Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with an unrepresented seller in New Braunfels, Texas. I called him because I was driving around the neighborhood and saw his sign.  The weekend before I was with buyers in the same neighborhood and the amount of listings I had to show them were few.  I decided to call the FSBO seller.  Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: “Hi, I know you don’t me, but my name is Laurie Jarrett with Keller Williams here in New Braunfels.  I was driving around and saw your house is for sale and I wanted to find out more about it.  Do you have a minute?”

Seller: “Uh, sure.”

Me: “Actually, I’m working with some buyers that I think might want to see it because it’s in the neighborhood they’re interested in.  And, if not, I work with other buyers.  It would be helpful to see what you have to offer.” (Here’s the part you should always insert)  “Would you be offended if I stop by and have you show me your house?”

Seller:”No, absolutley not, my schedule is pretty open.”

From here I set up a time to stop by.  I took my notebook, a business card and took some pictures with my phone.  He let me tour the house at my leisure, I wrote down pertinent information, and when I was finished I thanked him and asked a few questions about things he’d done to the house and if everything seemed to be in good working order.

Then he asked THE DREADED QUESTION: “I’m just curious, how do you get paid?”  From there I proceeded to tell him that my buyers would have to agree to pay a certain percentage over the negotiated sales price.  Then, there would be a registration agreement saying the seller would pay me that percentage out of their proceeds.  Easy peasy. 

I added, “You know, alot of agents are intimidated by you guys and how you’ll respond about commission, so, they don’t bring you buyers.” He said, “I know. I’ve already been contacted by agents wanting to list my house, but no one wants to bring a buyer.”

After I left I sent a handwritten note (always do this).  The sellers called me to say thank you for the note and to feel free to bring any qualified buyers by.

Not every house is going to work for every buyer. And, I never said they wanted to buy the house.  I said I wanted the information to send my buyers to see if they would be interested. It might not work out with that buyer, but I increased my market knowledge by visiting the FSBO home.  I met some very nice people and I will keep in contact with them regardles by sending any market updates or helpful information.

I have been successfully selling FSBOs like this for years.  And, I don’t always have a specific buyer in mind.  If I don’t, I just ask to tour the house to help increase my market knowledge in hopes of matching them to a future potential buyer…very much the same way I tour listed homes and builder homes. I don’t try to list their house. I hope they will think of me when they decide to list, and most of the time when they do,I get the call.

                                                             If you approach the FSBO seller in this way, you’ll see they aren’t big, bad, scary monsters.  They’re just people who want to sell their house.

What do you think, are you ready to work with the FSBO seller or are you gonna hide out and hope your buyers don’t see their big, scary For Sale sign?