There are many reasons why I sold my Help U Sell franchise and started my own brokerage. One of them was due to the fact that I felt that traditional brokerages didn’t bring as much traffic to my listings. Now that I sold I do see much better traffic. Now that could be for many reasons but I also get alot of calls from high end property owners to list then when I owned my Help U Sell. I still actually charge less to list a home from HUS but I am a small brokerage and my pricing policies are not of any consequence to the big guys.
The postings that talk about the simplicity of FSBOs are correct. FSBOs are simple because they are an unregulated and private transaction. You can make the disclosure process as simple or complex as you like. I am sure other Realtors will chime in but the proper disclosure documents depend on the age, location, and type of home. Included in the package would be the standard TDS, this is the one most of you are familiar with, then Sellers Additional Disclosure document, the San Diego County addendum to the Purchase Agreement, the Sellers Questionaire, a defective furnace advisory, mold disclosure statement, lead disclosure… just to name a few. Again, none of this matters if you are doing a FSBO… However if I am a Realtor and representing a buyer I better get these forms and more. So if the seller is a FSBO he needs to get them to me some way. So then it DOES become MY responsibility to get them done and MY responsibility to make sure the Seller fills them out right. Why? Because I can be found liable as a Realtor even though he is not even my client.
Again, when it all works out right, and most transactions do… there is nothing to worry about at all. However when things don’t work out and it all crashes and burns ALOT of money is at stake. My brokerage is not worth risking it.
As far as paying commission goes… well…you can find great agents that give you rebates if you are a buyer, or a very low commission if you are a seller.
FSBOs most always work out fine… I would just advise someone to get a real estate attorney at the least. It is a small premium to pay. Regardless of which side of the transaction you are on.
