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FSBO Tip 24. Why Sell For Sale By Owner?

This is one article in a series of over 30 articles that will help you when selling your home privately in Ontario. When using these simple FSBO (For Sale by Owner) techniques that I have outlined below, these tips will help you sell your home without the assistance of a real estate agent. Just as many other people have successfully sold their home on their own in the past, you can too. It will possibly save you thousands, but it takes a great deal of work and firm commitment on your part to succeed in selling your home privately in Ontario. You may ask why I would provide such a series of indepth articles. The reason is simple. I want you to have all the information to make the best decision for yourself. You may sell privately, but need an agent to help you buy your next home, I hope you remember how helpful I was in helping you sell and use my services for your purchase. I wish you all the best of success. 1. LESS HASSLE AND FRUSTRATION: When selling by owner, you don't have to leave the house because an agent wants to show it, or clean it every morning before leaving "just in case". You know when people are coming, and can prepare accordingly. And when a buyer makes an offer, there's not all that frustrating back-and-forth telephone tag between agents to reach an agreement. It can be done in minutes, and end with a friendly handshake and smile between owner & buyer.

2. YOU CAN "SELL" YOUR HOME BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE: You know your home best. The schools, the neighborhood, what is special about the area and the house, as well as other details about the property. A well-maintained, fairly priced home virtually sells itself; your role is simply to provide additional information. 3. YOU'RE IN CONTROL: Nobody is going to tell you what to do. You can advertise where and how you want to, schedule showings when it's convenient for you, talk directly with prospective buyers yourself, even take your house off the market for a while if you can't find the right house for you. You aren't obligated to a 3, 6, or 12 month contract... you make your own rules. 4. MORE $$$ IN YOUR POCKET: Obviously, this is the main reason that most FSBO home sellers are selling their home themselves. You can save up to 7% commission by doing it yourself. On a $200,000 home you may save up to $14,000. Here’s another way of looking at it. Let’s say that your home will sell for $200,000 and you owe $144,000 on the mortgage… so you have $56,000 in equity. If you pay $14,000 in sales commissions, that’s 25% of your equity! Sell it yourself… and you'll save a very large portion of your equity! 5. YOU CAN SELL FASTER: If you list your home at a full commission with a real estate agent, you'll probably inflate the asking price to cover the cost of the commission. Two to four months later you'll come to the painful realization that no one is going to buy your home at that price, and you'll end up reducing the price (or accepting an offer) equal to the original amount you would have asked if selling by owner. Do it right the first time, and avoid taking the loss. 6. LESS UNCERTAINTY: Because you meet the prospective buyers, you have a much better idea how interested people are, what they like about the home, how serious they are about buying and what their timeframe and situation is. The direct feedback is easier to live with than wondering how things are going, or worse, why no one has made an offer yet.

This series of articles is brought to you by A. Mark Argentino and other real estate related resources, including Canadian Real Estate Association CREA and the Ontario Real Estate Association OREA. Back to list of Real Estate Helpful Articles

Whether you are interested in a Power of Sale Property, a Foreclosure Sale or a regular property purchase, I can assist you with all of the complexities when you purchase or sell your next property.  Please don't hesitate to email me If you have any questions or require further information, please send me an email. Thank you, Mark Argentino Read about Power of Sale, Bank Sales and Foreclosure Properties FAQ's Read a very detailed section about Power of Sale and Foreclosure or go back to list of Real Estate Helpful Articles