FSBO safety issues
Safety is often raised as an issue in FSBO
(For Sale By Owner) real estate sales. Some real estate agents try
to scare homeowners into listing with them by claiming that is unsafe.
Some homeowners are unsure how to show their property safely.
By taking a few sensible precautions there is no reason why selling
your home FSBO should be any less safe than selling through a real
estate agent. In fact selling FSBO should be safer. There is nothing
that a real estate agent does to vet buyers that FSBO homeowners cannot
do for themselves.
What does a real estate agent do?
Real estate agents claim that
they vet prospective buyers before they visit your property but what
does this mean? Does the real estate agent check whether the buyer
has a criminal record for violent crimes or theft? Of course they
don’t. At best, the agent may get a name, address and contact
number of the buyer before they visit.
Getting a contact number for buyers is easy, just ask when the buyer
calls to enquire about viewing your property. Before the buyer visits
call them back to confirm that they are still coming. This lets you
confirm that the contact number is genuine and also reduces the likelihood
of no-shows.
FSBO advert contact details
It is advisable to limit the amount of information that you make
available through online FSBO advertising. Some homeowners include
their full name, telephone numbers, e-mail address, street address
of the property for sale and times when they are at home. Whilst including
this information is not enough to forge documents such as a passport
it is enough to gain unwanted attention from confidence tricksters.
A potential buyer only needs to know your first name to make polite
initial contact. There is no need to include your surname and titles
in your FSBO advert.
Choose an online advert that protects your email address. There are
programs that trawl the web looking for published email addresses.
If you post your email address in your FSBO advert you are asking
to receive spam.
The better FSBO sites such as smartvendor.co.uk
have online messaging systems that allow buyers and sellers to communicate
online while keeping email addresses private
When selling your own home a mobile (cell) phone is invaluable. Not
only are homeowners less likely to miss a call from a potential buyer
but also a potential thief cannot cold call the property to check
whether anybody is home.
Open house inspections
We don’t recommend holding an open house viewing when selling
your property. Open house inspections are hard to supervise and many
buyers find viewing a property with lots of other buyers unproductive
and frustrating.
Real estate agents use open houses as a way of getting leads about
other properties that are for sale. Often the real estate agent will
stand at the front of a house to make sure buyers receive details
of their agency. But once inside the property buyers are allowed to
roam around unsupervised.
Potential thieves can use open house inspections to check out security
systems and case the properties if left to roam unsupervised. Don’t
provide too much detail relating to your home’s security system
to a buyer on their initial visit.
Common sense rules for private sale
When you are holding viewings of your property follow these common
sense rules:
Remove all valuables from the property. Take them off site preferably
in a safe deposit box. Don’t just put them in a drawer.
Make sure there are two people in the property at all times. Ask
a friend or family member to accompany you. Only one of you need conduct
the viewing.
Keep blinds and curtains open during viewings this allows people
outside to see in to the property and will potentially deter somebody
thinking of getting up to no good.
Showing your property after dark
Allowing buyers to drop in for viewings without a prior appointment
is not recommend and especially not if the buyer is requesting an
impromptu viewing after dark. Politely explain that you’re happy
to show your home during daylight hours, when the buyer can fully
appreciate your home’s wonderful features. Offer a flyer or
information sheet to take away.
FSBO may not be for you
FSBO is not for everybody. In order to sell your own home you must
be prepared to show potential buyers around the property. If you are
uncomfortable doing this or feel that your circumstances would make
you especially vulnerable it would be wise to consider using a traditional
real estate agent.
If not, please visit our FSBO
/ private sale site to find out more.
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