Know Thy Competitionning over the competition. In 2006, 84 percent of all
home sales involved using an agent, according to the Na-
tional Association of Realtors®. Why is that? Well, agents
have a slew of tools at their fingertips, including the MLS.
Agents have the negotiation experience and know how to
handle all of the paperwork and legal ramifications in-
volved in a transaction. Furthermore, homes advertised
through these website services get listed with agents even-
tually anyway. That means that the FSBOs’ initial ad
money gets wasted.
First and foremost, your goal should be to convince
FSBOs to not waste their time and money with these ad-
vertisement mediums. When you use this approach make
sure you know which websites are popular in your area as
well as the pros and cons of each.
The Seven Disadvantages of Most FSBO Websites:
- They do NOT list the property on the MLS!!!
- They have very limited Internet advertising.
- The FSBO has to do all of the leg work, showings,
and open houses. - There is a hefty up-front fee that is nonrefund-
able, even if the home doesn’t sell. - There is no professional from whom to seek ad-
vice, or with whom to go over the paperwork and
legal documents. - There is no experienced negotiator to get the best
price for the home. - FSBOs don’t have the tools to do an accurate