Now that more and more people are realizing that they can potentially sell their home without the help (and cost) of a licensed real estate agent, they're looking at it as a possibility for them. However, there's one thing that still has negative feelings surrounding it that make people ultimately choose to go with an agent and not sell their house FSBO, and that is dealing with a Real Estate Contract. But this doesn't have to deter you from the whole process of selling FSBO, and here's how you can channel your efforts towards saving yourself money instead of letting an agent handle it all at your cost.
The first thing you should know is that real estate contracts aren't as confusing and arduous as they might seem. You may think you're in good hands when it comes to real estate agents handling them, but the truth is that their specialty is selling, not legal logistics. Most real estate contracts are pre-printed forms that hardly change from one house sale to another.
With that being said, a lot of people might still feel uncomfortable with dealing with that aspect. One way you can take care of this aspect and still save money is by hiring your own real estate lawyer. Now people might get the wrong idea about hiring an attorney, thinking that poof! there goes your profit. Not so. With having an attorney on your side looking out for you, you can pay them an hourly wage to cover your side of the transaction. It could cost anywhere from $2000 to $4000 depending on how much work they have to do for you, but you get endless real estate transaction advice and will feel more comfortable doing so.
Compare that to hiring a real estate agent on a $400,000 home. Six percent would go to the agent for handling the transaction, which would total up $24,000. If you sell FSBO, and hire an attorney, you can save yourself $20,000 on the low end, and $22,000 on the high end just by hiring an attorney to handle the contract. Now that you have put this fear to rest, you'll see just how much better off you will be selling your house FSBO.
