One of the biggest thing that any FSBO seller has to worry about is getting their home sale advertised and recognized in the local marketplace. This has stereotypically been one of the biggest drawbacks of FSBO as homes have had trouble competing with the high-power, high-budget advertising campaigns of realtors and major market brokers. Well, as the old adage says "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" And that is precisely what many FSBO sellers have been doing. Historically the most powerful tool the agents have is the MLS. This was one thing that FSBO's did not have access to and it was the agents major advertising method. Well that has changed and there are many services offering a flat-fee listing on the MLS. This has the great asset of making your home known on a much larger basis thereby increasing the number of potential buyers.
Listing your home on the MLS not only makes your listing available to the home buying public but it also alerts realtors and brokers to the listing. Just because you have chosen to list your home yourself does not mean that you should hesitate to sell your home to one. Aside from the MLS listing, you may want to utilize a few other methods of advertising. Of course you should find FSBO signs and post them throughout your neighborhood. Another great idea is seeking out a FSBO website that has national coverage and create a listing there. The more exposure that your listing has, the better your chances are of making a quick sale. As you are running the show yourself, you will have to run the shows yourself, so to speak. This is going to involve a significant amount of emotional detachment from the home. Naturally you are going to want to show off the strong points of the home but you have to do this from a professional stature and not an owner's emotional stature. Open houses are another thing that can help advertise your home and another thing that can be trying for an owner/seller. It can be difficult hearing people tell your directly what they don't like about your home but this is to be expected and is the real test of a owner who lets their professionalism rise to the challenge.
