Out of all the decisions you make when selling your home, the first one may make or break your home-selling experience. With technological knowledge on the rise, the option to list your home “For Sale By Owner” — or FSBO — may seem like a great idea to your pocketbook. But is it really? Before you make the decision to try and wing one of the biggest adventures of your adult life, let’s look a little closer to the pros and cons, shall we?

The Greatest Comparison

At first glance, listing a home as For Sale By Owner –or FSBO –(pronounced “fiz-bo” by the experts) has the greatest incentive in the apparent savings of not paying for a realtor. The average realtor takes around 6% of the sale profits, and it may seem as if choosing FSBO saves you from that sum of money making it to your wallet in the end.

However, that’s not necessarily the truth.

The average sale of a FSBO listing is about $15,000 below $200,000, while a home networked and the sale executed by an agent is nearly $250,000. With that in mind, that 6% commission nearly pays for itself. If you choose to go the FSBO route, you’ll have the smaller closing price to contend with, on top of the fact that the buyer’s agent regularly asks for 3% commission from the sale for their involvement in their client’s interest.

When your home’s closing price is a lower amount, the 3% you get to save for yourself by choosing FSBO doesn’t last nearly as long as you wish it would. And even then, not using a realtor requires you to spend an exorbitant amount of money in areas you may not have thought about.

Challenges Of Selling Your Own Home

FSBO may feel simpler than ever before with the best technology at your fingertips. However, in order to list your home online, without a realty license, you are required to pay almost $400 in fees just to list your home beyond common social media sites and with your friends. If you’re looking to sell your home in Kosciusko County under trustworthy realtors such as Kim Clark, however, that listing fee is taken care of.

A part of choosing FSBO is the fact that though you want to sell your home, taking time out of your work schedule is incredibly challenging. Over 30% of FSBO homeowners have run into this challenge and many other issues and they opt to hire an agent who can focus on the marketing and selling in a more timely manner. The issue with this process is the house risks being on the market too long, which inevitably lowers the value of the home and its closing costs.

If the marketing challenges don’t phase you, consider the knowledge of the legal documentation needed to finalize the sale of your home. A real estate agent is trained in how to handle all the documentation. If you choose to sell your home without the assistance of a real estate agent, you will have to negotiate, write up, and execute everything required from you by the state of Indiana to legalize a sale. If any of these things are processed and not found up-to-par, it will be an uncomfortable liability which you will have to fix on your own. Yikes!

Hassle-free May Be Best

Although choosing to list your home as For Sale By Owner may make you feel like you are more in control and able to sell your home on your own timetable, entrusting such an investment with a realtor who knows how to get you the biggest bang for your buck is well worth any hang-ups you may have. Kim Clark has over 16 years of experience under her belt and knows exactly how to assist you in selling your home for the greatest profit.