If you own property and want to sell it, there are two ways to approach it. The conventional way is to approach a real estate agent and use their services. When you use an agent’s services, you need to pay them 3% of the sale price, which can be a significant amount. If you want to skip using the agent’s services, you can register the property for sale yourself.
You can do this through FSBO (For Sale By Owner). This allows you to register your property for sale as an owner thus saving on the commission money to be paid. The only money you need to pay is the buyer agent commission. There are many such websites that offer FSBO services.
You can learn all you want to know about FSBO by reading this guide. For your convenience, we have prepared a list of the best FSBO sites. You can go through the listing and choose the best among them. Register your property, sell it, and save money in the process.
For Sale By Owner– all you need to know
FSBO is a real estate business model where an owner does not use the services of an agent to sell a home. The owner would list the property on their own directly through an FSBO website. This helps them avoid the commission money payable to agents. Around 7% of home sales happened through the FSBO route which means this is worth considering.
This is a useful measure if you want to save money on real estate agent commissions. You must know without an agent, you will be expected to do most of the work yourself. When you hire a real estate agent, they do most of the work. They help you find buyers and even guide you through the negotiation and closing.
Once you register the property on an FSBO site, it is up to you to take things forward. You need to be able to spend time marketing your property, liaising with prospective buyers, negotiating, and closing the deal. There is a lot of work involved, but the reward is savings of thousands of dollars.
How does it work?
The FSBO model works on a flat fee MLS listing. To be able to sell your property, you need to list your property for sale on an MLS (database of properties being sold). When you use an FSBO MLS listing service, you can do the listing yourself by paying a flat fee to the website. This is the flat fee MLS listing approach.
This allows you to save a lot of money since you only need to pay a flat fee. This does not mean that the website will not help you with anything else. Most FSBO websites offer various services. These services are usually available à la carte and you can choose any of them by paying for them.
The FSBO business model is ideal for people with some experience or knowledge of how the real estate market works. It is meant for people who have time and they’re willing to follow up with buyers. You need to be good at negotiation and managing all aspects of the sale. If saving money is a key criterion and you are willing to work for it, then go with the FSBO model.
The best FSBO websites
1. Houzeo
Houzeo is a flat fee MLS listing service. They are a technology company that makes it easy for homeowners to sell their property. In the process, they also make the process of selling a trouble-free one. The following are the features of Houzeo that make it a great site for FSBO.
- Their flat fee MLS packages are priced at an average of $349 and there are no hidden charges.
- Their Intellilist technology makes it very easy to register the property and manage the listing later.
- Apart from the website, they also have a mobile app that makes it easy to manage your listing.
- They have nationwide coverage that helps you in increasing the chances for your sale.
Houzeo reviews indicate that their customers are very happy with their services. They have a rating of 4.9/5 on review websites like TrustPilot and Google. This is an excellent rating that indicates how good their services are. Their transparent pricing and the huge savings they offer are why you should consider working with them.
2. FSBO.com
FSBO.com is one of the well-known websites that offer FSBO listing services. You can use their services to list your property for sale directly. They have nationwide coverage and can help you sell your home instantly without using the services of an agent.
The following are features of FSBO.com that you need to know:
- Their fee is $399.95 for the flat fee listing on the MLS.
- They work through a third-party broker and make it clear that you may need to pay a buyer agent’s fee if your homebuyer has an agent to represent them.
- You can save money by using their website, which is their main advantage.
- The automation in their website is limited and not as intuitive as Houzeo’s.
- A major problem is the quality of brokers on the site.
- Their customer reviews are a serious issue and they have a very low rating of 2.9/5.
3. Fizber
Another popular FSBO website that you can consider using is Fizber. This website is known for its cost-effective packages that can help you save money. The following are some features of Fizber’s FSBO website:
- They offer different packages, and you can choose the one you like. Their basic package is priced at $295. They also have a $395 package.
- While you can list on their website, their website is not very intuitive. They also don’t have a mobile app.
- They will refer you to a local broker for listing. And this process happens offline and takes some time.
- Their customer rating is 4.2/5. A grouse expressed in reviews is the poor customer service offered.
