How To Best Approach A “For Sale By Owner” FSBO Prospect As A Loan Officer

FSBO’s are a great source of new customers for you, and are an often overlooked demographic. Put yourself in their shoes. (If you’ve ever tried to sell property yourself, you know what I mean).

FSBO’s are:

* An un-tapped resource that many loan officers don’t even know about.

* Do-it-yourself types that are independent minded.

* Fairly knowledgeable about real estate (or at least they think they are!)

* Skeptical of outsiders, because they think you may be a real estate agent, trying to get a commission on their house. (Once you show them you can help them, and for FREE, their resistance melts away).

* Most of all, FSBO’s are looking to save money on real estate commissions, usually 6% of the selling price. On a $400,000 house, this is $24,000 out of their pocket!

FSBO’s need:

* An outside opinion on the real estate market.

* An estimate of the approximate value of their property.

* Marketing materials to help them sell their house.

* Someone they can ask questions of, and someone who can act a trusted advisor to them during the process.

* A way to weed-out all the tire kickers and time wasters that want to view the house, but who are NOT qualified to make a buying-decision (because they don’t have financing set-up).

* New financing set-up for the new property they will be buying, from the proceeds of the sale of their home.

As a loan officer you can provide all of this to the FSBO prospect and more. You’ll not only save them time and money, but a lot of heartache as well. And in return, the FSBO, will provide you with a steady stream of interested buyers who are looking to purchase a home.

And remember, even if the buying prospect doesn’t purchase the FSBO home you are dealing with—you still win! You STILL get a prospect who needs financing arranged and is readily looking for a property. It’s a perfect match—and everybody wins!

You’ll want to keep the above points in mind when you make your approach to the FSBO client. These are the hot-button points to make when speaking to them. I usually advise sending a letter first, followed by a phone call.

If you aren’t already considering FSBO’s into your business plan, you’re missing a huge opportunity and a virtually untapped market. Yes, it takes a bit of effort on your part. But a little bit of time invested upfront, can pay huge dividends down the road. You’ve got nothing to lose, so give it a try!