Choosing a FSBO Listing Service
Here are a few tips for choosing a FSBO site where you can advertise your home.
Lack of advertising is one of the biggest reasons why houses that are listed “For Sale By Owner,” or FSBO, fail to sell. Advertising is a big deal — real estate agents paste their top listings all over local papers, websites, and flyers. If you are going to compete with all of the agent-listed homes, you need to be able to broadcast your home just as well as they do, if not better.
Many FSBO sellers, however, don’t have much experience with advertising and don’t know where to start. As a result, many FSBO websites have evolved to help homeowners with “For Sale By Owner” listings. These sites will cost a little money, but usually only a few hundred dollars — as opposed to the thousands you’ll pay a real estate agent. But how do you choose which site to use?
There are many to choose from, and not all of them are going to be worth the money you’ll pay. Here are a few criteria to help you make your decision.
For Sale by Owner Websites Reviews for 2021
Are you thinking of selling your home but do not have any experience in real estate? Have you thought of looking for an agent to help you sell your house? What would you do if we told you that you can sell your house on your own and avoid paying additional agent commission fees?
There are several for sale by owner (FSBO) websites that will offer you a platform to effortlessly post a listing of your home, then sit back, and wait for potential buyers to come to you. Sounds interesting, right? Keep reading to find out the best FSBO website to use when selling your property.
The Best FSBO Sites
Houzeo is among the fastest growing FSBO platforms for finding and selling houses. The best flat fee brokers in the country leverage Houzeo, providing you with access to compliant and complete documents that are pre-filled by the sellers, thereby saving you a lot of time.
If you have been searching for a site that is trusted and acknowledged by leading title agents, attorneys, and Escrow, then Houzeo is the site you need. The site will not only multiply your productivity in buying or selling homes, but it will also provide world-class security to the sellers and buyers of homes too. Almost all leading real estate investors, developers, and homebuilders rely on Houzeo because of its efficiency. It allows you to access all your sales related to real estate in a single dashboard.
Features
Technology
Houzeo uses cutting edge top-notch technology to ensure that you complete all the required tasks online. You can add open houses, change the listing, complete all the listing paperwork online using Houzeo.
Online Interface
Do you prefer to deal with everything online rather than over the phone or in person? You can manage your listing easily using the Houzeo website. The site contains guides in form of videos, and automatic reminders to assist in the entire listing process.
Commission
Are you looking to manage your savings well in real estate? Houzeo provides you with the option of choosing and setting the rate of commission of the agent. If you do not have the time or experience of dealing directly with clients, you can hire buying agents who will do all the work for you while you control how much they will get out of the commission using Houzeo.
Security
All the data of your clients entered on Houzeo will remain safe and protected from malicious people. Houzeo contains expert military grade next level encryption (AES 256) as well as a two-factor authentication system.
Pricing
The rates of Houzeo are different in every state. The average starting price of Houzeo is $199.
Pros
Cons
Reviews
Tom J commented that he found Houzeo very cost effective and easy to use. He was also able to select the commission he could afford to pay the buyer's agent, and upload photos of the house easily on the site.
Another seller named Bill J said that Houzeo was helpful when he tried to sell his home on his own. He was able to upload all the photos to the site with ease and later completed the listing process with ease.
The first thing you will notice on FSBO.com is how it displays the most recent properties on the page. This makes the property posted more discoverable to potential buyers. FSBO.com has been around since 1977 doing an incredible job of bringing sellers and buyers together. If you are looking for an affordable platform for selling or buying property on the internet, then you may want to list with FSBO.com immediately.
Features
FSBO.com offers two types of packages with different offers. They include:
FSBO Package
This package includes the following benefits:
MLS Package
The MLS package offered by FSBO contains the following benefits:
Pricing
The FSBO package costs $99.95 while the MLS package costs about $399.95.
Pros
Cons
Reviews
A seller named Chris recommended FSBO.com by explaining how he found it to be an excellent website for DIY projects like selling homes. He also added that the customer service was quite exceptional.
A user called Annie was not very pleased with FSBO.com. She complained that she had to post details about the town and state of the property at the top of the ad, and it was a great struggle because she did not know the location of most of the homes she wanted to post.
Forsalebyowner.com is the oldest FSBO website in the world given the fact that it has been around for 21 years. The site provides a great platform for people looking to sell or buy houses because it receives a good amount of traffic each day. Unlike most FSBO websites, once you post the listing, only other users on Forsalebyowner.com will view your listing.
Features
Closed System
The Forsalebyowner.com operates under a closed system whereby only the Forsalebyowner users will view your listing. Users on other FOSB sites will not be able to view your listing.
No Buyer's Agent Commission
Forsalebyowner does not charge any buyer's agent commission, thereby ensuring that the seller retains maximum earnings.
Pricing
The basic listing on Forsalebyowner.com is free. Sellers who desire to have a listing with legal forms and pricing assistance will need to unlock a package that costs $399.
Pros
Cons
Reviews
A user named Joanna Hester commented that they decided to list their house on Forsalebyowner.com and found it to be cost effective because they had a great price and did not pay any commission fees.
4salebyowner.com is the site to go to, if you are looking for selling options that stand out. The innovative platform offers an MLS flat fee service, which also allows the sellers to get their listings on MLS, Zillow, Redfin, Trulia, and Realtor.com.
Sellers get one home consultation by an agent and a valuation of the home.
Features
Commission
4salebyowner.com listings require that sellers pay agents a commission of 3 percent.
Tier Services
There are two tier services offered by 4salebyowner.com. They include:
The First Tier Service
In this service, the listing also appears on a partner site of 4salebyowner.com called Xome. The tier service offers a valuation of the home, concierge support, and it allows 12 photos of the house to be uploaded on the website. The service also gives the seller the option of paying a buyer's agent commission.
The Top Tier Service
The other tier service provided by 4salebyowners.com pairs the sellers with local agents. It also lists the house on MLS, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and Xome.
Pricing
Upon joining 4salebyowner.com, you will be required to pay a one-time MLS flat fee of $99. The first tier service package costs $19.99 per month, while the top tier service package costs $599.
Pros
Cons
Reviews
A user named Sebastian S commented on 4salebyowner.com that his experience with the Xome auction site was great because they listed their property at $47922 and sold it to a bidder at the amount of $533500.
A complaint was posted by a seller on 4salebyowner.com who said that although he did not incur any commission charges, some agents on the Xome auction site did not honour the contract's terms and conditions.
Fizber is an FSBO site that utilizes technology to help sellers list their property on the website. On Fizber, you can give your potential buyers a 3D tour of the home and issue them with brochures of the property online.
Features
Tier Services
Fizber offers three tier services to its users. They include:
The First Tier Service
This tier package provides a premium listing for sellers. It also offers an online tool that allows sellers to manage and keep track of open house showings. Any listing that the seller posts on Fizber is also posted on Redfin.
The Second Tier Service
All the benefits of the first tier package are included in the second tier package. This package also provides syndication on sites like Trulia, Realtor.com, and Zillow. The tier service allows an MLS listing with a maximum of six photos.
The Top Tier Service
The benefits of the second and first tier packages are included in the top tier package. The MLS listing provided in this service allows a maximum of 25 photos.
Pricing
The prices for the tier packages are as follows:
Pros
Cons
Reviews
One user commented of how efficient Fizber was because once they bought the package and filled all the required documents; their property was listed on MLS within 24 hours.
Another user who used the Fizber free option complained that it had very little benefits, because although they posted their ad free, they did not get any serious buyers and ended up with many spam callers.
The Best FREE FSBO Sites
The above sites are the best FSBO sites. If you are looking for free sites to post your listing, you can check out these free FSBO sites:
Zillow is an FSBO site that has great brand recognition and contains many users. Although posting your listing on Zillow will give you access to thousands of potential buyers, the site does not have many benefits compared to other paid sites. Zillow will offer you a Zestimate, which is an estimate of the worth of your property.
Trulia on the other hand provides crime statistics and data related to the house and its neighborhood to their users. If your house is in an area with few crime rates, you can count on Trulia to make your property appealing to buyers. Trulia also offers high visibility due to its brand name, which is easily recognizable in the real estate market. Trulia does not provide any other benefits compared to other paid FSBO sites.
Did you know that Craigslist is among the 10 most viewed sites in the United States? This makes it a great site for sellers who wish to sell their property. You can post your listing in the For Sale section for free. However, Craigslist is not a real estate site and therefore serious buyers will likely use other sites when looking for property to buy.
Loopnet allows free listings by sellers, but you will have to upgrade to the premium version if you want your listing to include investment metrics such as cap rates and online brochures. This website provides great visibility to its users because it receives more than 5 million visitors each month. However, most of the investors on Loopnet are interested in commercial properties rather than residential houses.
Which by owner listing service is the best?
The best for sale by owner site that we would recommend is Fizber. The site has a technological advantage that other FSBO sites lack. By using well-planned strategic 3D tours of the house, you can show potential buyers all the amazing details about the house that mere pictures may not communicate. Fizber also provides a wide range of visibility to potential buyers on other sites like Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com, unlike other FSBO sites like Forsalebyowner.com, which uses a closed system with exclusive visibility.
Is it worth doing for sale by owner?
Yes, it is. Using for sale by owner websites gives you a greater chance of reaching thousands of potential buyers on the sites. People who want to buy houses tend to visit trusted websites like Fizber, Houzeo, FSBO.com, 4salebyowner, and Forsalebyowner.com to look for the right property.
What is the correct way to do for sale by owner?
The correct and most recommended way to do for sale by owner is by joining any of the FSBO sites, signing up for a premium package, following the instructions, and posting a listing.
Is it hard to sell a house by owner?
No, it isn't. The procedure of selling your own house is very easy and cost effective especially when using recommended FSBO sites like Fizber.
Selling your own house has never been so easy, especially with FSBO sites. If you are planning to sell your home, we recommend that you use the FSBO sites that we have covered above so that you can have a smooth, cost effective process and get the most out of your home.
Making an Informed Decision Selling your home on your own rather than using a real estate agent can save you a lot of money, but it can also backfire if you aren’t careful. Put at least some of that money toward advertising, including choosing a good FSBO website where you can list your home, get flyers and signs, and find help with the challenges you will face along the way. Be sure to do your research before choosing a site, though — the better the service you select, the more likely you are to be successful in selling your home!
Faq
Unless you plan on getting an MLS number on your own, make sure one is included before signing up for a FSBO package. Most reputable FSBO sites offer this in every package, and many offer a basic MLS listing package for a flat fee. This is important because it ensures your home will come up in potential buyers’ and agents’ real estate searches. The entire point of advertising with a For Sale By Owner website is to increase your home’s visibility, so if this service isn’t offered, you are wasting your money.
Before signing up with a FSBO listing service, send some time browsing the site. Do the listings look professional? Is the website clean, uncluttered, and easy to navigate? If the package offers extras such as yard signs and printable flyers, look for pictures or examples — do these items invite buyers to tour your house with confidence, or do they scream “amateur”? For Sale By Owner listing sites often offer these extra services as part of their packages in order to help homeowners who don’t know much about the selling process, but if the listing and promotional materials don’t look professional, it could actually do more harm than good
Setting up a listing and making signs and flyers can be overwhelming, especially to someone who is technologically challenged, but that doesn’t mean you can’t list a home For Sale By Owner. Any good FSBO website should offer quality customer service for any of its customers, just in case you run into problems or need help with some part of the selling process. A service with round-the-clock availability might also be worth paying a little more for, if you are the type of person who likes to work on the computer at odd hours.