Northern VA FSBO(for sale by owner) mistakes

Every day I have FSBO craigslist classified postings emailed directly to my inbox. Every weekend I run comps on these properties to determine if the property is priced correctly. Most of the time FSBO properties are priced too high, but that is not what this post is about.

This weekend I emailed 13 FSBO properties being sold by their owner here in Northern Virginia to schedule a time for a tour of the property. Can you guess how many emailed me back?

2 owners emailed me back.

Do you see a problem with this?

I feel that most homeowners that turn into FSBO sellers underestimate the number of inquiries that will have to be handled during the sale of a home. There needs to be a system in place that will

1. Log every lead that is interested in the property

2. Contact and qualify these leads promptly before allowing a tour of the property

3. Follow up with every lead weekly until the property is sold.

Buyers do not care about anything going on in your life, they don't care about your busy schedule. They want to buy and home, and they want to buy it yesterday. If you have a poor system in place to manage these leads once you have posted an ad you will surely miss out on qualified buyers and a quick sale.

Thanks for giving this post a read, follow my blog or check back frequently for more FSBO mistakes, and how you can avoid them.