Vital Home Realty Blog

The 4 Kinds of FSBO & How to Work with Them

What is a FSBO? It’s the term many in the real estate industry call a ‘For Sale by Owner’.

For many REALTORS®, the thought of approaching a for sale by owner strikes fear into their hearts. For others, it’s a wonderful opportunity to find more inventory for their buyer clients, or in some cases to win a listing client.

I was watching a video published by Nick McLean, a well-known coach about for sale by owners and he shared some great observations. I compiled his ideas and blended it with my personal experience of working with for sale by owners for over 20 years.

Let’s talk about the different types of by owner you will typically come across. Let’s talk about how you might find some common ground and potentially work together.

1. The Do It Yourselfer

These are perhaps the most common. These folks are problem aware and problem unaware. These kinds of folks just like to do stuff by themselves. They are often fanatical IKEA customers.

The motivation for a Do It Yourselfer is to prove to themselves that they can do it. They are folks who like to figure things out. They are teachers, administrators or in some cases designer types by profession.

The best way to work with a DIY person is to give, give, give. Provide market stats. Open House checklists or Pre-Sale checklists. They may be nice to work with if you bring them a buyer. Many will eventually get frustrated at the complexity of the process and call you in to represent them.

2. The Money Saver

Money Savers are cheap or frugal. They are resistant to paying commissions. Full Stop.

You may be able to bring them a buyer. Be careful to write your commission into the agreement or you may not get paid.

If they wish to explore listing with you, then it will be crucial to show them the value of your marketing program. You must be able to show that you know how to get them in front of retail quality buyers rather than the wholesale or even sub wholesale quality buyers they have met so far.

You must also be able to deliver a solid justification as to why you charge for services in the way that you do.

According to some, this group is not the most common.

3. Market Testers

Market Testers are those folks who are not quite ready to hire a professional. Some of the people in this group already have a REALTOR® selected. Many do not.

They will try some tentative advertising in the hope that they get lucky and find a great quality buyer all by themselves. They will hope that one of them will understand how to fill out the paperwork to complete the sale.

You will find that most Market Testers are willing to pay you if you can bring them a buyer. Many will consider working with you on the listing side IF you can show value.

Market Testers can be lovely people to work with. You will find them by looking out for homemade or Canadian Tire for sale signs on front yards or nailed to fences, reviewing Kijiji ads or perhaps Facebook marketplace.

4. Cynics

Cynics are just cynical. They don’t like salespeople. They are often closed-minded and suspicious. Perhaps they have been damaged by prior experiences in life.

Sometimes if you are patient and kind, you can develop a working relationship and help them on their way.

Sometimes cynics can be the most unpleasant and exhausting to work with. You should use your best judgement as to whether you spend too much time trying to help these folks.

Want More?

Learn on You Tube: Stuart Neal, Edmonton Real Estate Career Coach.

Go to Facebook: Stuart Neal, Edmonton Real Estate Career Coach Facebook.

Read Stuart’s bio: Stuart Neal, Career Coach, Team Lead & REALTOR^®

Start your real estate career. Call Stuart at: 780-760-2014 ext. 3 or go to our Careers page - Vital Home Realty Team Careers.