For Sale By Owner

Real Estate Transactions For Sale By Owner

A For Sale By Owner transaction (FSBO) is a home or piece of real estate that is being sold directly by the seller (owner), without using a real estate listing agent. There are many positives and negatives when selling your real estate this way.  One clear benefit to the seller with this type of transaction is they do not have to pay a commission on the sale of their home to a real estate agent. One negative would be that you might not be selling your property for top dollar without using a real estate agent’s resources. Many sellers who try to sell their home on their own, if unsuccessful, will call in a real estate agent to handle the marketing and showing of the property and negotiate the sale price.

With the popularity of real estate websites, For Sale By Owner transactions are becoming less uncommon. As a real estate law firm, we recommend using a professional real estate agent to list and sell your property; however, if you opt to not use one, we would like to earn your real estate business.

Before you start to advertise that you are selling your house, contact us and we can explain to you what exactly needs to happen to get the deal done smoothly. You will still be required to complete the real estate contract and other appropriate paperwork and we can help to ensure that it gets completed correctly and on time. The real estate contract contains many time commitments and deadlines that must be met, and the last thing you want to do is make a costly mistake. In Illinois, the seller is responsible for drafting all of the required documentation to transfer the property to the buyer. Title companies and real estate agents are prohibited from drafting the deed and accompanying sale documentation and cannot handle the transaction unless an attorney drafts the paperwork.

If you are doing a FSBO transaction, be prepared to invest a lot of time and effort to close the deal. Be prepared to have to deal with the buyer’s real estate agents, marketing, and showing your home. Although it is a lot of work, it can be done, and we are here to help.