For Sale By Owner Fails

I know there are many factors that go through a sellers mind when they chose to sell their home “for sale by owner” or FSBO like some people call it but the statics don’t lie, according to the National Association of Realtors, less than 10% of FSBO’s actually sell. So why are there so many For Sale By Owner Fails?  In this video/blog, I will cover the reasons why this happens and some tips to try to help those that elect to sell for sale by owner.

?Preparing The Home Correct To Sell It.

I know most sellers feel like they have seen enough on HGTV that they can stage a home without a stager, and sell a home without a realtor. I mean, they make it look so easy on tv, why can’t they do it themselves?

But the problem is that most people when selling For Sale By Owner list their home before its ready to list. I have had clients take up to a month to get everything in order before I would send out the professional photographer to take photographs.

There are some simple generic tips that should be followed by all FSBOs. I have made a useful playlist of videos to help also https://bit.ly/2xaztYk , Some of the most important pre-listing tasks that FSBOs should do before listing their home for sale include: 

?Decluttering.

?Paint rooms.

??‍?Professionally clean carpets and/or floors.

??‍♂️Complete any neglected repairs.

?Replace outdated light fixtures.

?Add Flowers and de-weed to make the home have curb appeal.

? Pricing and Zillow’s Zestimates

Many For sale by owner sellers do not understand the value of their home. They will rely on sites like Zillow with Zillow’s “Zestimates” to evaluate their home. The “Zestimates” have been known to either price the home too high which prices the home out of the market. Other “Zestimate’s” may price it too low, making some buyers curious to what could be wrong with the home when it’s priced so low. Most buyers won’t take the chance that the home is a good deal they’ll just move onto another property.

☎️ Listing FSBO on Zillow with Only Real Estate Agents Call.

Once a seller lists there home on websites like Zillow, and Trulia, they are inundated with calls from real estate agents working there call sheets but get little traction with actual buyers. The way these sites are actually set up they makes it difficult for the home sellers contact information. To be found by the average buyer searching, they tuck it lower down the page just past where all the real estate agent have paid for placement, even making the color of font and size smaller. Of course, real estate agents trying to work to get the listing they know exactly where to find these numbers, and that’s why the for sale by owner seller gets bombarded by those calls.

Not only does the phone ring from realtors, you get people calling at all hours asking questions about the home, its exciting at first but frustrating after a couple of weeks when the seller has 40 calls and no one actually coming to the home to preview it.

??‍♀️Who’s Entering your home?

Eager sellers want to show their home to anyone and everyone. It’s completely understandable, the more people that see it, the more likely you’ll get a buyer, right? An experienced REALTOR® knows how to screen for the right people to look at your home. There is no point of wasting your time shuffling your kids out of the house because someone’s grandma wants to see what wood flooring you put down a few years back with no intention of actually buying the home. REALTORS® know what documents to ask for and which ones are really not worth the paper they are written on. (Here is an example of the difference of pre-approved and pre-qualified, https://youtu.be/GGLvtVLPrFs)

? Selling with Pressure.

Many FSBO sellers will stay in there home to show it and rightfully so. The FSBO sellers will show their home pointing out features that either does not interest the buyer or make the buyers completely uncomfortable. After the showing is over they may ask the buyers for feedback which most buyers are uncomfortable in doing so in a face-to-face situation, in turn, the FSBO sellers really don’t get the feedback they really need to get the home sold faster.

??‍♂️Negotiations and Home Inspections.

When it comes to negotiations with inspections things can get really heated as I mentioned in my last video, Buying for sale by owner without a realtor https://bit.ly/2MvEKhV .  FSBOs often believe that there is nothing wrong with their home which is why it’s upsetting when the buyer requests items to be corrected or fixed before moving forward with the transaction.  This can often lead to the FSBO refusing to repair any items, which is a great way to scare away potential buyers. Sellers don’t want to give there home away and the requests for repairs seem absolutely ridiculous to them, This is when most sellers realize they should have gone with a professional REALTOR to handle the uncomfortable nature of discussing money and what will and will not be repaired.

Before you decide to sell your home FSBO, remember, the statistics say you have about a 10% chance of making that happen. If you decide you want to take on the challenge. Make sure you are aware of the above common reasons why For Sale By Owners fail.  An FSBOs Seller who understands what the most common pitfalls are will greatly increase the chance that they have a successful sale.

?To search for homes in the Baton Rouge and Ascension Parish Area:

https://bit.ly/2OdQw1s

?If you have any questions about buying and selling your home feel free to reach out to me at any time by email or any respectable time by phone?. All my contact information is listed below.

Kristina Smallhorn is a realtor in the Greater Baton Rouge Area with EXP Realty LLC
My name is Kristina Smallhorn, Your Real Estate Whisperer and I tell you all this “Because YOU Matter”
Cell 225-246-1812
EXP REALTY, LLC
2900 Westfork Dr.
Baton Rouge, LA 70827
225-412-9982 ext 149
info@YourRealEstateWhisperer.com, kristina.smallhorn@exprealty.com
Kristina Is a Licensed Realtor® with The Greater Baton Rouge Board of Realtors@ in the State of Louisiana. License #0912122918

Zillow Gets Sued Over Zestimate.

Is Zillow® Gonna Get What’s Coming To Them?

Last week the story came out that a woman in a suburb of Chicago has had enough of Zillow’s Zestimates. She is suing after hers was valued at $70,000 under her asking price.  We in the real estate industry knew this was coming.  Many Ascension Parish Realtors® had been saying it was only a matter of time before someone had had enough of these ridiculous “Zestimates.”

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I can explain it like this. Type  “Zillow .com” in your web browser and you’ll see an area for you to type in your address.  When your home pops up, a little further down the page you will then see your “Zestimate,” a basic number pulled from the sky claiming to be your home’s value.  Zillow says in the fine print that this number can be as far off as 5%.  If you knew your neighbors home just recently sold for $250,000 you figure yours would be close to the same amount.  Zillow’s Estimates can be around 5% off from that amount. That’s a $12,500 difference.

This is why many buyers and sellers get frustrated. With information becoming so easily accessible, it’s no wonder buyers not being represented by an Ascension Parish REALTOR®, lean on these numbers they see on Zillow to make an offer. They feel like this is a well-known company, how could they possibly be so wrong?  Being a Realtor® in the Ascension Parish, I’ve seen these Zestimates being off MORE than 5%!  The system they use to gather the numbers takes the subject property and draws in all the properties that have closed within a 5-mile radius. If you are from Ascension Parish you can see how this can become a major problem.

There is more to a home’s value than drawing a circle and pulling numbers!  Appraisers get paid to do this job for a reason.  The same home, with the same floor plan, in the same neighborhood can have two completely different values.  The condition, location, and various other factors come into play when determining value.  No computer software algorithm can judge what homes current value is because they have no idea what the home owners have done to the home to adjust that value.  Did the home owners upgrade the kitchen?  Have they added a pool in the backyard?  Did the current home owners rip out every stitch of carpet and add beautiful wood flooring wall to wall?  All these things add value!  Of course, if the home has been literally ignored for the past 10 years, that will have a negative effect on value just as the homeowner who kept their home up will produce a positive effect.

Back to the woman who is suing, I believe she has a case.  In her state, the way the law reads, the value determined by Zillow can be construed as an appraisal and that’s against their state’s laws. With that, I really hope she wins her lawsuit.  Zillow is really doing a disservice to the people they give this information to. People trust that they are getting accurate information with these “Zestimates” no matter what the fine print says.  The home buying and selling can be a frustrating one if you are not being represented by a REALTOR®. We do not need a large company that the consumer trusts to be throwing random numbers at a home with the intent of figuring out its value.  It doesn’t help anyone and should be eliminated from the site.  Zillow’s Zestimates are as useful as weeds in your grass; they literally choke the value of people homes with inaccurate information.

If you’d like to know the real value of your Ascension Parish home for absolutely FREE, Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I look forward to showing you that your Zestimate from Zillow is WAY off.

Kristina Smallhorn 

Your Real Estate Whisperer

“Because YOU Matter”

eXp Realty LLC

LAKE CHARLES, LA 70601

225-246-1812

Office (225) 412-9982 ext# 149

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