How To Buy A Fsbo Property: Fill & Download for Free

Before we tell you what to be on the lookout for as you sell FSBO, it’s important to be reminded that you have made a great decision by considering selling your home ‘for sale by owner’ without a broker.In NYC, where real estate agents banked over $2 billion in real estate commissions in 2014, there’s something to be said for you standing up against the status quo and realizing that in today’s market, you can absolutely succeed and sell your home on your own without using a listing agent (Why are New York City real estate commissions so high?)!With that said, even experienced FSBO sellers need to be reminded of a few things when starting the process. As a for sale by owner home seller, you will be targeted by a few groups of people in order of likelihood:Listing agentsPredatory buyersGenuine buyersBuyers’ agentsFSBO Target #1: Listing agentsIt comes as no surprise that listing agents will begin courting (and calling) you the moment you list your home for sale by owner without using a listing agent. Why? Statistically, many homes listed for sale by owner struggle initially due to overpricing, poor photos, or lack of outreach to buyers’ agents (who represent 80% of buyers in NYC).Learn more: 3 Reasons why NYC FSBO sellers FailPotential listing agents will seize upon these mistakes and begin planting seeds of doubt in your mind as early as possible. They will continually call you and remind you of why you won’t succeed with the sale without them (How to deal with broker solicitation when selling FSBO).Solution: Here at Hauseit we avoid this problem in two ways.First of all, through our zero commission listing service we list your home on the MLS (RLS for NYC customers) and all major real estate websites by using an affiliate broker. Your listing ‘appears’ like a regular listing, and therefore hungry listing agents won’t call you since it looks like you’ve already hired someone. Secondly, we offer all our customers a free CMA (comparative market analysis) performed by one of our licensed broker affiliates. You can discuss your listing price with an honest real estate professional who isn’t hoping that you fail as a FSBO seller in New York City.FSBO Target #2: Predatory buyersBecause of the tendency for many for sale by owner home sellers to mis-price their property, traditional FSBO listings tend to attract predatory buyers who specialize in the classic lowball offer of the 2008 style vintage. For obvious reasons, you want to avoid predatory buyers when selling for sale by owner in NYC. They are simply time wasters. Even in the strong market of 2015, we’ve seen these types of buyers make offers 40% below asking price …In fact, many for sale by owner websites actually promote themselves to home buyers by implying that the FSBO listings on their site are underpriced and therefore a good buying opportunity. This is because many for sale by owner properties aren’t properly marketed and syndicated to the MLS and every possible real estate website. Less exposure means that the FSBO seller will receive fewer inquiries, fewer offers, and may therefore consider selling at a sub-optimal price because they perceive the market to be soft. In reality, these for sale by owner sellers may very well have seen more buyer interest and sold at a higher price if they’d utilized a listing service to get the word out comprehensively.So in short, as a FSBO seller you can expect to receive inquiries from shrewd investors who will attempt to lowball you and grossly undervalue your home. Be prepared to receive a few of these at the same time listing agents continue peppering you with cold calls. Try and keep a level head. Assuming you used a listing service like Hauseit to properly syndicate your listing, you should avoid thinking that these lowball offers are the best you can get without signing up with the listing agent.FSBO Target #3: Cheap but genuine buyersSelling your home for sale by owner also means that you may receive some inquiry from normal homebuyers who think that you are willing to negotiate your asking price down to adjust for the savings you’ve banked by not going with a listing agent. While not predatory buyers, this type of buyer is still looking for a good deal and expecting that you will lower your price by a fair amount in order to get the deal done. In most cases, it really makes the most sense to transact with the buyer who is in love with your home for what it is and not simply because they think they can ‘negotiate’ with you since you are a FSBO seller. Some of these ideal buyers actually come from buyers’ agents (see below)…FSBO Target #4: Buyers’ agentsAs of 2015, buyers’ agents represented roughly 88% of home buyers. Shockingly, this has increased steadily from 69% in 2001. With this in mind, it’s really important to not burn bridges with agents. Offering, say, 1-3% to a buyers’ agent does not commit you to paying it. If and when a broker brings you an offer that’s 1-3% above your asking price, then you can consider accepting it. Otherwise, feel free to keep saying ‘no thanks’ and telling those buyers’ agents to work harder for your business!While you should definitely be firm and say no to listing agents who are trying to seduce you into signing with them, you should make it clear to them that you are willing to be fair, reasonable and pick up their next phone call if they do identify a legitimate potential buyer for your home. Learning how to co-broke is generally a really, really good idea for a FSBO seller.

It depends on your definition of “trick.”A lot of answers here deal with strategies, some fairly well-known. I wouldn’t consider them tricks. For instance:Curt Sutherland’s suggestion regarding buying lower-end properties and keeping them occupied. (In Curt’s defense, he acknowledges that this is a strategy—and it’s a good one.)Aaron Christensen’s suggestion about buying a house and then renting out separate rooms to boost cash flow. Again (assuming it complies with zoning requirements) it’s a very good (though it can be management intensive) strategy.Then there are the unethical maneuvers. For example:Telling prospective buyers that there are offers (even multiple offers) on a property when there aren’t. Some agents walk a fine line: “We’re expecting an offer to come in soon.” The agent isn’t claiming there’s a real offer, but is still applying pressure to a buyer.Don’t ever do anything unethical or illegal.Still, there are “tricks” or negotiating ploys—certainly not illegal, not even unethical, but still effective. (Credit goes to Tom Zeeb for teaching most of these.) For example:If you’re selling a property as a FSBO (or in other cases where the house can be viewed by appointment only), schedule all the appointments for around the same time. Someone calls and you say, “I can show the property to you at 1 pm.” Or even, “I can show the property to you at 1 pm or 1:15 pm.” [Sub-technique: Offering just one time slot requires a “yes” or “no” answer. Offering a choice encourages the person to choose between the two, both of which are acceptable to you.] If the market is strong, or you’ve done good marketing, you might end up with 5 or 10 people looking at the place, all at the same time. This creates a sense of urgency and sparks a sense of competitiveness among those looking . . . far more so than if each person/couple/family were in the property by themselves.When buying a house, offer an odd dollar figure. Investors do this to convey the idea that they’ve analyzed the detail down to the penny. They haven’t. But if they believe that their opening offer should be, say, $225,000, then they might offer $225,174. Example: I know an investor who always offers $xxx,579. He likes (and thinks sellers like) the ascending numbers and the precision of the offer. So if he’d usually offer $320,000, he’ll either offer $319,579 or $320,579. Such a precise offer conveys a lot more credibility than one ending in a string of zeroes.In face-to-face negotiations, “mirror” the other party. In part, that means adjusting your speed of speech. Example: Typically, Northerners talk fairly fast, while Southerners talk more s-l-o-w-l-y. A fast-talker often assumes that a slow-talker isn’t very smart, while a slow-talker often assumes that a fast-talker is slick, oily, and a salesman. There are more subtle ways to mirror the other party—hand gestures or positions, and so on. You might also dress similarly to them; don’t show up in a 3-piece suit if the other guy is likely to be wearing shorts and a Hawaiian t-shirt. (A polo shirt and khakis might be appropriate.) What you’re doing is removing barriers to effective communication and increasing the other person’s comfort level.Flinch. When the other party mentions a number, regardless of how “good” the number is, flinch. React as though you’d touched something that had static electricity. Blink. Maybe a slight intake of breath. Example: The investor considers $300,000 a good price for a house. The investor asks the seller what he wants. The seller says . . . anything. $320,000, $300,000, or even $225,000. Flinch. The flinch suggests to the seller that the price is too high, and may result in a lower price. The flinch can also be done over the phone, with the intake of air over clenched teeth. (Try it now!)Trade-Off Concessions. Any time the other party asks for something, ask for something in return. This does 2 things: It (1) reduces the other party’s propensity to “nibble” at the deal, and (2) helps offset the concession you’re making. Do this even if the concession doesn’t matter to you. Example: A seller wants to take the light fixtures in the dining and living rooms. You thought they looked hideous and planned to replace them anyway. Fine. Respond: “Sure. You can take those light fixtures. But in return, we’d like . . .” Again, it doesn’t have to be much. But ask for something.Again, it all depends on what you consider “tricks.”

Buyer agents don’t like dealing with FSBO’s. They believe that owners are emotional on the transaction and don’t have transaction experience to make it a smooth process.Generally lacking the experience in checking with mortgage companies to make sure buyer is qualified. Also following up through the process to make sure they still qualify.If appraisal comes in low a licensed agent can send a properly formatted CMA to the appraiser to raise the appraisal (I have seen this save a homeowner $25,000.)A experienced agent has experience with home inspection issues that come up.A experienced agent knows how to make sure the closing statement is accurate.A experienced agent can make sure your home is priced properly.With a FSBO you need to generally prepay regardless of selling or not.Many FSBO companies don’t include signage.You would probably need to buy your own lock box.You cant verify easily who is asking to show your property. A brokerage showing service only allows a licensed agent to schedule a showing anybody else needs special permission from homeowner.Showing requests with a brokerage (at least with Home | Federated Realty ) is available 24/7/365. As a FSBO maybe you are at work, sleeping, or just busy and you miss the call that could be your buyer.