- 2019 Posts
- Don’t Let Intimidation Get in the Way of Home Ownership
- Setting Financial Goals for the New Year
- Buying a home after bankruptcy
+ 2018 Posts
- Why you should own a home rather than rent
- FHFA Conforming Loan Limits 2019
- How 2018 Market Trends Will Affect Wisconsin Buyers
- No Money Down Home Loans Appleton Oshkosh Green Bay Wisconsin
- Benefits of using FHA for your home loan
- Benefits of being a homeowner
- Wisconsin local lender vs online lender
- Home Loan Pre-Approval
- No Money Down Home Loan
- Serve and Support Loans
- Debt Consolidation and Cash Out
+ 2017 Posts
- Fast and Easy Refinance
- Now is the Time to Purchase a New Home
- Low Money Down Loans
- Who Can Get a VA Loan?
- Renting or Buying
- Loan Discounts for Nurses
- USDA Home Loans
- Loan Discounts for Teachers
- FHA 203K Home Improvement Loan
- Discount for Firefighters
- Getting an FHA Loan
- Discount for Police Officers
- Rates on the Rise
- Pre-Approval and Pre-Qualification Differences
- USDA No Money Down Home Loan
- Low Credit Home Buying
- Financing your New Home
- Bankruptcy and Home Ownership
- FHA 203K Loan
- Raising Rates Impact Buyers
- Finding the Right Home
- Buying VS Renting
- Home for Neighborhood Heroes
- GSF 100% Financing
- Free Appraisal with Finance First
- Home Inspections
- Low Money-Down Loan
- VA Loans 2017
- What is Mortgage Insurance
- Tax Refund Options
- FHA Loans
- Using a Realtor
- New Year Debt
+ 2016 Posts
- New Year, New Home!
- Mortgage Pre-Approval Advantages
- Bankruptcy and Home Buying
- Credit Scores
- Home Selling Secrets
- Rates to Rise
- Ready, Set, Winter!
- VA Loans
- Holiday Dream Home
- Stop Paying Rent Today!
- No Money Down Home Loans
- Getting Pre-Approved for Your Loan
- New Home for the Holidays
- Fall Home Deals
- No Down Payment Loans
- Streamline FHA and IRRRL VA loans
- Home Buying Tip #4
- Home Buying Tip #3
- Home Buying Tip #2
- Home Buying Tips and Tricks
- HomeReady - A Home Today!
- Serious About Buying a Home?
- Can you Afford to Wait to Purchase a Home?
- If You are Renting You are Still Paying a Mortgage
- Top Reasons We Buy a Home
- A Friendly Reminder: You Do Not Need 20% Down
- Selling Your Home and Holding Out for More Money
- Why Smart Singles are Buying Homes Now
- Avoid Having Your Offer to Purchase Rejected
- Building Your Net Worth with Home Ownership
- Why You Need a Home Inspection
- Why This is the Time to Sell Your Home
- Listing Your Home with a Realtor VS For Sale by Owner
- Buyers: Using a Real Estate Agent VS For Sale by Owner
- Millennial Home Buyers
- Home Buying during a Sellers Market
- Buying Versus Renting
- Private Mortgage Insurance Good or Bad
- You Do Not Need Great Credit to Buy a Home
- Putting Your Tax Return Toward Your Future
- FHA 203K loan – purchases and refinances that include rehab money
- Have Limited Down Payment Funds - FHA may be the loan for you!
- No Money Down Loans - USDA Rural Development Loans
- Should You Buy a Home Now or Wait Until Spring
- Use your tax returns toward your home purchase and invest in your future
+ 2015 Posts
- Renting VS. Buying – The benefits of being a home owner
- Pre-Approval for New Home Purchase
- What is Mortgage Insurance - PMI
- What to know about Escrow for Taxes and Insurance with your Home Loan
- Credit Score Tips
- Refinancing and Reducing Monthly Payments
- Fall Home Buying Season
- How do I get a VA Loan
- Fall is Upon Us

Buyers: Using a Real Estate Agent VS For Sale by Owner
April 06, 2016Many people that enter the home buying and selling arena wonder if they should use a real estate agent. Many first-time home buyers are tempted to look at homes that are For Sale by Owner, or FISBO as it is known in the business. This could unfortunately be a major misstep to not tap into the years of knowledge and expertise an experienced agent has in the business with you, for free!
When a home is listed with a real estate agent, the realtor has taken his or her time, going through an above-board vetting process with the home sellers. The realtor has filled out important disclosures for the new buyers such as, stating the condition of the home, existing liens and known defects of the home. Realtors take their jobs very seriously and are sure to disclose any known defects or structural problems of which the home seller is aware.
Your realtor will write a legally binding offer to purchase on the home, ensuring you have the right to a home inspection, rates that are agreeable to the buyer, and may make more contractual stipulations protecting the home buyer and the seller in the process. Without this realtor guiding you though the sometimes difficult process of home selection and offer negotiation, you would be forced to do it either on your own, potentially missing important purchase details, or you will need to hire, sometimes at a significant costs to you, a real estate attorney to look over every last document, but still lacking the listing agents disclosures and vetting.
The realtor for the buyer is free. The realtor is paid for by the seller through the home sale proceeds. A FISBO is a property that has not had the rigorous eye of the realtor and ever important condition/disclosure reports. For that reason your realtor will not take you to see a FISBO home, for your own protection. He or she cannot guarantee you are not being intentionally misled as to the condition of the home, or that it is free of contractor liens, or in tax foreclosure. A good real estate agent is a fountain of knowledge; there to protect you and guide you thought the ins and outs of buying your dream home.
If you are looking to purchase a home in the Fox Valley, Green Bay, and Fond Du Lac areas or beyond, please contact us today to discuss what steps you can take to make your home buying experience streamlined and painless!
Join us next week when we talk about using a realtor to sell your home versus doing FISBO.
Ron Meyer
GSF Mortgage Corporation
300 Patriot Dr.
Little Chute, WI 54140
(920) 788-9608
rmeyer@gogsf.com
NMLS #222688 & 1018