Posted By:
JKKyle,
If you sell it by yourself, you will still have to offer the buyer's agent (assuming there is one) a commission or else you wont get any traffic at all. Any ad should state that you will pay the buyer's agent a commission. You should also pay to list the house with the multiple listing service (there are ways to do that now even if you are not an agent yourself).
My wife and I recently sold our house and unintentionally/luckily were able to do it by owner. About a month before we were ready to put our house on the market, the agent who worked as our buyer's agent (we had already purchased a new house that was being built) told us that she had some buyers coming in from out of town and wanted to show them our house. To make a long story short, her buyers ended up choosing our house. I technically sold it "by owner" but did pay the agent a 2% buyer's agent commission.
I do think that most FSBO properties are listed too high and that is one reason they dont sell. My father in law recently tried to sell their house by owner and had to hire an agent after 6 months. It sold, but for a good bit less than they had it listed (though probably closer to market). Finally, I agree that you should have your own lawyer look over any paperwork, but typically, its the buyers who select the closing lawyer (and pay for it).