Why Agents Keep Calling Homeowners Selling Alone

By Vicki Schamel

Has been a dedicated Realtor for over 30 years. She first entered real estate to balance work and raising her two young daughters, but it soon grew into a lifelong passion.

You decided to sell your home yourself, you posted it online, and your phone started ringing with real estate agents. Most for-sale-by-owners assume every one of those calls is an agent angling for the listing, and in this market, that usually isn’t what’s going on.

For sale by owners are back. Last time I talked about what I’ve been seeing in the change in our market, homes going under contract and expired listings showing up again. Sometimes we go a little backward from where we’ve been, and right now I’m seeing for-sale-by-owners come back into the market.

The rules changed two years ago. Serious buyers who are already preapproved can’t be shown a home without a contract in place, because agents now need a written agreement before touring a home.Your best buyers are already under contract with an agent.

Most agents want to show it. When your phone rings, it may not be that the agent wants your listing. What that agent wants is to show your home to a buyer they already have under contract.

The caller works for the buyer. The agent on the other end of the line represents the buyer, not you. The buyer gets professional help, the contract written for them, preapproval already handled, and someone negotiating on their side. That same agent is going to look at your price, because a buyer doesn’t want to overpay for a house; they want to pay the right price. If the buyer is using bank financing, the appraiser comes in and does the same thing with price, so it ends up being an education for both the for-sale-by-owner and the buyer.

Commission is negotiable. The buyer may ask me to ask you to cover some of that commission, and as a for sale by owner, you don’t have to. It’s negotiable, and the rules have shifted since the last time this many for-sale-by-owners came on the market.

Don’t be afraid of the call. I have two for-sale-by-owners on my list to call right now, and only because buyers asked me to make those calls. The agent calling you may be the person whohelps you sell that home. The buyer gets a home, the seller sells a home, and that’s everybody’s goal.

If you’re selling on your own and you want to know exactly what changed and how to handle those calls, call or text me at 607-351-6933, email me at vickischamel@kw.com, or visit fingerlakesrealestatereports.com. I’m glad to walk you through the details before your next call comes in.