For sale by owner (FSBO) is a real estate term which describes the situation in which a property is offered for sale directly by its owner and without that owner having obtained the help of a real estate broker, implying that no real estate commission is associated with the sale.

In recent years, the term has been used more broadly to describe the process of marketing, buying, and selling of real property without the representation of a real estate broker. Many sellers who choose to sell via FSBO do so to avoid paying a commission to a broker, typically 6% of the selling price of the property. If a seller markets a home as a FSBO, and a buyer who is not working with an agent wants to buy this home, the seller pays no commission because no real-estate agents are involved. If a buyer who is represented by an agent is interested in a FSBO home, that buyer's agent may request the owner to pay him or her a commission or finder's fee for bringing the buyer.

In order to protect themselves, sellers typically arrange to have the necessary real estate forms at hand or have them drawn up for them. Real Estate attorneys will normally draw up an agreement for a fixed fee often as part of legal representation for the purchaser.

One service often provided by commercial FSBO websites is a connection to the publicly accessible portion of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is the main source of information for Realtors. The flat-fee MLS option allows the seller to cut out the listing broker's commission completely, thus reducing the seller's payment either completely or in half.

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