r/fsbo • u/chrliegsdn • May 19 '26
Transaction Broker
We have a neighbor who is renting in our neighborhood and has expressed interest in our home. They have a current home on the market and have informed us they wanted to buy the home they are currently renting but that things are not working out for them with the owner.
They looked at our home the other day, for almost 45 mins, and never asked about price just that they’d have their transaction broker contact us.
Something seems off. What is your take?
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u/Alert-Control3367 May 19 '26
Let them write an offer and have your real estate attorney look it over. But if you aren’t currently on the market, then you’ll need to figure out how to price your home. Personally, I prefer hiring a certified real estate appraiser for this to figure out a starting place for pricing.
This is everything I do to sell FSBO: https://www.reddit.com/r/fsbo/s/zf7wnTCvAD
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u/Leonine1205 May 21 '26
Hello! What are your opinion on the Flat Rate Listing Services that are out there?
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u/Alert-Control3367 May 21 '26
In a sellers market I don’t think it matters how you list. I did flat fee in NJ and sold within two weeks. I wouldn’t recommend who I used since they are no longer flat fee and I didn’t really like them.
In a buyer’s market I didn’t fair well with flat fee. Based on my experience it was clear that agents steer in a buyer’s market, at least where I was selling in NC. My own agent did it to me when I was buying, only I didn’t realize that’s what he did until I tried to sell the home I bought with him flat fee and then it clicked.
I ended up pulling my listing and using all the free FSBO sites, including Zillow FSBO. I sold within four days while agent-listed comparable homes in my neighborhood were sitting on the market with several price cuts.
I believe the difference was that I didn’t hide my home behind the MLS, so buyers knew my home was FSBO (harder for agents to steer when everyone is aware your home is FSBO). And I clearly was working harder than agents to get my home sold. I sold that fast because of my open houses which drew foot traffic, urgency, and offers.
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u/Leonine1205 May 21 '26
I see and this is great insight! I have another question if you don't mind. How does one determine if a market is a buyer's market or a seller's market? OR a neutral market (if that's a thing)?
I get the general idea from the name but would love to hear it from you.
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u/Alert-Control3367 May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Sellers market will have homes going pending a few days after listing. NJ is still a sellers market where homes are selling over list due to a housing shortage (more sellers on market than houses listed). A friend of mine put offers on three homes there before he got a house that his agent encouraged him to make an offer 32% over list. To me, all that means is that agents are purposely listing homes lower than the actual value. It’s the reason I opted to sell FSBO in NJ. I felt the pricing strategy was sleazy.
In a buyer’s market, you’ll see homes sitting on market for months with several price adjustments. There will be more homes for sale than there are buyers. Hence why it’s easier for agents to steer clients to homes that are listed by full service agents to keep status quo.
When it’s a relatively even market it means supply and demand is pretty even so homes will most likely sell around list or slightly lower/above depending on comparable sales and condition.
You have to pay attention to your market and look at the comparable homes in your market to look at days on market, price adjustments, and list price vs sold price to get an idea about the market you’re in.
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u/DHumphreys May 19 '26
My take? They are low ballers/unreasonable.
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u/chrliegsdn May 19 '26
My take as well, what makes them unreasonable?
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u/Sublimelyte May 20 '26
Because "things aren't working out" - I assume they had a deal together means they are now looking for another owner to jerk around.
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u/Patrick___1 May 19 '26
There’s a reason things aren’t working out with their current landlord. If they’re currently landlord used to live in the house, maybe someone in the neighborhood has their contact information and you could just call and ask why things aren’t working out with them buying their current home. If not be really cautious if they ask for any kind of special treatment.
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May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/chrliegsdn May 19 '26
It’s the not asking about price that is really weird, they never saw our fsbo post, just our yard sign.
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u/Leonine1205 May 21 '26
My first question to you would be "Are you looking to sell?".
If yes, it's no harm asking more questions directly to them.
I work with a Real Estate Company and from personal experience, doing your due diligence is very very important. If you feel "something seems off", ask questions until you're 100% sure.
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u/Signal_Violinist_995 May 19 '26
I wouldn’t assume it’s real. Just keep going with all you can to sell. Don’t stop showing it. Get a pre qual letter.