It’s a hot market.  Many people want to go the For Sale by Owner route.  I have no hard feelings towards them.  It is their house after all!  They can do with it whatever they want.  My only real problem with this whole For Sale By Owner process is that the buyers who look at these properties and the sellers BOTH want to save the commission that would be paid to a Realtor.

Okay, the seller is thinking, hey, I can save as much as 6% if I do this myself  The buyer is thinking, hey, I can make a low offer on this FSBO house since they don’t have to pay a Realtor!  That is where the fun begins.  Both parties are viewing the savings as THEIRS!!!!!!!

And let me stick this little bit of trivia in now.  Usually the seller thinks their house is worth more than it is.  Often, they interview several agents who all tell them their house is worth about the same amount.  The seller of course disagrees and puts their house on the market for way more money because you know, they think their house has some magical aura that adds value.  I often call FSBO sellers for my buyers.  Their interest usually ends the moment I tell them the seller’s list price.

Usually the buyer writes an offer than insults the seller.  The seller then says something like, “But I need to get this much out of my house so I can buy my next house on the terms that I want!”  The Buyer then tries to justify their offer by saying something like, “Well, we just can’t pay any more for your house since we are going to have to repaint your baby’s room and replace that ugly carpet in your family room.”  By this time both parties have gotten away from the fact that the goal is to change who owns the house, not to win a battle.  While I did exaggerate things a bit, this type of thing is what keeps agents in the business.  I think this is more the norm than a pleasant FSBO experience.

I have always said that the day people can negotiate without taking things personally, when they can see how the other party thinks, when sellers realize that their house may not be the best one in town, and when buyers realize they don’t have to put the seller in a chokehold, that it will be the end of the road for realtors.   I use to worry about this, but now I know that day will never come.