Thinking of selling your Fremont FSBO? Think again!

It's hard to resist commenting on the story which recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal regarding Colby Sambrotto, the founder and former CEO of forsalebyowner.com. It seems the founding father and lifelong evangelist of the concept of selling your home without a real estate agent was forced to hire a broker to sell his home after failing at what he preaches others should do.

After failing to sell his NYC apartment on his own as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), Sambrotto hired a broker and get this he even paid a 6% commission in order to get the job done right. His personal experience helps refute some of the myths Sambrotto has been espousing for over a decade, and also let him know what looks good on paper dosn't always work in reality. Let’s look at two of those myths now:
 
Myth #1 – You Will Pocket More Money Selling Your Fremont home on Your Own
 
Most FSBO sites say you can save the commission by selling on your own. In Sambrotto’s FSBO sale he spent six months trying to sell his condominium himself through online listings and classified ads, before turning over the listing of the 2,000-square-foot apartment to a broker. After he did this here is what happend...
 
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 Fremont Home
 
Many have said that, with the introduction of home search on the internet, hiring a Fremont 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. There are certain situations where one can sell a property themselves, but generally “listed” properties sell faster and for more money.

This information is brought to you by your Fremont real estate expert Clyde Brown.  If you are considering buying or selling property, planning to relocate, looking for Fremont homes for sale, or looking for any other information about real estate in the Fremont real estate market, or the surrounding areas, please visit the most complete website dedicated to everything real estate related www.ClydeBrownHomes.com.

If you or someone you know are in need of a competent and experienced Bay Area Realtor, or have real estate or mortgage related questions, please feel free to contact me I will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call me at 800-839-0665 or email me at Clyde@ClydeBrownHomes.com. For all your East Bay cities needs including Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, Oakland, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and San Ramon. Clyde Brown Legacy Real Estate & Associates.