The most common reason that a seller might decide to try selling their house themselves is to save on real estate agent fees. At closing, sellers are responsible not only for their own listing agent’s commission, but also for the buyer’s agent’s commission too. This typically amounts to about 3% of the house’s selling price to each agent. Depending on the value of the home, this can be a substantial amount.
Homeowners who aren’t completely decided on whether or not to sell may take a For Sale by Owner route. It can allow them to “test the waters” before committing to work with a realtor. They are typically not in a hurry to sell, but if they get lucky and find a buyer, they get the bonus of keeping the commission.
Some homeowners may feel that they can do a better job—or at least as good a job—as a real estate agent in selling the house. They are, after all, intimately familiar with all aspects of the home and property. And their attention can be focused 100% on the sale, where they may perceive an agent as being too busy to give their home enough attention.
There is a chance that the seller has tried to work with agents, but has been “dropped” for some reason, or have them broken off the relationship themselves. Realtors don’t like to do it, but occasionally they will decide not to work with a client. Likewise, a homeowner may be unhappy with the level of service they are receiving and cut ties.
While some homeowners have been through the selling process many times, others have not. Some may underestimate the amount of work and attention to detail it takes to handle the sale of a house. An agent has experience with all of the necessary paperwork and contracts. Sellers may embark on the FSBO journey without really knowing how much work it will be.
Because purchasing a home is such an important event, it may be helpful for buyers to know the reason for someone selling by themselves. They can assess whether the seller is overconfident, difficult to work with, or really knows what they’re doing.