EPISODE 34 – [FSBO] – 5 BENEFITS OF SELLING YOUR HOME YOURSELF

Thinking about selling your home yourself and saving thousands in commissions?

In Episode 34 of the Happy Homeowners Hub Podcast, Fred Turner breaks down the 5 biggest benefits of selling your home “By Owner” and why more homeowners are exploring the FSBO route than ever before.

Drawing from over 17 years of experience in the Homes For Sale By Owner industry and inspired by his book The Happy Homeowners Handbook For Selling Your Home “By Owner”, Fred shares practical advice, real-life stories, humor, and homeowner-focused tips to help you better understand the FSBO process.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How much money homeowners could potentially save in commissions 
• Why homeowners often know their property better than anyone else 
• The benefits of controlling your own showing schedule 
• How technology has changed the home-selling process 
• Why FSBO is considered the ultimate DIY project 
• Common mistakes homeowners make when selling themselves 
• Why preparation, pricing, and presentation matter 

Fred also shares entertaining real-world stories about:

• chaotic home showings 
• overexcited family pets 
• moving-day disasters 
• and homeowners trying to sell homes using blurry photos that look like they were taken during a tornado warning. 

Whether you are:

• considering selling your home yourself 
• downsizing 
• relocating 
• or simply exploring your options 

this episode provides a practical introduction to the world of FSBO home selling.

Books available from Happy Homeowners Hub and sold on Amazon.com

For more details on these books, check out HappyHomeownersHub.com 

                       Click on the Amazon book links below

The Happy Homeowners Handbook for Navigating Property Claims

The Happy Homeowners Handbook For Navigating Water Damage Claims

The Happy Homeowners Property Claim Documentation Booklet 

The Happy Homeowners Handbook for First-Time Homebuyers 

The Happy Homeowners Handbook for Selling Your Home by Owner 

The Happy Homeowners Home Maintenance Journal 

The Happy Homeowners Helper (A Children's book to help with a move) 

SIGN-UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER

If you would like to receive my Newsletter, just go to my website HappyHomeownersHub.com, and fill out the “Contact Us” page and put the word NEWSLETTER in the message box.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

This is Podcast34, and today we're diving into the five benefits of selling your home yourself. If you've ever looked at the amount of money paid out in real estate commissions and thought, wait a minute, I have to pay how much to sell my home? You're not alone. Many homeowners are starting to ask, could I sell my home myself? The answer is yes, especially in a hot seller's market, which is right now. Now let me say this right up front. There are many great realtors out there. This episode is not about attacking realtors, most sellers will use a realtor to sell their home. This episode is about educating homeowners on another viable option that could save them thousands of dollars. For sale by owner, also known as FISBO. And today we're going to talk about the 5 major benefits of selling your home yourself, inspired by chapter 1 of my book, The Happy Homeowners Handbook for Selling Your Home by Owner. And trust me, there are some pretty big advantages if you're willing to put in the work. Welcome to the Happy Homeowners Hub Podcast, where we share real life stories and break down the lessons, mistakes, and wins that could save you time, money, and stress on buying your first home, navigating your property claim, selling your home by owner, and home maintenance and repair tips. I am your host, Fred Turner, and each week I'll guide you through these four topics so you can become a happy homeowner with no regrets. Benefit number one. Save big money. Let's start with the obvious one. How much money you can save selling your home yourself. Real estate commissions are expensive, very expensive. In my book, I break down many examples showing what homeowners could potentially pay in commissions depending on the selling price of their home. For example, a $250,000 home at a 6% commission could mean you'll pay around $15,000 in commissions. A $500,000 home at a 6% commission could mean you'd pay around $30,000 in commissions. And a million dollar home at a 6% commission could mean around $60,000 in commissions. That's some serious money. That's a nice kitchen remodel, college tuition, a new vehicle, a dream vacation, or maybe even enough money to pay for adopting that child you always dreamed of. I remember one homeowner years ago who sold his home himself and saved enough commission money to completely remodel a high-end kitchen in the next home they bought. His wife called it the kitchen that was paid by FISBO. And honestly, that's part of what this comes down to. Confidence, knowledge, and preparation. Now, will saving your home by honor work for everyone? No. Are you guaranteed to sell your home by honor? No. But if you educate yourself, you're organized, motivated, and willing to learn the process, the potential savings are substantial, and you will have a high chance of success. Benefit number two. You know your home better than anyone. Nobody knows your home like you do. You know the upgrades, the neighborhood, the parks, the schools, the bike paths, the hidden storage spots, the neighbors, and which floorboard squeaks when your teenager sneaks in late. A realtor might know the square footage, but you know the story of the house. You know why you bought it. You know why you loved it. And buyers connect emotionally with stories. I remember a couple showing their home themselves years ago. The husband pointed out where they watched the fireworks from the backyard, where they built the kids' skating rink in the wintertime, and how the neighbors all helped each other shovel after snowstorms. The buyers later said, We didn't just buy the house, we bought the story, the feeling, and the neighborhood. And that matters because homes are an emotional purchase. Benefit number three, you control the process. Now let's talk about control. When you sell your home yourself, you decide when the showings happen, when the open houses happen, how your home is marketed, and who walks through your front door. You don't have to suddenly vacuum the house at 6 p.m. because some agent wants to show your home at 6 15. Parents that are listening right now understand this pain deeply, especially if you have toys everywhere, laundry on the couch, and a dog that believes that every visitor is the most exciting person in history. I once knew a homeowner whose golden retriever greeted buyers. During a showing, oddly enough, the buyers loved the dog and ended up buying the house. But still, control matters. One strategy I personally like is grouping showings together. In the book, I mention showing time frames and weekend open houses to manage your schedule. That keeps your life from becoming total chaos. You can control the entire process yourself. Benefit number four. Technology has changed everything. Years ago, realtors controlled most of the property listings. Today, technology has changed the game. Buyers are searching online constantly, places like Zillow, Facebook Marketplace, many different FISBO websites, Redfin, Craigslist, and social media, and also Realtor.com. Many buyers find homes themselves now. In fact, I found my own home online years ago and told my realtor about it, and my daughter did the same thing. Technology gives homeowners far more visibility than ever before. People are fascinating, but online visibility really matters. Good photos matter, curb appeals matter, and proper pricing matters. Which is why in future episodes of this podcast, we will dive deeper into preparing your home for sale and staging, pricing, marketing, negotiating, the attorney, inspections, and closing cost. Benefit number five. This is the ultimate do-it-yourself project. I often wonder why people remodel their kitchens, their bathrooms, their decks, their basements, flooring, and landscaping all to save money and build equity, and then when it comes time to sell the house, they suddenly feel incapable of doing this themselves. They've done all this remodeling to save money, and then they give it all away in real estate commissions. You've already painted the walls, repaired things, managed the projects, and maintained the property for years, and selling your home is simply another project, a large one, but still a project. Now, yes, there are some legal steps like contracts, disclosures, and negotiations, but that's why assembling a good team is critical to your success. And we'll discuss that in future episodes too. Stuff like your attorney, the lenders, inspectors, title companies, and staging professionals. You don't have to do this alone. You want to create your dream team. One homeowner, I remember, approached selling their home themselves like a part-time job. He created spreadsheets, showing schedules, marketing flyers, open house packets. Honestly, by the end of this process, I think he could have ran his own marketing company. But he sold his home successfully and he saved a tremendous amount of money in commissions. Now let's be honest, selling your home by honor is not magic. You need patience, preparation, flexibility, organization, and commitment. In my book, The Happy Homeowner's Handbook for Selling Your Home by Honor, I specifically mention that homeowners should approach selling their homes themselves seriously and commit to the process for at least a few months, just like they would if they listed with a realtor. That's important because some homeowners just throw aside in the yard, upload three low-quality photos, price the home too high due to their emotional attachment, and then wonder why nobody calls. Listen friends, presentation and first impressions matter. So to recap, today we've discussed the five major benefits of selling your home yourself. Number one, saving potentially thousands in commissions. Number two, you know your home better than anyone. Number three, you can control the entire process. Number four, technology has made selling your home by honor easier than ever. Number five, selling your home is the ultimate do-it-yourself project. And throughout this season, we're gonna walk through this process together, step by step. If you want to learn more about selling your home yourself, check out my book, The Happy Homeowners Handbook for Selling Your Home by Owner. You can also explore my other homeowner books, podcast episodes, and other resources at my website, happyhomewunnershub.com, or check out the show notes. My mission is simple: helping homeowners become happy homeowners with no regrets. Our Happy Homeowners Hub newsletter is also available. To sign up, visit the contact us page at happyhomewownershub.com, type in the word newsletter in the message box, and you'll be added for future updates, podcast announcements, homeowner tips, and new resources. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, insurance, or professional real estate advice. Please consider a licensed professional regarding your specific situation and local laws in your state. Thank you for listening to the Happy Homeowners Hub Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, share it with someone who's also thinking about selling their home themselves. And remember, the more you know, the more confident you will feel, and that's how you become a happy homeowner with no regrets. My goal is to make your homeownership journey smoother, smarter, and way less stressful. I've got some great stories, tips, and occasional guest experts coming up in future episodes, so stay tuned and remember your home is your biggest investment. Be smart from the start. Thanks for listening. This is your host, Fred Turner, and I'll see you at the next episode. Have a blessed day. Goodbye.