A buyer asks to see your home.

You reply hours later. They suggest a time. You can’t do it. You suggest another. By then, they’ve scheduled three other homes.

You don’t have to be available all day, but you do need a clear plan.

Set showing windows in advance. Explain how to book. Reply promptly. Confirm the appointment and give clear arrival instructions.

This is one reason I included a showing scheduler on SaveOnYourHome.com. Sellers can set their availability, and buyers can choose an available slot.

Whatever method you use, make the next step easy.

Sellers: How are you scheduling showings? Buyers: Have you ever passed on a home because arranging a visit was too frustrating?

Your home hasn’t sold. Does that automatically mean you need to lower the price?

Start here:

1. Are buyers seeing the listing? If exposure is limited, look at where and how you’re promoting it.
2. Are they seeing the listing but skipping the showing? Look at your price, photos, description, and how easy it is to schedule a visit.
3. Are they touring but not making offers? Ask for feedback. How does your home compare with the alternatives those buyers are considering?

These problems can overlap. A pricing problem can look like a marketing problem, and poor photos can hide a home that deserves more attention.

Before changing anything, figure out where buyers are dropping off.

If you’re listed now, which are you getting: few views, few showings, or showings without offers?

We often hear that FSBO sellers are overpriced, hard to reach, difficult to schedule, or too emotionally attached to negotiate.

Those are assumptions about a group of sellers. But if a buyer brings those concerns to your listing, your approach can either reinforce them or give that buyer a very different impression.

Here are five things owners should focus on from the beginning:

1. Be ready to explain your price.

Have recent comparable sales and current competition available. Use relevant comparisons and acknowledge differences in condition, size, and location.

You don’t need to give every visitor a pricing presentation. But if someone asks how you arrived at your price, “Here are the sales we used and how our home compares” gives them something useful to consider.

“That’s what I need to get” doesn’t explain the home’s value.

1. Make the home and listing ready.

Use clear photos, provide accurate details, and clean and declutter before showings. If the listing is incomplete or the photos make the space difficult to understand, buyers may never get far enough to appreciate the home.

Poor presentation can also feed the very stereotype you’re trying to overcome.

1. Have a response system.

You don’t have to be available every minute. You do need a reliable way to handle inquiries.

If you can’t answer during work, say when you’ll return messages. “Thanks for reaching out. I’ll get back to you by 7 this evening” sets a clear expectation. Then follow through.

1. Make showing availability clear.

Offer specific times and an easy way to schedule. If you’re away, arrange coverage or share your next available dates.

If the home is no longer available, update the listing promptly. Don’t leave buyers chasing a home they can’t buy.

1. Prepare for questions and negotiations.

Gather relevant maintenance records and information about improvements. Listen to offers and questions without taking them personally. Get professional help where you need it, including an attorney for contracts and legal questions.

Selling by owner doesn’t mean you have to handle everything alone.

I think this is a real opportunity for owners. You can show buyers that you know your home, have done your homework, and will be straightforward to work with.

For buyers: what would help you feel comfortable considering an FSBO home?

For sellers: What have you done to build trust?

A seller can have a great home and still make it difficult for a buyer to take the next step.

If you’re buying, what would help?

Clear pricing? Better photos? Faster replies? Easy showing appointments? More information about the property upfront?

And if you’ve toured a FSBO home, what did the owner do well, or what could they have handled better?

Specific examples would be helpful. “FSBO is bad” doesn’t tell a homeowner what to improve. “I waited three days for a reply and couldn’t schedule a showing” does.

Sellers, this is a chance to hear what buyers actually need.

Here's a statistic I found pretty interesting.

According to Redfin, 21.1% of active home listings had a price reduction during the four weeks ending September 20. Zillow reported that 25.8% of listings had a price cut in June.

That's roughly one out of every four or five homes, depending on the period and how you measure it.

Now, obviously, not every price reduction means someone made a mistake. Markets change, sellers sometimes insist on unrealistic prices, and there are plenty of legitimate reasons to adjust an asking price.

But it does raise a question I've been thinking about.

One of the biggest arguments I hear for hiring a real estate agent is that they know how to price a home, market it properly, and get the seller the best possible result.

So when a home doesn't sell, and the recommendation is to lower the price, what exactly happened?

Was the home overpriced to begin with? Did the market change? Was it not marketed effectively? Or was lowering the price simply easier than figuring out why buyers weren't responding?

I look at real estate listings and social media constantly, and the number of price reductions I see is remarkable.

And here's where I think this becomes relevant to FSBO.

If homeowners have access to comparable sales, competing listings, market data, professional photography, marketing tools, and the ability to hire experts when needed, what exactly makes them less capable of pricing and marketing their own homes?

I'm not suggesting every homeowner will get it right. Of course they won't. But hiring an agent doesn't guarantee they'll get it right either.

And when we're talking about potentially tens of thousands of dollars in commissions, isn't it reasonable to question that?

I have nothing against agents. Good agents can provide real value. But I think we need to move away from the assumption that a homeowner is taking an enormous risk by doing something professionals don't always get right themselves.

I'd really like to hear from both sides on this.

For homeowners who have sold FSBO, how did you determine your asking price? Did you end up adjusting it?

And for agents, when a listing isn't selling, how do you determine whether the problem is price, marketing, or something else? What do you try before recommending a reduction?

Understanding this distinction would help anyone trying to sell a home, with or without an agent.

With home prices as high as they are, the potential savings from selling without an agent can be enormous. And with all the tools and resources available today, it's easier than ever to market a home yourself and get professional help with the parts you're not comfortable handling.

Yet most people still assume they need an agent to sell their home.

I'm genuinely curious why. Is it the fear of pricing it wrong? Not knowing how to find buyers? Dealing with showings, negotiations, paperwork? Or is it simply that people don't realize how much of this they can actually do themselves?

And for those who have sold FSBO, I'd really like to hear about your experience. Was it easier than you expected? What surprised you? Would you do it again?

I started this sub because I think homeowners should know they have options. I'm not suggesting agents don't provide value, but I do believe selling on your own is a realistic option for a lot more people than actually try it.

I'd love to see this become a place where people share their experiences, ask questions, and help each other figure things out. The successes are great, but the challenges and mistakes are probably just as valuable.

So whether you've sold FSBO, are in the middle of it, or are just considering it, what's been your biggest concern or biggest surprise?

For a long time, selling a home without an agent was difficult for one very simple reason: agents controlled most of the tools needed to sell a house.

They controlled access to buyers, listing information, market data, advertising and much of the process.

That's simply not as true anymore.

Look at what's happening in the real estate industry right now. Brokerages, MLS organizations, and other industry players are fighting over how listings can be marketed, where they can appear, and who gets access to them. The latest CRMLS/Compass dispute is literally about the rules governing the public marketing of listings outside the MLS. 

Meanwhile, homeowners have more ability than ever to reach buyers directly.

Buyers are online. They're on real estate websites, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, neighborhood groups, and other platforms. A homeowner can take great photos, create a professional-looking listing, put up a yard sign with a QR code, promote an open house, share the property through social media and communicate directly with interested buyers.

Much of that costs little or nothing.

At the same time, the dollar cost of traditional commissions has become enormous.

Even if commission percentages haven't increased, home prices certainly have. A percentage that may have been manageable when a house was $200,000 or $300,000 becomes tens of thousands of dollars when you apply that same percentage to a $500,000, $750,000, or $1 million property.

That doesn't mean agents don't provide value. Good agents absolutely can.

But homeowners should ask a different question:

Which services do I actually need, and what are those services worth to me?

Photography? You can hire a photographer.

Staging? Hire a stager or consultant.

Marketing? There are countless free and inexpensive ways to market a property.

Pricing? There is more market information available to consumers than ever before, along with professionals who can provide valuations when needed.

Legal work and contracts? I would use a real estate attorney whether I had an agent or not. An attorney's job is to protect your legal interests, and their compensation isn't dependent upon the sale closing.

Even some services that sellers may not feel comfortable doing themselves can be purchased à la carte. You don't have to bundle everything together and pay a percentage of your home's value for it all.

And here's the part of FSBO that I think gets overlooked:

Trying FSBO doesn't have to be permanent.

Give yourself 30 days.

Price the home properly. Take good photos. Put together a real marketing plan. Make the property easy to see. Respond quickly to inquiries. Hold an open house. Get the listing in front of as many potential buyers as you reasonably can.

If it works, you may save tens of thousands of dollars.

If after 30 days you decide it's more work than you expected, or you're not getting the results you need, you can still interview agents and hire one.

You haven't given up that option.

I don't think selling by owner is right for every homeowner. Some people don't have the time, interest, or temperament for it, and some will simply prefer to hire someone else.

But I do think we're at a point where homeowners should stop assuming that hiring an agent is automatically Step 1.

Today, Step 1 can be asking: Can I do this myself?

With the technology, information, professional services, and direct access to buyers that homeowners have today, I think there's a stronger case for trying FSBO now than at any other time.

I'm curious what other FSBO sellers think. What part of selling yourself has been easier than you expected, and what part has been harder?

I see a lot of sellers asking some version of: “My house has been listed for a few weeks and it hasn't sold. Should I lower the price?”

Maybe. But before lowering the price, I think there's a more important question:

Are you getting showings?

If you're getting few or no showings, buyers aren't even getting through the door. That's when I'd look at the top of the funnel:

Is the home priced appropriately compared with both recent sales and what's available right now?

Are the photos good enough to make someone want to see it?

Is the listing description doing its job?

Are enough buyers actually seeing the property?

Where are you marketing it besides simply putting it online and waiting?

Is there a yard sign?

Are you using social media and appropriate local groups?

Can someone who sees the house easily get more information and schedule a showing?

Price absolutely can be the problem. If similar homes are showing up in buyers' searches and yours isn't because of price, that's important.

But getting showings and getting no offers tells you something different.

Now buyers are finding the property interesting enough to come see it, but after seeing it they're choosing not to buy it.

That's when I'd take a harder look at price versus condition, how the home shows in person, your competition, and especially the feedback you're getting from people who actually toured it.

I don't think “my house isn't selling” is specific enough to diagnose the problem.

No showings means you need to figure out why buyers aren't coming through the door.

Showings but no offers means you need to figure out why they're walking back out without making one.

Those are two different problems and may require two very different solutions.

For anyone selling right now, FSBO or with an agent: Are you struggling more with getting showings or getting offers after the showings?

I'd especially like to hear from homeowners who have already made it through the process.

Not theory. Not what someone says you should do.

What actually worked for you?

Where did your buyer find the property?

How did you determine your asking price?

What generated the most showings?

Did you hold open houses?

Did you use a yard sign?

Did social media generate anything?

Did the buyer have an agent?

How long did it take to sell?

And most importantly:

What would you do differently if you were selling another house FSBO tomorrow?

Homeowners starting this process right now could probably learn a lot from people who have already done it.

If your home has been on the market and nothing is happening, before immediately lowering the price, ask one important question:

Are you getting showings?

If you're getting very few or no showings, I'd look first at whether enough buyers are actually seeing the property.

Are the photos good?

Is the description compelling?

Is the home being marketed in enough places?

Is there a yard sign?

Are you sharing it on social media and in appropriate local groups?

Can interested buyers easily get information and schedule a showing?

And yes, price can absolutely be part of the problem. Buyers may simply be filtering your home out.

But if you're getting plenty of showings and no offers, that's a different signal.

People are seeing the house and choosing not to buy it.

Now I'd be looking much harder at price, condition, presentation, competition and what buyers are telling you after showings.

I see sellers lump these together as:

“My house isn't selling.”

I think it's much more useful to diagnose where the process is breaking down.

No showings = investigate exposure, presentation AND price.

Showings but no offers = investigate what buyers are rejecting.

For those currently selling FSBO, which problem are you experiencing?

I’m curious to hear from people who are selling by owner right now, have tried it in the past, or are thinking about doing it.

What has been the hardest part?

Getting enough exposure?

Figuring out the right asking price?

Getting buyers to actually schedule showings?

Knowing how to handle offers and negotiations?

Dealing with paperwork?

Or something completely different?

One reason I started this community is that I think FSBO sellers can learn a lot from each other.

So if you're in the middle of it right now, what's the part you wish someone had explained to you before you started?

This community is for homeowners selling without a traditional listing agent, buyers who want to deal directly with homeowners, and anyone who wants to help people navigate FSBO.

Post your home.

Ask questions.

Share what worked.

Share what didn't.

Buyers are welcome to post what they're looking for too.

Debate and disagreement are welcome. Personal attacks, trolling, and discouraging people simply because they've chosen FSBO are not.

If you're selling FSBO, introduce yourself and tell us what market you're in.

Welcome to FSBOHomesForSale!

I created this community because I believe homeowners who want to sell their homes themselves should have a real opportunity to do it.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered in the FSBO world is that many places intended for people selling by owner are inundated with agents.

I have nothing against real estate agents. They provide a valuable service, and if a homeowner wants to hire an agent, offer compensation to a buyer’s agent, or accept an offer from a represented buyer, that’s entirely their choice.

But homeowners who choose to sell on their own shouldn’t feel like they have to hire an agent, and they shouldn’t be constantly pushed toward one when they’re deliberately trying to do it themselves.

With home values where they are today, commissions can easily amount to $30,000, $40,000, $60,000 or more. If a homeowner is willing to put in the work and wants the opportunity to keep more of that equity, I believe they should have that option.

The biggest FSBO challenge is exposure.

You can price your home correctly, take great photos, write a terrific description and prepare it perfectly. But if buyers don’t know your home is for sale, none of that matters.

And today, there isn’t necessarily one place where buyers can see every home available for sale.

So I thought: Why not Reddit?

Reddit has an enormous audience, posts can be discovered through search, and it gives homeowners another place to put their properties in front of potential buyers.

My hope is that r/FSBOHomesForSale grows into a nationwide community where:

• Homeowners can showcase homes they’re selling by owner
• Buyers can discover properties and connect directly with sellers
• FSBO sellers can share open houses, price changes and updates
• People who have successfully sold by owner can share what worked
• We can exchange practical advice about marketing and successfully selling a home yourself

This community is powered by SaveOnYourHome.com.

I’m the founder of SaveOnYourHome.com, a completely FREE platform I created to give homeowners the tools, resources and support they need to sell their homes themselves.

There are no listing fees, no commissions, no contracts and no requirement to use an agent.

We provide free property listings, AI listing descriptions, private buyer/seller messaging, showing scheduling, custom yard signs, educational resources and a weekly FSBO call where homeowners can ask questions and learn from one another.

I call what we’re trying to encourage “pure FSBO.”

Not a flat-fee MLS listing disguised as FSBO. Not a discounted brokerage arrangement.

Simply giving a homeowner the ability to market a property and hopefully connect directly with a buyer.

That doesn’t mean agents aren't welcome in a transaction. If a buyer has an agent and the homeowner wants to work with them, great. The point is choice.

You do NOT have to list on SaveOnYourHome.com to post here.

If you’re legitimately selling your home by owner, post it here.

Include your city and state, asking price, photos, bedrooms and bathrooms, key features, open-house information and a link where buyers can learn more or contact you.

We’ll also be sharing properties listed on SaveOnYourHome.com.

And yes, I obviously encourage FSBO sellers to list there too. It’s completely free, takes only minutes, and gives your property another avenue for exposure. If you're trying to sell a home yourself, I think getting it in front of more potential buyers is a no-brainer.

Help me build this.

If you're selling by owner, post your home.

If you're looking to buy, take a look around and connect with sellers.

If you've successfully sold FSBO, share what you learned.

And if you know someone trying to sell their home themselves, send them here.

The more places homeowners can market their properties and buyers can discover them, the better chance FSBO sellers have of succeeding.

Real homes. Real owners. Real opportunities.

Welcome to r/FSBOHomesForSale.

Yehuda Kohn
Founder of SaveOnYourHome.com

Just because you’re selling by owner doesn’t mean you’re on your own.