Selling a home by owner (FSBO) can be an overwhelming experience. Where to promote the property? Should I Offer a Buying Agent Commission? If so, how much? How should you price your home? Is staging necessary? What about the paperwork: offers, counter offers, amendments, notices and everything else? Sometimes sellers go crazy and trust the buyer’s agent to handle the transaction. However, this can be a bad idea because, in many cases, the buyer’s agent has the buyer’s best interests in mind. To avoid being taken advantage of by a buyer or real estate agent, it may be best to know ahead of time whether a FSBO for sale or using a flat-rate MLS listing is right for you. In our experience, many successful flat-rate FSBO / MLS sellers share these traits:

• Objective n. # 1: sell a home with the lowest possible transaction fees (like real estate commissions)
• Don’t be intimidated by the paperwork required to complete the sale.
• Manage offers, counter offers, addenda, notices, etc.
• You can have an attorney lined up to help
• He is an experienced home seller
• He wants to have his own phone number on the sign in the yard
• You are willing to show the property to unrepresented buyers.
• He is willing to speak to any real estate agent a buyer may bring.
• Use email and / or text messages on a daily basis (if not continuously …)

If this sounds like you, congratulations! You may want to look for a flat rate MLS listing that allows you to sell your home by owner (FSBO) if you hire the buyer.

If you don’t have many (or none) of these traits, you may consider using a full-service real estate agent to sell your home. But fear not! There are still ways to minimize commission costs by using a discounted real estate agent.