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Though FSBO has advantages to it, you should also be aware of the many drawbacks that it can entail and for both sellers and buyers. Let's take a look from both aspects.

AS A SELLER

The FSBO property sale can be quite cumbersome - While you enjoy the freedom to work by yourself without the use of a broker, you face an uphill task to sell your property on your own. You need to work a lot to make it possible - the research and use of comparable and accurate data, pricing your home, implementing a marketing strategy, creating colaterals, screening applicants, conducting open houses, showing the property, overcoming objections, knowing the laws within the State on disclosure and fair housing,etc.  The security risks are always a potential.  These factors, at all times, can be a heavy burden you decide to place upon yourself.

Emotional attachment: You have an emotional attachment with your property and value every small detail about it. This has perils of its own -

1. You tend to over-price the property.

2. You tend to describe very minute details of your house to the irritation of the prospective buyer when you are showing your property unaware of the faults: As the owner is putting his house for sale and values every little bit of it, he/she will not come out with the faults to the prospective buyer. This creates difficulty as the latter is deprived of the right to know all the aspects before deciding to buy.

3. Unaware of technical details: The owner of an FSBO home isn't aware of the exact measurements - the total area, the carpet area, dimensions of each room, section, boundary lines, unknown easements, hidden liens or encumberances.  Therefore, he/she will not be able to provide you with details of such!

4. Benefit of expert advice and help: A real estate agent's job is facilitating the buying and selling of homes! He comes up with his expert advice from time to time which an FSBO home owner cannot provide! He can think about the property neutrally, without any bias and therefore you can value the same. Also, a broker helps the buyer throughout the entire process including staging techniques, showing data analysis, formulating a strategy to attract and retain interest of buyers, interpreting the agreement and recommending negotiation strategies, follow through on all contingencies and terms of fulfillment to move the transaction forward toward a successful close and transfer.

You are attracted to a FSBO as in this case because you are not required to pay the real estate's commission. Here is a look at issues you need to be aware of:

Unsure of the ownership: As a potential FSBO buyer, you are not sure about the ownership of the same. The person who has put up the house for sale might only partially own the house and the other owner might not actually be interested in selling it!

Unsure of the price: As FSBO houses are generally over-priced and there is no agent involved, you don't know the market and are hence you are unaware of the ideal price of the property to help you bargain well.

Unaware of the market conditions: The prevailing prices, the prices of similar houses in your locality but also all the other legal and financial matters that go along with it.

Time consuming:  A lot of information is available to you at the click of a button through the internet, but you don't have the time to go through the huge web and also get utterly confused with the enormity. All this research work, the task of choosing where to place ads, how to place them, what to write and so on takes a lot of time. Investing that much time is difficult.

Limited exposure:  If you avail the services of a real estate broker, your property gets more showings and a greater exposure than if you sell it by yourself.  FACT.

Higher costs:  Although you feel that by selling your home on your own, you can cut down on the costs the real estate broker would charge for the services, you actually end up spending more! The advertisement costs are huge. Many real estate brokers include the costs in their services; you get it as a package. Also, you incur costs running around for placing ads, opening bank accounts, doing research and so on. Above all, is the cost of losing your peace of mind over the sale!

Non-industry person:  You find it very difficult to market your house as a product, to speak in that 'marketing language' which is required to satisfy buyers.  Buyers need assurance and confidence in what they are buying by an unbiased source of experience. A broker is that source.

Lack of market, legal and financial know-how:  Being the owner of a property and not a real estate broker, you fall short of the knowledge you need to possess to facilitate a house sale successfully. You are not aware of the laws in place to protect the consumers, nor are you an expert at condition analysis and market variances , statistical & value based approaches --do you know if your compeition had granite or marble on her fireplace? Was it an energy efficient furnace? How old was her oven? Did the blue flowered wallpaper bother buyers?  Can you recommend industry resources to assist in the inspections, appraisals, construction questions a buyer may have?  Can you locate quickly replacement lenders if the buyer's loan is not approved or they lose their job? Do you have the resources, finances and time necessary to commit to selling your home full time? Are you in an "upside down" equity loss position? How will you recoup?? What are your options? What will you really owe at the end??

As A Buyer

You are attracted to a FSBO in this case because you are not required to pay the real estate agent's commission. Here is a look at issues you need to be aware of as a Buyer:

Unsure of the ownership: As a potential FSBO buyer, you are not sure about the ownership of the same. The person who has put up the house for sale might only partially own the house and the other owner might not actually be interested in selling it! How do I know he is heading into foreclosure or with additional liens on the property?

Unsure of the price: As FSBO houses are generally over-priced and there is no agent involved, you don't know the market and are unaware of the ideal price of the property to help you bargain well.

Unaware of the faults: As the owner is putting his house for sale and values every little bit of it, he/she will not come out with the faults to the prospective buyer. This creates a difficulty as the Buyer is deprived of the right to know all the aspects before deciding to buy.  Is it mold or is it discoloration? Why is the? floor bowing? Is it heavy traffic all the time or just some of the time?

Unaware of technical details: The owner of a FSBO home isn't aware of the exact measurements - the total area, the carpet area, dimensions of each room, section etc. Hence, he/she will not be able to provide you with details of the same!

Benefit of expert advice and help: A real estate agent's job is facilitating the buying and selling of homes! He comes up with his expert advice which a FSBO home owner cannot provide! He can think about the property neutrally, without any bias and suggest resources to you to add value and ensure safe purchasing.   Therefore, you can value the same. Also, a broker helps the buyer throughout the ENTIRE process including searching, scheduling, identifying your purchasing needs and financial options, negotiating the sale, interpreting the agreement, ensuring compliance with State law and fair housing standards are being met, protecting the buyer, communicating with all parties involved in the transaction, follow through, delivery and close/transfer with collection of keys.   We assist you where others can't.