1. Lack of Access
By choosing not to work with a Realtor, you are making some clear trade-offs. The biggest tradeoff is that you have to answer the phone, conduct your own open houses, and showings, instead of the Realtor. Don't make the buyer jump through hoops to get information about your home. Always return any calls from buyers as quickly as possible. Make yourself available to answer any questions they might have and work with the buyer's schedule for showings.

2. Wasting Time with Unqualified Buyers
You have a busy lifestyle and you shouldn't waste time dealing with buyers who can't afford to buy your home, or worse, with buyers who are not really interested, but why are just 'seeing what's available'. Because of this, you need to ensure that everyone you deal with is a qualified prospect. We offer a no-cost service that can pre-qualify your prospects for you, so you never have to deal with this issue. It's included at NO-COST as a part of our 'For Sale by Owner Survival Kit'. More information on this kit is available at the bottom of this report.

3. Preparedness
It will help you if you already have a lender you can send prospective buyers to. A business card from the mortgage office as well as a stack of empty credit applications is a great way to give your buyers a push in the right direction. If they don’t have a lender already then you can give them a push in the right direction. Get from the mortgage company that you are working with a good faith estimate so you can quote a possible payment and interest rate.

4. Offering Concessions in place of Repairs
If you have any trouble spots in your home (i.e. - carpets that need to be cleaned, fixtures that need to be replaced, or paint that is chipping), you are much better off fixing these items yourself, instead of offering concessions to the Buyer to cover the cost of the work. Even if you have to hire a handyman to make the necessary improvements, it could still be 3 to 5 times cheaper to pay the handyman than it would be to offer concessions to the buyer at the negotiating table. For a list of items that you should fix ahead of time to avoid this situation, make sure you request a copy of our NO-COST 'For Sale by Owner Survival Guide'.

5. Not Developing a Marketing Plan
You might be under the impression that all you need to do to sell your home is put up a 'For Sale By Owner' sign in your yard and then wait for the calls to come in. This is untrue, and making this mistake in thinking will cost you dearly. Think of other ways you can promote your home. By selling on your own, you are saving thousands of dollars you might have paid a Realtor. Use a small portion of this money to market your home.

6. Not working with agents
I understand the trepidation most people have with working with agents. Some of it is warranted some of it is not. Don’t automatically rule out working with agents. I have known many people that to avoid listing there $100k house have spent $10K in payments and expenses to do so. It sometimes makes good business sense to work with an agent. Just make sure that it is on your terms and not the agents.

Here's why:

1. Failing to Get Your Home Inspected Before Listing:
I've seen FSBO's go to great trouble and expense to get their home ready to sell only to find out from the potential Buyers Inspector that there are major structural, plumbing, electrical or mechanical issues with the home.
Depending on the severity of the problems, this probably cost you a Buyer and it means your home will be sitting on the market for a few more weeks or months.
National survey's reveal that homes that have had pre-inspections sell faster with less hassle at closing. FSBO's are no different.

2. Pricing The Home To High:
Seems everyone thinks they live in a goldmine. The common misconception is that they will price it high so they can come down a little bit during negotiations. This has several problems related to it. That's just one example of how a too high price is going to hurt you. There are many, many more!

Here's one. Many homebuyers are on a budget. Let's say I'm looking for a home like yours in your neighborhood and most of the homes there that are comparable are in the 135k to 145k ranges. However, you have tile floors and stainless steel sinks along with a few other cosmetic improvements. You think your home is worth at least 147k. Tack on a few thousand more "so you can come off of the price during negotiations" and you start your home at 152k.
Top Mistake FSBO Sellers MakeLet's say as a homebuyer, the most I can spend is 145k. Although your home is what I'm looking for, you're outside my price range so I won't even bother to look at your house.

3. Not Pre-qualifying Your Buyers.
Letting any old Moe and Joe lock up your home while they try and get qualified can cost you Buyers if they fail to qualify for a loan. Require that all potential Buyers be pre-qualified!

4. Letting Emotions Direct Your Actions:
Many times this is the reason your home is priced too high. Remember, this is a business transaction. You have a product to sell, you need act accordingly.