If you have land that you’re ready to sell, you have a couple different options to go about closing the deal. One very popular choice is to go FSBO, which means For Sale By Owner. While selling your property on your own will save you in real estate commissions, you’ll still have an handful of other costs you’ll have to absorb, such as marketing the real estate and possibly closing costs. Then there are the non-monetary costs you’ll have, including things like the stress of managing the deal and the time you spend getting your land sold. In this post we share some of the Costs to Expect With an FSBO Listing in Arizona.
Screening Calls
From excited buyers agents calling at the most inopportune of times to unwanted spam and phishing attempts on your phone from your marketing, selling your own land as an FSBO listing in Arizona means you’re acting as a gatekeeper. Before you bite off more than you can chew, you need to have a realistic picture of the time involved. You will need to set aside several hours for answering or return calls, sorting out qualified buyers.
Emotional Attachment
Dealing with the public, in general, can be daunting for those who go it on their own with an FSBO listing in Arizona. If you bought the land years ago with big plans for it that never panned out, or if the land has been in your family for generations, you might feel an emotional attachment to the property. Add on the fact that sometimes potential buyers can be less than diplomatic in their questions and comments, and you might feel some added stress about selling. But, if you keep your life goals in mind and maintain a level head, you’ll be able to better focus on the deal and not let the emotional stuff get in the way of closing.
Showings
One of the top reasons sellers delay putting their land on the market is their dread of the entire process of showing the property. With all the tech available these days, a lot can be accomplished with good photos of the landscape, quality maps of the area, and even some 360 degree pictures. Some buyers, however, will still want to see the actual piece of earth before signing the dotted line. The good news is, you don’t necessarily have to be present when they go look, and in fact, many land buyers are perfectly happy to go out and explore on their own. As long as you can give solid directions and be available to answer any questions if they call, you can avoid the stress of real estate showings.
Marketing
Marketing the FSBO listing in Arizona properly from the start is key to reducing the number of days your property will sit on the market. The longer a listing lingers, typically, the less profit the seller will realize. This marketing plan would typically include hiring a professional photographer and drone videographer. Top-performing agents know that competition is fierce in today’s market, as buyers can quickly scroll through hundreds of online listings in a matter of minutes. So the better photos you can put on your listings, the better the chance you have of finding a buyer.
Bargaining Table
Because you’re attached to your property, it makes handling your negotiations for your FSBO listing in Arizona a little more difficult for many sellers. Buyers could make lowball offers, which could feel insulting. They can draw out the closing, leaving you feeling frustrated. Or, in their efforts to save money on the deal, they can make comments that seem heartless and cold. Keep in mind that an emotional reaction to potential buyers during such essential negotiations can be costly.
Cleaning & Clearing
If you’ve come to the point where your land has been an FSBO listings in Arizona for quite a while but you haven’t seen much response, you may need to take a look at the state of the property. Many times potential buyers lose interest if they see too much debris or trash covering the terrain. You may need to consider putting some money into cleaning and/or clearing the land to give it better visual appeal. While this doesn’t happen with every vacant property, it is still a cost that you could incur in trying to sell your land.
Escrow
An essential step in any real estate transaction is the earnest money, usually handled by the agent and their broker, held in an escrow account until the closing. When you accept an offer and take your property off the market, your buyer will have put down a deposit, typically between one to three percent of the purchase price, to show that they are committed to making the deal. You will need to hire an attorney or arrange for a title company to retain the escrow funds when you have an FSBO listing in Arizona.
Paperwork
Most sellers work with a professional, preferring not to carry the load of all of the FSBO listing responsibilities. Along with online and local marketing for the property, this job entails complicated paperwork that falls within strict timelines and requires a considerable time commitment. Errors on this paperwork can delay or even derail your deal. If you aren’t familiar with all the intricacies of real estate paperwork, make sure you consult a professional who does to make sure you’re doing everything correctly.
Ready for the best part of this post?
Skip Listing Altogether
You can avoid the commissions and all of the hassles of an FSBO listing in Arizona! Selling to Investment Land Alliance won’t cost you a dime and won’t take much time. Because Investment Land Alliance buys land in as-is condition, directly in cash, the process takes only a few days.