SERIES: Types of buyers and why FSBO's can't get them

Corporate Relocation clients or Transferees. The creme-de-la-creme of buyers! A buyer is relocating to a new city - yours - and has a limited amount of time to spend searching for a new home for his or her family. Most of these buyers are assigned a corporate relocation specialist inside a relocation company to take care of as many details as possible for the busy executive so he or she doesn't have to worry about the move. This busy executive needs to hit the ground running, identify property in a minimum number of visits and then select one so he or she can get to work.

Corporate relocations are handled mainly by two large nationwide companies in the US, and when they receive a new executive, the begin working on handling all the details of the transfer. One of their main tasks is to assign the exec a professional agent in their new home city. Typically, the exec has two days to locate a home, and the Realtor assigned the task of helping the exec books approximately 10 showings a day for each of two days. Half the time, the exec chooses one of the homes without input from the rest of the family. The other half, the spouse flies in and views the top few homes and a selection is made together.

This buyer is the most high-quality buyer in the marketplace. He or she is extremely qualified - these kinds of relocations are expended mostly on top-tier executives with commensurate salaries. The executive is motivated - he or she needs to locate a home as quickly as possible in order to settle the family comfortably into their new surroundings. And the situation for the exec us usually urgent. There is a limited amount of time for home viewing as the start date in the new city is already set.

For Sale By Owner homes miss out on these ideal buyers by not having their homes listed with a Brokerage Company and having their home listed in the MLS. Even those FSBO's that do have their homes in the MLS frequently miss out on these buyers when they cannot accommodate showings on the agent's schedule. Of course it makes sense to a FSBO seller that if someone is truly motivated to see their home, they would be willing to come back a day later after work, or perhaps to a Sunday open house. But these sellers fail to realize that the agent leading the tour will simply select a different house that meets the criteria for the exec AND fits into their busy showing schedule.