Will they tie your home up with a contract that falls through (and can you take care of the problems that arise) so that you can not move on with your life? Will they show up at closing with no funds and you have all your stuff in the moving truck in the front of the house? Still sound easy? In this financial era with all the problems we are having getting financing, refinancing, and speciality loans, this is not the time to try to save money--not to mention all the short sale problems that are going on and the trials and difficult situations that are happening every day. My advice is to hire a trained professional--like me--and let us take care of the worry of security for you, your family and your home along with making sure that you sell this one and get on to the next one. It may look easy on TV but in real life it is not even close to that easy--trust me on this one--it is the toughest market I have ever worked in in 25 years in this business!!