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\n <\/div>\n \n Find An Agent To Buy A FSBO Home<\/h3>\n
Buying a FSBO home? Partner with an expert buyer’s agent to help you through the homebuying process.<\/p>\n \n
What is a FSBO home?<\/h2>\n
A \u201cfor sale by owner,\u201d or FSBO (pronounced \u201cfizz-bo\u201d) home, is a home that is being sold by its owner who hasn\u2019t hired a listing agent. In this case, the homeowner will be taking care of the home sale process and negotiations themself.<\/p>\n
You can usually find these homes by driving around the neighborhoods in your area and scoping out \u201cfor sale\u201d signs, but they can also be found on real estate websites and social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace. If you decide that you want to buy a FSBO home, the buying process tends to look a little different than a traditional sale.<\/p>\n
In this guide, we\u2019ll walk you through just about everything you need to know about buying a FSBO home. <\/span>We even talked with top real estate agent Jesse Allen, who serves <\/span>Jeffersonville, Indiana<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> to get the inside scoop on what you need to know about FSBO homes and whether or not <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> should hire an agent, even if the seller doesn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n When a seller hires a listing agent, that agent will collect a commission from the proceeds of the home sale, usually somewhere between 2.5% and 3%<\/a> of the home\u2019s sale price. When a seller decides to forgo hiring an agent, saving on the commission is a big consideration.<\/p>\n Another reason someone may consider selling their home themselves could be that they already know a buyer and want to cut out the middleman.<\/p>\n Allen finds that \u201cwe see more [FSBO homes] in a neighborhood where you can pretty easily tell what the house is worth.\u201d For sellers in neighborhoods with many recently sold homes, it can be easier to determine what their asking price should be based on estimated market value. In these cases, sellers may feel more comfortable handling the pricing and selling themselves.<\/p>\n The housing market can also play a role in the seller deciding to sell the home themselves. In a <\/span>seller\u2019s market<\/span><\/a>, it might be easier for a seller to sell their home themselves rather than in a <\/span>buyer\u2019s market<\/span><\/a> when they may have to give in to more buyer demands. If the market gets too hot, however, sellers might be more inclined to work with a listing agent.<\/span><\/p>\n Allen recalls, \u201cWhen the housing market was at an all-time high, where things were selling extremely fast, we saw a lot of people doing for sale by owner.\u201d <\/span>But once sales started getting more complicated with multiple-offer situations, cash offers, and<\/span> more creative offers<\/span><\/a>, \u201cthey knew they could sell their home themselves, but it\u2019s so much easier to let somebody handle the entire transaction, so they started reaching back out to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n According to the National Association of Realtors\u00ae, in <\/span>2025, only<\/span> 5%<\/span><\/a> of home sales were FSBO, so there is a relatively small chance that you\u2019ll be in a position to buy one. But in the event that you are, let\u2019s look at some pros and cons.<\/span><\/p>\n There are definitely <\/span>pros and cons to buying a FSBO home<\/span>. Ultimately, you know your situation best, but you can use this list as a starting point to help you make a decision that\u2019s best for you.<\/span><\/p>\n Knowing that they will save money by not paying the listing agent\u2019s commission, a seller might list their home at a lower price than they would if they had hired an agent. The seller may also be trying to sell their home quickly and the price might reflect this.<\/p>\n One of the benefits of hiring a listing agent<\/a> is their marketing expertise. FSBO sellers don\u2019t have access to a marketing team and the resources that an agent does, so the home might stay on the market longer and have fewer interested buyers. This could reduce the likelihood that you\u2019ll have a bidding war or need to offer more than their asking price<\/a>.<\/p>\n When a seller works with a listing agent and a buyer works with a buyer\u2019s agent, the agents do the negotiating. When you buy from a FSBO seller, either you or your buyer\u2019s agent will negotiate with the seller directly. This can have some advantages because you\u2019re not going through multiple people to get your requests to the seller.<\/p>\n In a <\/span>best-case scenario<\/span>, negotiations go smoothly, the inspection doesn\u2019t reveal any major issues, the appraisal comes in right where it should, and the whole process is very efficient (we\u2019ll get into what could create some hiccups later on).<\/span><\/p>\n When both parties work with agents, you\u2019ll likely go through them to schedule <\/span>showings<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>inspections<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>appraisals<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>offer submissions<\/span><\/a>. These things can take time to coordinate. When you buy a FSBO home and choose not to use a buyer\u2019s agent yourself, you\u2019ll be doing all the scheduling directly with <\/span>vendors, <\/span>which can potentially save time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Buying a home from the owner can be complicated and time consuming. We\u2019ll walk you through the process and help you determine if a FSBO is right for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":241,"featured_media":74289,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,638,641],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-house-hunting","category-find-home"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy would a seller want to list their home FSBO?<\/h2>\n
Should I buy a FSBO home?<\/h2>\n
Pros of buying a FSBO home<\/h3>\n
The home price might be lower<\/h4>\n
The buyer pool could be smaller<\/h4>\n
Negotiate directly with the seller<\/h4>\n
It could be more efficient<\/h4>\n