Do Realtors really hate For Sale By Owner (FSBO) home sellers?
Or just newspaper stories about selling a home without the services of a Realtor? Fact is, many FSBO sellers try to sell their homes themselves to save commission money, but eventually list with a real estate agent if they fail. Smart Realtors view FSBOs as potential clients. But local Realtors are still upset at a story in the Herald-Tribune last spring about selling by owner. And I imagine this headline in Tuesday’s paper reopened the wound: “A 6 percent solution that Realtors hate.” The story was about FSBOMadison.com, a Web site in Madison, Wis., that lists For Sale By Owner properties for six months for a $150 fee. The story promoted the Web site as an alternative to paying a 6 percent Realtor commission. I visited the Web site, and it is spiffy. If you search by selling price, all listed properties come up instantly, separated by dwelling type. Search by neighborhood, and the properties are separated by the area of town. A map has green dots showing the location of listed homes;
