Using a Realtor vs. For sale by Owner

Aug 9, 2011

Really? ..Did the “For sale by Owner” founder just pay $129,000 in Real Estate fees…… ironic, don’t ya think?

With all the number crunching I do for for Canadians and their mortgages along with the sale of a home. Well, one question always comes up…. “Why pay all those Real Estate fees?

I decided to do some research and found some answers pretty quick………. This story below pretty much explains it for us.

Colby Sambrotto, who founded FSBO, just sold his Chelsea apartment for $2.15million

The founder and former CEO of a website helping people to sell their own homes has found a buyer for his own apartment with the help of a traditional real estate broker.

ForSaleByOwner.com creator Colby Sambrotto even paid the standard 6{ea18e790148ddb141722068dfb73f9f74b06205fa18c7d39ece0e7144d0672b8} commission after selling his two-bedroom New York condo for $2.15 million.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mr Sambrotto spent six months trying to sell the apartment in trendy Chelsea through online listings and classified adverts.

But the DIY home selling guru eventually decided to turn the sale over to a professional.

Not only did broker Jesse Buckler set the price $150,000 higher than the original asking price, he went on to lure the elusive buyer Mr Sambrotto’s self-help methods had failed to attract.

The Journal said the 2,000-square-foot apartment at The Lion’s Head building near Sixth Avenue is now under contract.

I also found this great outlook from The KCM Blog

His personal experience helps refute some of the myths Sambrotto has been espousing for over a decade. Let’s look at two of those myths:

Myth #1 – You Will Pocket More Money Selling on Your Own

Most FSBO sites say you can save the commission by selling on your own. What happened in Sambrotto’s sale?

From the WSJ article:

“The broker, Jesse Buckler, said he told Mr. Sambrotto the apartment in the Lion’s Head building on West 19th Street near Sixth Avenue was priced too low and wasn’t drawing the right buyers.

By May, it went into contract, he said, after attracting multiple offers. It closed in the last few days for $150,000 more than the original asking price.”

Myth #2 – The Internet Alone Can Sell Your Home

Many have said that, with the introduction of home search on the internet, hiring an agent is no longer a necessity. What happened to the FSBO guru when he attempted to only depend on the internet?

From the WSJ article:

“Looking to move his family to the suburbs, [Mr. Sambrotto] said he carefully staged his apartment for sale himself, and put it on the market. But after using a mix of websites to publicize his apartment, he said he had only ‘middling success’ and switched to a broker because many buyers were so reliant on brokers.”

Bottom Line

There is a reason the real estate industry has been around for centuries: it performs a valuable service.

If you are a Realtor, you shouldn’t have to explain to your client what your value is… use this post to do that.