1. THE PROS
AND CONS
OF SELLING
YOUR OWN
HOME

2. Granted, some will argue that you won’t
save money with an FSBO. “Whenever I’ve
sold a house, and I’ve looked at
comparables in my area and come up with
a price, my real estate agent has told me
that I’m underpricing my property. If I had
done it on my own, I would have lowballed
myself,” says Debra Angilletta, a New York
City-based business coach and a
homeowner who has bought and sold
several real estate properties throughout
her adult life—but never without the help
of an agent.
PRO: YOU CAN
SAVE MONEY

3. For many people, the amount of time
necessary to sell their house is too much.
“I don’t have the time to sell homes,”
Angilletta says.
She does believe it is possible for a
homeowner to sell their own house and get
a good deal, “but you have to be willing to
put in the time, research and effort. You
have to be committed,” she says, noting
that selling a home successfully requires a
lot of expertise she doesn’t have…which
leads us to the next negative.
CON: TIME IS
MONEY

4. PRO: YOU ARE IN CONTROL
This may be the best reason to consider
selling your home on your own. You know
yourself better than anyone, and if you really
feel strongly that you can do things better
than a real estate agent, and if you’re a
proud control freak, maybe you will be
better off.
But according to Ailion, the average real
estate agent sells only four homes a year,
and 50 percent of agents sell no homes.

5. CON: YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE
THE KNOWLEDGE NEEDED.
Some of the knotty issues you’ll need to fully
understand involve the purchase
agreements, the closing documents and, of
course, any state laws tied to real estate
transactions. If your state requires you to
disclose a roof leak to a buyer, for instance,
and you don’t, you could leave yourself open
to future litigation.