{"id":91518,"date":"2026-08-04T08:38:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=91518"},"modified":"2026-08-04T08:38:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:38:41","slug":"fsbo-i-sold-my-home-without-an-agent-in-1997-but-would-i-do-it-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id91518-fsbo-i-sold-my-home-without-an-agent-in-1997-but-would-i-do-it-again.html","title":{"rendered":"FSBO: I Sold My Home On My Own in 1997. Would I Do It Again?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FSBO\"Longtime readers may remember that I\u2019ve sold exactly one house in my lifetime. It was 1997. I began with a real estate agent, moved on to a second real estate agent, and eventually decided that disappointing service was the only feature included with both contracts.<\/p>\n

So I fired the second agent too.<\/p>\n

Then I sold the house myself.<\/p>\n

I told the full story in an earlier article explaining why I didn\u2019t think the agents were worth what I was being asked to pay<\/span><\/a>. The short recap is that my first agent did almost nothing to market my modest starter home beyond entering it in the Multiple Listing Service and printing a few fliers.<\/p>\n

The second agent\u2019s fliers looked nicer.<\/p>\n

That was the most noticeable improvement.<\/p>\n

Eventually, I found the buyer myself. I hired an attorney who charged me a flat $300 fee to handle the negotiations, while the title company took care of most of the technical paperwork.<\/p>\n

And that was that.<\/p>\n

No agent. No percentage commission. No commemorative fruit basket either, but somehow I survived.<\/p>\n

Of course, that happened almost three decades ago. So it\u2019s fair to ask whether I would still try to sell a home without a traditional agent today.<\/p>\n

The answer is yes.<\/p>\n

Well\u2026 probably.<\/p>\n

First, a Reminder About What I Actually Did<\/h3>\n

Although I sold my house without an agent, I didn\u2019t literally do everything myself.<\/p>\n

I found the buyer. I dealt directly with the people interested in the property. I made the decisions. But I also paid qualified professionals to handle the work that I wasn\u2019t comfortable doing on my own.<\/p>\n

That distinction is important.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sale by owner\u201d (FSBO) sometimes creates an image of a homeowner standing in the front yard with a cardboard sign, a ballpoint pen and a contract downloaded from a website operated by somebody named Honest Eddie.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t my strategy.<\/p>\n

I eliminated the traditional agent, but I didn\u2019t eliminate professional assistance. I simply purchased the services I needed separately instead of paying for all of them through a commission based on the sale price.<\/p>\n

In other words, my 1997 sale was less about refusing help and more about refusing to pay for help that I didn\u2019t believe was providing sufficient value.<\/p>\n

That remains the heart of the issue today.<\/p>\n

Selling a Home Is Easier Today<\/h3>\n

In some ways, homeowners have far more tools now than I had in 1997.<\/p>\n

Back then, the Internet was still clearing its throat. Most people weren\u2019t carrying miniature computers in their pockets, and online real estate searches were nowhere near as important as they are today.<\/p>\n

Social media didn\u2019t exist. Digital signatures weren\u2019t part of everyday life. A \u201cvirtual tour\u201d probably involved looking at vacation slides in somebody\u2019s living room.<\/p>\n

Today, homeowners can research recent sales, study competing listings, advertise online, communicate instantly with prospective buyers and hire photographers, stagers, appraisers, lawyers and other specialists without relying on one person to arrange everything.<\/p>\n

That should make selling your own home easier.<\/p>\n

And in many respects, it does.<\/p>\n

But technology has also raised buyer expectations.<\/p>\n

In 1997, taking decent property photos meant keeping your thumb away from the camera lens. Today, buyers may expect professional photography, measured floor plans, polished listing descriptions, video tours and enough high-resolution images to document every closet shelf in the house.<\/p>\n

Technology has made it easier to reach buyers. It has also made poorly presented homes look even worse beside professionally marketed competition.<\/p>\n

So yes, the modern seller has more power.<\/p>\n

The modern seller also has more ways to make a mess.<\/p>\n

The Percentage Problem Hasn\u2019t Disappeared<\/h3>\n

\"FSBO\"My biggest objection to the traditional commission model has always been the relationship between the work performed and the value of the property.<\/p>\n

Suppose two similar homes require roughly the same amount of marketing, communication, paperwork and negotiation. One sells for $500,000 and the other sells for $1 million.<\/p>\n

Under a percentage-based model, the compensation tied to the second property can be significantly higher even though it may not require twice the work.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

Because percentages are funny that way.<\/p>\n

A percentage sign is tiny. The check it produces is not.<\/p>\n

This is why I have always believed real estate compensation should be evaluated like every other major household expense: What am I getting, what is it worth, and is there a less expensive way to obtain the same result?<\/p>\n

Longtime readers already know that I once included high-end real estate agents among the jobs I considered particularly overpaid<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subtle, I know.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean every agent is overpaid. A skilled professional who develops an effective pricing strategy, creates excellent marketing, finds qualified buyers, manages difficult negotiations and keeps a complicated transaction from imploding can provide substantial value.<\/p>\n

But the seller should be able to identify that value.<\/p>\n

Simply entering a property into a listing system and waiting for another agent to bring the buyer may not justify a large fee, especially when the homeowner is doing much of the preparation, cleaning, decision-making and schedule disruption.<\/p>\n

Then again, compensation models aren\u2019t identical everywhere, and neither are the responsibilities associated with them.<\/p>\n

My 1997 California Sale Isn\u2019t a Canadian Instruction Manual<\/h3>\n

My sale took place in Southern California under the practices and legal framework that applied there in 1997.<\/p>\n

That FSBO experience should not be treated as a step-by-step guide for somebody selling a home in Canada today.<\/p>\n

Canada is not simply the United States with friendlier cash and better manners.<\/p>\n

Real estate is regulated provincially. Forms, disclosure practices, terminology, listing access and the roles played by lawyers or other professionals can differ depending on where the property is located. Commission arrangements also vary by province, brokerage, service package and individual agreement.<\/p>\n

Canadian homeowners may encounter true private sales, flat-fee listing arrangements, limited-service packages, fixed-fee representation and traditional full-service models. Those services are not interchangeable, even when their advertisements make them sound as if they are.<\/p>\n

For example, paying a brokerage to place a home on MLS\u00ae and REALTOR.ca does not necessarily mean the seller is receiving pricing advice, negotiation support or full representation. It may provide valuable exposure while leaving most of the actual work and responsibility with the homeowner.<\/p>\n

Anyone north of the border considering this route should start with a practical breakdown of the available options and responsibilities<\/span><\/a> before assuming that an American FSBO story from 1997 applies directly to a current Canadian transaction.<\/p>\n

Trying to follow my old California playbook word for word would be like using a Los Angeles road map to find a coffee shop in Quebec.<\/p>\n

You may eventually get somewhere.<\/p>\n

But not before annoying everyone else in the car.<\/p>\n

FSBO Is No Longer an All-or-Nothing Decision<\/h3>\n

\"FSBO\"One of the biggest misconceptions about selling without a traditional agent is that the homeowner has only two choices:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pay for full traditional representation.<\/li>\n
  2. Do absolutely everything alone.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    That was never entirely true, including in my case.<\/p>\n

    I hired an attorney because I wanted someone qualified to negotiate and protect my interests. I relied on the title company for technical work. I found the buyer and managed the sale, but I paid for expertise where I believed it mattered.<\/p>\n

    Homeowners can take the same approach today.<\/p>\n

    An FSBO seller may decide to hire:<\/p>\n