Do many people still regard all FSBO listings as scams?

Question

What do you think from buyers' and buyers'agents' side it is a real problem working with FSBO?

The Unspoken Problems with "For Sale By Owner" (FSBO)(link is external)
(CA Realty Training, Aug. 22, 2022)
"Although there are quite a number of legitimate sellers out there, many people still regard all FSBO listings as scams. This is a problem that hinders the success of most FSBO sales. Without an agent, there are huge chances that someone may try to sell a property they don't own. Buyers don't want to go through the stress of having to fix issues like this, so they'd rather just avoid them."

Steve Vaughan · Answer

Just verify ownership on the county assessor website. Tons of info there. Deed and sales history, legal description, etc.

Nathan Grabau · Answer

There is a joke among agents that FSBO are just future listings, that being said it is very easy to avoid this being a scam. Just use a title company to hold all of the funds in their escrow accounts. They'll do a title search and confirm authentic ownership.

You get into trouble is when people buying without an agent hand a FSBO seller an envelope full of cash or a wire to a personal account for an escrow deposit and just wing the sale.

Russell Brazil · Answer

I dont view them as scams. A typical fsbo seller though I find difficult to get a deal done with. Im sure out of something like 100 Ive tried to get a deal done weve been successful on maybe 10 of them.

Scott E. · Answer

Plan to spend ~$2,000 in closing costs when closing with a title company. Worth every penny.

And regarding your original post, this is the first time I've ever heard of FSBO listings referred to as scams.

Alex Goncharov · Answer

How much it will typically cost to check this with a Title company ?

Effram Barrett · Answer

I was prospecting a lot that was for sale last year via FSBO on Zillow, but the owner said he never had it for sale. Fast fwd 2 months when I followed up with him, he said the title company contacted him because his name is obviously on the deed that someone was trying to sell his lot without his consent or knowledge.

The fraudulent seller would have made 50K from the sale and the buyer thought they had a steal (no pun intended) purchasing the lot, but luckily the title company was on their A game. In TX, the majority of transactions go through title. I can see how FSBO's can be seen as scammy but there are ways to mitigate that.

Alex Goncharov · Answer

Can you please give an example link?

Alex Goncharov · Answer

Bob, how do you find those off-market properties?

Something like this https://www.vulcan7.com/ ?

Alex Goncharov · Answer

How to select a Title company for FSBO ? What important criteria do they need to consider while selecting?

Do many people still regard all FSBO listings as scams?

Do many people still regard all FSBO listings as scams?

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