For Sale By Owner Signs: Why They’re A Big Mistake

Every year, thousands of homeowners choose to avoid real estate commissions by listing their homes themselves without a Realtor®. Makes a lot of sense, why pay 6% of the asking price if you don’t have to (especially in a down market like the current one)? There is nothing wrong with this thought process or the owner’s decision to sell for sale. However, deciding to go to a hardware store and buy a cheap red and white For Sale By Owner sign with a place to write its number in black marker is actually a mistake to be avoided.

Instead of using a For Sale By Owner sign, you must do one of two things. First, you can design a custom sign that doesn’t say For Sale By Owner and looks like a real estate company sign, but with your contact information. It doesn’t have to say Real Estate, Properties, Real Estate or anything like that. It just shouldn’t say For Sale By Owner, By Owner or anything like that. It should look like a real estate broker’s sign, even if the name of the subdivision or something else is where it would normally have the real estate broker’s name. The second option is, if you’re using a flat fee listing company to gain entry to the MLS, use that broker’s sign with their contact information (as long as it doesn’t have the same ‘for sale by owner’ type of slogans or URL’s that have the cheap signs from the hardware store). You’ll benefit from the professional appearance with Realtor® logos, while receiving all the phone calls any homeowner for sale would receive with a cheap sign.

Almost any sign company, including several online real estate sign companies, can help you design and print a For Sale sign. You can have a house, a snow scene if you live in the mountains, or just have a professional look with stylized fonts in 2 or more colors. You must put an Equal Housing Opportunity logo on it. Make sure it’s the standard size metal sign you see in your area, like 2′ by 3′, and if possible, mount it on a wood post or H-frame. Many major cities have sign installation companies that install and remove poles and signs for real estate agents; again, this adds to the professional appearance of the sign.

When your sign stops looking like a cheap For Sale By Owner sign, you will stop getting so many agents hassling you to list your property with them. They’re more likely to think you’re already on an agent’s list, since your sign looks like a professional sign. (It is an ethical violation to approach the seller unsolicited and attempt to get a seller to cancel their listing and switch listing agents.) Unrepresented buyers are less likely to immediately realize that there are no agents involved and request a discount based on avoiding commissions. You’re also less likely to be approached by scammers trying to take advantage of unrepresented sellers with various schemes, such as repaying illegal payments to complicit third-party companies. Finally, the professional-looking sign will tell potential buyers that you are serious about the sale; You didn’t just throw a cheap search on an overpriced property to see if anyone would pay its higher market price.