Why should a seller list with a realtor and what are the benefits of doing so? Some sellers who decide to list as for sale by owner choose this option for a couple different reasons. Reasons sellers list as FSBO

• Sellers don’t want to pay the commission fees
• Sellers don’t want to deal with an agent
• Seller could not find an agent
• Seller has a real estate license
• Agent was unable to sell home
• Seller sold to a relative, friend, or neighbor
• Buyer contacted seller directly

So how can you as a realtor counter all of these reasons? Reasons the realtor should reiterate to the seller

• Show availability for open houses and showings
• Buyers usually contact an agent when looking for a home due the ethics and confidentiality of their contact information. The seller is more likely to have more prospective buyers
• Time! If a seller is listing online there is a small window open to prospective buyers. Using a realtor is like using a network. Also, the time that goes into keeping the listing up to date could be done for efficiently with the use of a realtor.
• Capturing the buyers’ attention. Realtors are trained pretty well in this area whereas a seller may not know what to accentuate about the home to catch the buyers’ eye.
• Many FSBO’s end up selling for less than market price by nearly 20% because most buyers deduct around 6% from the sales price because they want the profit.