Most for sale by owners (FSBOs) wish they could get as many interested buyers knocking at their door as they do realtors looking to list their home. Why is it so hard to sell your own home? Following are the four main reasons that fewer than 5% of FSBOs succeed in selling their own home without the assistance of a Realtor.

1. NO MLS

Without question the primary reason it is so difficult to sell your own home is that FSBO’s cannot put their homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Only registered Realtors are able to access and utilize this invaluable marketing tool. This results in a very limited exposure to buyers, as marketing is usually restricted to lawn signs and maybe a newspaper ad.

2. REALTORS WON’T SHOW

Sure you have a number of Realtors knocking on your door to list your home, but are they bringing any buyers through? Probably not. Buyers Agents receive their commissions’ from home sellers through the listing agreement. When there is no listing agreement in place, such as a FSBO, their commission is not guaranteed. You can try and offer a Buyers Agent commission, but the simple fact is that it is easier and safer for these them to show their clients homes that are listed on the MLS with real estate companies. Additionally, it costs nothing for a homebuyer to “hire” a Buyers Agent, since home sellers pay all the commission. Thus, most buyers have agents and the agents are not showing FSBOs

3. POOR BUYER QUALIFICATION

Many FSBO shoppers cannot qualify to buy a home. Many of these buyers are looking for some type of creative financing through the home seller. While their intentions may be good, when it comes time to pay for the home the money is not there. Real estate agents pre qualify their buyers, and this is why so few MLS sales fall through.

4. THE CONTRADICTION

FSBO shoppers are bargain hunters. They want your home to be bargain priced and then they will deduct the real estate commissions. On the other hand the FSBO homeowner is trying to save, or keep the commissions. These conflicting expectations make it difficult for the parties to agree on price.