For Sale By Owner

Are there any disadvantages for the buyer of a home that is for sale by owner?

Re: For Sale By Owner

I think it always helps to have experts involved to guide buyes and sellers through the process.

If you are going to go the route of buying a for sale by owner, I would recommend hiring a buyer's agent to represent you (that agent can build their fee into the negotiations with the seller, so that they get paid out of proceeds). A buyer's agent can educate you on the comps and help you develop an offer strategy (many for sale by owners go that route because they don't have enough equity in the house to pay the fee and/or they want to price their house unrealistically high above market value), can be there with you for the home inspection and help you negotiate any necessary repairs, can act as a liaison among the attorneys, your lender, etc., can be there for the appraisal (and provide comps), etc. --- Ask yourself if you are comfortable going through the process alone... Are you familiar enough with the home buying process to navigate it alone? Many for sale by owners aren't that familiar with the process, either!

If you would rather not work with a realtor, and prefer to deal directly with the seller, then make sure that you have a good attorney who can handle things like the disclosures, negotiation of home inspection items, and other things the agents would typicaly handle. But keep in mind that attorneys are not typically as accessible for questions and concerns the way the real estate agent would be, and attorneys cost more (the agent works for free until closing!).

Bottom line is - you need to make sure you safeguard your interests and understand the process, because buying a home is a big step! If you find the perfect home for you that is being sold by the owner, there's no reason not to pursue it as long as you have good professionals working on YOUR side to ensure everything goes smoothly and your interests are protected!

Re: For Sale By Owner

When we sold our first home to upgrade we bought at FSBO. Luckily it worked out well, we had a great relationship with the home owners (we did not know them previouisly) and were able to call them and ask questions, come take pics etc. I even called them 2y later when a neighbor passed away.

We did have a good attorney who we had worked with previously and that made some of the negotiations easier.

I think if you get good homeowners it can be a great process, however if you get people who are sneaky, liars, looking to really stick to the buyers etc, it can be horrible.