What does a buyer expect from a FSBO?

I’ve written in the past that the people who look at homes that are marketed by the owners (For Sale By Owner – FSBO) are somewhat limited since most buyers don’t care about whether the seller is paying a fee to a broker – they just want to see the most homes available for them. This means that most buyers will simply not look for FSBO homes unless they happen to pass a sign.

There actually is another set of buyers – the kind who specifically want to buy directly from the owner. They will seek out the FSBO simply because the seller does not have to pay a real estate fee. Their logic is that they will save money on the home because the seller will keep a higher percentage of the proceeds.

If you look a little closer at the thought process, this buyer will expect the seller to charge less for his home than if he was paying a fee. So in essence, the buyer expects to benefit from the seller’s savings.

Another way of putting that is that the buyer wants the real estate fee. In a free enterprise market, the buyer and the seller both want to keep as much money for themselves in a transaction – that’s the way free markets work.

So, if you’re thinking of selling your home yourself, make sure to take into account that saving the real estate fee may not happen. You might not pay it to a Realtor – but you might pay it to the buyer.