FSBO potential problems - a seller is liable for everything and anything listed
Member since 2021 · 35 posts · 3 votes
I am thinking about the FSBO approach - when someone sells his home without an agent. I've found such an explanation:
"When listing a “For Sale By Owner” property, it is vital to understand that the homeowner is liable for everything and anything listed. This means that if a seller gives wrong information on the house, that seller will be held accountable by law.
And while some homeowners provide inaccurate information on purpose, others do it out of sheer ignorance.
If you are uncertain about specific details of your home, it is advisable to work with a real estate agent. This way, you can be sure that all details about your property will be professionally researched and accurately listed.
This would eliminate the possibility of your clients being disappointed during inspections and any legal problems arising further down the line."
Is that really a problem?
Please, share your experience on such cases. I would be interested to talk about it.
What part is a lie? The part about the realtor will “professionally research and accurately list” the property? I mean obviously even the agents don’t think that’s true as every single listing since the beginning of time basically says as far as we know, but you should do your own research as we aren’t liable for mistakes and we aren’t really sure.
If that line protects realtors is certainly protects the non-professional home seller.
what does “accountable by law” even mean? If the listing says roof is 18 years old and it’s 19 what’s the penalty? I would be surprised if 1 in 10,000 closed Fsbo deals goes to court later. Luckily most states are giving the easy out for non-owner occupied properties with a form that basically says the seller didn’t live here and doesn’t know many basic things about the property.
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if this was written by someone who has done several FSBO deals themselves I'll change my opinion. Until then it's either meant to scare the reader or encourage the use of realtors.
I'm in the real estate industry and in the past was an agent and here is my opinion: selling your home on your own is a viable option if you're willing to do EVERYTHING a real estate professional does. I could build my own engine but I don't. I use a pro. But if I wanted to wrench around in the garage eventually I could figure it out.
Disclosure is, of course, important. But a seller selling with an agent still has disclosure requirements. And since a majority of law suits in real estate come from a lack of disclosure I do think there is some increased liability being consumed by a FSBO since it is just a bit harder to prove you didn't have intent (or really you've got more incentive to) misled.
This is why I personally use a friend in the industry when selling my personal home (the one I live in).
Dunno if that helps but those are my thoughts.
What part is a lie? The part about the realtor will “professionally research and accurately list” the property? I mean obviously even the agents don’t think that’s true as every single listing since the beginning of time basically says as far as we know, but you should do your own research as we aren’t liable for mistakes and we aren’t really sure.
If that line protects realtors is certainly protects the non-professional home seller.
what does “accountable by law” even mean? If the listing says roof is 18 years old and it’s 19 what’s the penalty? I would be surprised if 1 in 10,000 closed Fsbo deals goes to court later. Luckily most states are giving the easy out for non-owner occupied properties with a form that basically says the seller didn’t live here and doesn’t know many basic things about the property.
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if this was written by someone who has done several FSBO deals themselves I'll change my opinion. Until then it's either meant to scare the reader or encourage the use of realtors.
thank you for sharing. As I understand, agents have insurance to cover their mistakes. Maybe FSBO sellers also can buy some kind of insurance?