For Sale By Owner

This phrase scares me. Why? Because selling a home is one of the most complicated and expensive things you could possibly sell. When you buy a car, which is also quite expensive, they tell you “Buyer Beware” because the cars are sold as is. If the car breaks down the buyer’s first thought is to call who? The seller….. Why? Because they may feel like the thing that broke should have been disclosed to them prior to them purchasing it. In some cases the buyer takes the seller to court and can actually prove that the seller knew the issue and failed to disclose it. This can cost the seller money, he may have to pay to fix it, or give back all the money and take the car back.

What about selling a home? You can’t really get all your money back and unravel the entire transaction if something happens.  The risk of selling a home by yourself can be scary, and potentially costly.

One of the risk of selling your home yourself, is that you might end up selling it for a lot less than its worth. Statistics have shown that the average for sale by owner home sells for about 15% less than homes sold through a realtor.

Your home will have less visibility. While there are lots of venues to for you to promote your home, only realtors can list homes on the Multiple Listing Service, which is one of the biggest online tools real estate agents use. Realtors have more experience, and sometimes more drive, in promoting your home through ads, signs and other methods.

It might be harder to weed out unqualified/uninterested buyers without prior experience. Unfortunately, people who may not be able to get the proper financing will seek out homes that are for sale by owner because they know most private sellers are pretty inexperienced. You’ll also get some “just curious” folks who aren’t serious about buying a home but like to look around. These types of inquiries will waste a lot of your time and can distract you from serious buyers.

Preparing all the legal forms and disclosures, etc. is your responsibility, and if you’re unfamiliar with the guidelines and requirements, which most people are, you take the risk of financial and legal liability.

You’ll have to spend a lot of time educating yourself on the process of selling a home, the current market, advertising methods and working with potential buyers.

Below is an example of how a seller benefited from having a realtor representing her in the sale of her home.

My client sold her home in Wildomar. When selling a home through a realtor there is a pretty decent size stack of papers the seller must fill out. This is so the seller can “disclose” everything they know about the home so the buyer can be made aware of any potential issues. My seller disclosed to the buyer that there had previously been a leak on the roof of her home, but that she had hired someone who fixed it. She hadn’t noticed any issues since the repairs were completed. The buyer in this transaction chose not to get a home inspection, or even a roof inspection, so they purchased the home and we closed escrow about 40 days after we opened. About 4 months later I get an e-mail from the agent who was representing the buyer telling me that my client has to provide the buyer a new roof, because the roof began leaking again. Well, because I was working for the seller and I made sure that all the proper documentation was completed and the disclosures were made, I told the buyer’s agent that my seller is NOT responsible for the roof, because she had disclosed everything properly and the buyer failed to do THEIR due diligence in getting a home inspection, or roof inspection after being made aware of a previous leak in the roof. My client didn’t even have to be bothered by the situation, and was never directly contacted by the buyer, because I was representing the seller and I spoke on their behalf and provided the proper documentation a second time to make the buyer’s agent aware that my client is not responsible.

Now, on the legal aspect alone, of making sure all the proper forms are filled out and all the information is transferred properly can save you thousands in the long run. A commission of 6% or even 5% is significantly less than the potential loss should a buyer take you to court for something they believe you are responsible for. Even if you win the case, the time alone going to court would be saved if you had proper representation in the beginning.

After reading this one story, what would you do if you were thinking about selling your home? Would you try to sell it yourself, or would you hire a professional who can protect you?

If you aren’t sure what to do, feel free to call me. 949-633-6788 and check out my website at www.justcalljulz.net