For Sale By Owner

  For Sale By Owners have traditionally been a large part of Fairstone Properties' Business. For that reason, a section has been created especially for you! If you have any questions or concerns that are not on this page, please feel free to call or contact us at your convenience. There will be no pressure by any of the agents to get you to list. Our goal is simply to make sure that you will have everything that you will need to get your house sold in the least amount of time possible and with the least amount of trouble to you. We know that it can be a frustrating process to sell a home, it's what the agents at Fairstone Properties do for a living though, and we want to make sure that you end up happy. That means that if you have any questions on paperwork or procedure, just call and ask. Don't be afraid that we will pressure you: we won't.

What a For Sale By Owner needs to know:

What is the average market time?

Average market time is a valid question. For Realtors, average market time is usually about 90-120 days. Fairstone is constantly under this time, and For Sale By Owners usually take longer. There are many reasons for this, and they will be addressed below.

How can I decide on the price to sell my home?

There are several ways to decide on the price of your home. You can get an appraisal (the phone book lists many good appraisers, or call us and we'll refer you to a great one.) You can look around your neighborhood and see what other properties are selling for. Lastly, you can call a realty company to sell your home, and they will be able to perform a CMA (comparative market analysis) of your home to give you an approximate starting place. Of course, these are just starting points. Other considerations need to be made as well. Market condition is important in that you can only get as much as someone is willing to pay. In the end, it is a question of supply and demand, and it's up to you as the Seller, to determine where to start as a price for selling your home.

What is Courtesy to Broker?

Courtesy to Broker means that you will pay a Realtor to bring buyers to your home. Typically this is a percentage of the sales price, usually around 2.5-3.0%. Any commission paid to a Realtor comes out of the seller's funds. Something to note is that this is not a fee in addition to the commission that one pays to a listing agent. If you did chose to list your house, the part of the commission that the listing agent charges goes to the buyers agent. That is to say, if you listed your house at 7%, 2.7% would go to the buying agent, and the selling agent would only get 4.3%.

Why should I pay a courtesy to Brokers?

Many For Sale By Owners do not realize that approximately 85 percent of serious buyers out there are using a Realtor. Why would they all do that? Simply because it is free for them to do so. They can have someone do all the research as to which homes will suit them best, then this Realtor will drive them around town and show the houses to them. The buyer's agent will then, also at no cost to the buyer, negotiate the deal, process all the paperwork, and close the deal. Who wouldn't pass up that deal? Obviously 15% of people opt not to get this great deal. Why? The most likely reason is they want to pay less for your home (this is in their mind, saving the commission) However we must remember that there is only one commission, so in any case, the For Sale By Owner is paying the commission. The fact remains that if you decide not to pay the percentage to a buyer's agent, then they will not be bringing the other 85% of the buyers on the market, so you will only be seeing 15% of the buying market.

Why should I sell my home by myself?

In looking to the past, there are two main reasons that a family would want to sell a home by themselves. The first of these is that you want to save on the commission. You don't want to pay a Realtor to represent you because you feel you can do it yourself and so you don't want to pay a professional, or you simply need all the money out of the sale that you can get. The second reason to not choose a Realtor is time. You are not in any particular hurry to sell your home, and are afraid that if you had a Realtor it might sell to fast. Deciding which of these two factions that you are in is up to you.

How could a broker help me sell my home?

There are several ways that a broker can help you. To someone who wishes to list their home, a Realtor represents both insurance and assurance. Realtors at Fairstone Properties have been through the very process that you are going through many times, and have seen most everything that can happen in a transaction. They can assure you that everything will be all right, not just by words, but actions as well. Not only does a Realtor use signs, but once you list with Fairstone Properties, your home goes on the local RMLS and thousands more Realtors can instantly see it. Compare this to the 2-5 showings a week a For Sale By Owner will have. Fairstone Agents take it a step further by actively seeking buyers for your home. We prospect 2-3 hours a day finding new clients who would want your home. Doesn't that sound great? Once we have found a buyer for your home, the Realtors have the training, knowledge, and experience to negotiate the deal for you in your best interest. A listing agent will also do all the paperwork for you, and be able to explain it as well! They have insurance so that in case anything goes wrong, both you and the Realtor will be protected.

I think I have a buyer for my home, how can I be sure? What does a buyer look like?

There is no way that you can tell whether or not someone is a buyer just by looking at them. This is one of the many reasons that it may be a good idea to work with agents. Every buyer that we work with has already been pre-approved to purchase a house before we show them the property. Doesn't that make sense? Why waste the seller's time when the buyer isn't even able to purchase? At Fairstone Properties, we call a buyer someone who is Ready, Able and Willing to purchase your house. The only way you can for sure tell if someone is a buyer is if they fit these conditions and are pre-approved for a loan to buy your home. Are you pre-approving your buyers?

Should I provide financing to the buyers as a For Sale By Owner?

This is always a good idea if you don't want to waste your time. This is the only way to make sure that the people you take through your home are able to actually buy the home. Otherwise they are just wasting your time. If they tell you that they are already pre-approved, that's great, but make sure that they are. If you would like to have the number of a great finance officer just call, or Email us, and we will refer one to you without any pressure.