If you've ever considered selling your house as a For Sale By Owner, think again. Here are a few reasons not to.

Meet Dana. Her and her family wanted to save in real estate commissions in this 'hot' market so they put up a yard sign and waited for the phone to ring. After a month an interested couple came along. The excited buyers proceeded and the home was under contract.  

Not long after the deal closed Dana was presented with a lawsuit. Backtrack to 1 month prior, she had filled out the seller's disclosures without being advised on answering truthfully. When she answered 'no' to the roof ever leaking, it was quite arguable when the buyer discovered that the seller had put a fresh layer of Kilz over the active water damage in the attic to cover evidence of a situation. Had the buyer known this to be true, they would not have purchased the home. That said, the situation quickly turned ugly. 

Her lawsuit expense depleted the entire profit of the sale and Dana and her family were left with nothing to show for their investment. Very common mistakes made by homeowners unfamiliar with the process--which could have simply been avoided with the guidance of a professional Realtor. This is just one of many pages to a contract. The sellers liability is enormous, and having an experienced agent represent you is critical. 

Here are other reasons why FSBO is a bad idea: 

• It takes a lot of time to sell. Realtors have the benefit of listing homes in the MLS database, which is accessible and seen by all Agents looking for their clients. They have strategic marketing plans they execute to reach the broadest number of buyers possible. They are networked with thousands of other realtors looking for homes for their buyers. They have access to all the hot real estate websites to market your home. They have databases of thousands of prospective buyers they reach. And they spends many hours every day tapping into these resources. The broader the buyer pool, the more likely your home will sell for more money, in a shorter amount of time. FSBO sellers must rely solely on the sign in the yard generating the appropriate exposure of the home. 
• Contract Negotiations. Realtors are well-versed in contract terminology and are skilled negotiators. They negotiate the contract, both terms and price, to ensure you get the most money for your home with as few repairs as possible. 
• Contract Forms. Standard real estate contracts are not available to FSBO sellers. They must purchase generic forms online, in office supply stores, or hire an attorney to create a usable form. They are not well vetted, provide less protection to the seller (and buyer), and are often unclear. 
• Net a lower profit. In general, most FSBO sellers make less money selling the house on their own than they would using a Realtor, even after paying real estate commissions. This is because Realtors have strategic marketing plans in place, have a profoundly higher buyer pool looking at the home, are experts at generating interest, are skilled negotiators, and get the deal closed faster without costly mistakes. 

These are just a few reasons why sellers should consider using an experienced Realtor rather than a high risk transaction of a For Sale By Owner.