ByOwner.com is a For Sale By Owner website. They provide MLS listing services. ByOwner.com is licensed in 17 states. They extend services through their network of brokers in the rest of the country
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Pros
- No listing agent commission
- Buyers can contact you directly
- You can add up to 50 photos
- Yard sign available for individual purchase
Cons
- Expensive MLS package
- Sub-par technology
- Packages not comprehensive enough
- No infomration available for associate brokers
ByOwner.com is one of the oldest FSBO companies. They help you to list on the MLS without a Realtor. You can also list on their website to rent out your property.
ByOwner.com has a “For Sale” page where you can list your home only for $39/month. The exposure you get depends on the traffic their website generates. And if you want to list on the MLS, you have to use their $499 plan.
ByOwner.com has a 100% online listing process. You need to fill out a form and your listing goes live within 24 hours. What they can improve tech-wise is to provide a dashboard to manage showings and offers. This will simplify your FSBO journey further.
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✍️ Editor’s Take: For most home sellers, we recommend listing with Houzeo over ByOwner.com. With Houzeo’s stellar tech, you can manage your listing, schedule showing, and counter and compare offers online. Compare ByOwner.com vs. Houzeo.
Is ByOwner.com Legit?
Yes, ByOwner.com is a legitimate company founded in 1996 and is owned by Greg Sullivan. The company is based in Florida and licensed in 17 states through Wild Wild West Group LLC.
ByOwner.com partners with brokers for the states where they are not licensed. We tried searching for these brokers, but couldn’t find them on their website. We suggest you contact ByOwner.com’s customer service to know about the brokers in your state.
How Does ByOwner.com Work?
ByOwner.com specializes in selling residential properties, homes, condos, vacant land, townhomes, multifamily properties, and commercial properties. They don’t offer MLS listing services for commercial properties.
To list your property with Byowner.com, click on the ‘sell’ button on their website and provide your zipcode. You need to select the package you want to purchase. Post that, here’s what you can expect:
- Create an Ad: Fill in your property details to create an advertisement for the listing.
- Provide Contact Information: Add the contact details you want to share with the buyers. You can choose to not display your number on the MLS. If you do so, the buyer has to contact ByOwner.com and they will forward the lead to you.
- Add Property Description: Upload photos and videos and describe your house to attract potential buyers. Also, tell the buyers about the features of your home.
- Review and Pay: Go through the information and make changes if necessary. Lastly, pay the amount and purchase a package.
ByOwner.com makes your listing live on the MLS within 24 hours. They also syndicate your listing with national real estate websites within 24 to 48 hours.
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✍️ Take Note: ByOwner.com’s yard sign is available for individual purchase. You can get it for $49.95 on their website.
Where Does ByOwner.com Operate?
ByOwner.com offers its services in all 50 states and DC. They are licensed in 17 states. Obtaining a broker’s license in certain states like Texas, California, and New Jersey is difficult. Yet, ByOwner.com has licenses in these states. Here are all the states that ByOwner.com holds a license in:
What Does ByOwner Offer?
» Jump to: ByOwner.com Listing | MLS Package | MLS Plans for Rentals
ByOwner.com offers 2 packages for home sellers and 1 package for rentals. You can choose to list the property on their website or the MLS.
As the listings on ByOwner.com website don’t have much traffic, you will lose potential buyers if you only list on ByOwner.com. On the other hand, their MLS plan lacks many essential services.
1. ByOwner.com Listing – $39/month
| 👍 What We Like | 👎 What We Don't Like |
|---|---|
| ✅ Inexpensive | ❌ No MLS listing |
| ✅ 7-days free trial | ❌ Minimum market exposure |
👉 Our Take: This is a monthly plan. You pay $39 per month. This package doesn’t include an MLS listing. So, finding a buyer through this package will be hard.
- 🚩 Stay Alert: For a 6-month listing, you will need to pay $234. You can get an MLS listing with their competitors for this price.
2. MLS Package – $499
| 👍 What We Like | 👎 What We Don't Like |
|---|---|
| ✅ Flat fee | ❌ No agent support |
| ✅ Contact directly with buyers | ❌ No listing management platform |
| ❌ Customization not available |
👉 Our Take: On average, an MLS listing package is between $200 and $400. So, this plan is quite expensive. Moreover, you will lack some essential features in this plan.
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👉 Note: ByOwner.com used to provide a professional representation listing package service for $1295. They have since discontinued this plan.
3. MLS Plans for Rentals
ByOwner.com also allows you to showcase properties for rentals. Their rental package costs $399. If you choose this plan, your listing will be live on MLS and ByOwner.com for 3 months.
ByOwner.com provides you with a rental guarantee. According to this, if you don’t find a tenant in 3 months, your listing will get a free extension of 3 months on the ByOwer.com website, but not on the MLS.
ByOwner.com Reviews
ByOwner.com has a 4.6 out of 5-star rating on Google based on 26 reviews. While most reviews are positive, some ByOwner.com reviews are conflicting in terms of their complicated process and expensive plans.
ByOwner.com Reviews: Praises
✅ Lawrence is happy to save on real estate commissions with Byowner.com.
I Sold my home in 30 days through ByOwner and saved over $14000 in commission
Source: Google
✅ Marjorie made 2 sales with the company and was satisfied with their services.
Absolutely the best way to sell a home. It was our second time using Buy Owner to sell our home. The Elite package is the way to go. Agent Mary W . was wonderful and guided us through the whole process. Once we had an offer, the legal department quickly reviewed it and offered suggestions. Once in place, closing was a breeze. Don’t be afraid to do it on your own!
Source: Google
ByOwner.com Reviews: Complaints
❌ David had an unpleasant experience and felt a lack of guidance in the process.
This is the worse representation anyone can have.. You are selling a home not a car of craigslist. There is a lot of liability and legality involve in a sale f a property to just handle it on a online person on the other side with no idea of the market. Who is going to fight for you in a negotiation process? yourself? as a owner? who is going yo make sure you don’t get sue after the transaction is done? you?
Source: Google
❌ In one of the ByOwner.com reviews, Brent found the process intricate and lengthy.
To complicated and such a long process
Source: Google
Pros and Cons of ByOwner.com
Let’s evaluate the pros and cons of ByOwner.com to see if they are an ideal choice for you:
👍 Pros
- No Commissions: ByOwner.com doesn’t charge listing commissions for any package.
- Direct Contact with Buyer: You can choose to directly contact the buyer.
- Market Exposure: If you opt for their MLS listing package, your listing also syndicates with national real estate websites with Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.
- Yard Sign: ByOwner.com yard signs are available for individual purchase. You don’t need to purchase a package for that. ByOwner.com yard sign is priced fairly.
- Additional Exposure: In both the packages of ByOwner.com, you can purchase up to 50 photos.
- Professional Staff: As ByOwner.com reviews suggest, their staff is professional, and has good customer service.
👎 Cons
- Expensive MLS Package: Their MLS package is more expensive than industry standards.
- Sub-par Tech: ByOwner.com’s platform has some areas of improvement. They can include features like listing or showing management, paperwork automation, etc.
- No Information of Brokers: We cannot find any information on brokers associated with Byowner.com. You need to enquire about this from their customer service.
- No Plan for Professional Services: As they have discontinued their professional representative package, you have no flexibility to get services like contract reviews, showings, and open houses.
Competitors of ByOwner.com
» Jump to: ByOwner.com vs. Houzeo | ByOwner.com vs. Congress Realty | ByOwner.com vs. Beycome
If ByOwner.com’s services didn’t excite you, here are 3 alternate companies you can consider:
1. ByOwner.com vs. Houzeo
ByOwner.com Real Estate is popular for their $39/month plan. But your listing won’t be visible, as their website doesn’t get much traffic. And, if you list on the MLS with ByOwner.com, you’ll have to pay a lot more than the industry standards.
With Houzeo, you pay $399. Houzeo offers great tech, unlimited listing changes, open houses, and a comprehensive platform to create listings, schedule showings, and track your sales. So, your per-dollar value is much higher than that of ByOwner.com.
Moreover, if you want, you can also get agent support from Houzeo. ByOwner.com doesn’t give you this flexibility.
| ByOwner.com | Houzeo | |
|---|---|---|
| Listing Fee | $499 | $399 |
| Customer Rating | 4.6 stars (26 reviews) | 4.9 stars (7,140 reviews) |
| Coverage | Nationwide Coverage | 47 states + Washington D.C. |
| Showings Management | ❌ | ✅ |
| Offer Management | ❌ | ✅ |
| Counter an Offer | ❌ | ✅ |
| Request Highest and Best Offer | ❌ | ✅ |
| Home Inspection Dashboard | ❌ | ✅ |
| Leads Dashboard | ❌ | ✅ |
2. ByOwner.com vs. Congress Realty
Congress Realty is an FFM company serving primarily on the West Coast and the South. While ByOwner.com only offers 1 package, Congress Realty offers 4. So, you have more flexibility to choose.
ByOwner.com’s $499 package is similar to Congress’ $399. Congress Realty’s Jared Andrew English has extensive experience. He negotiates more monthly sales than 99% of realtors do in their careers. And he has stellar customer reviews.
3. ByOwner.com vs. Beycome
Beycome is a Flat Fee MLS listing service provider. They are known for their affordable plan. Beycome allows you to list your property on the MLS for just $99. On comparing ByOwner’s $499 plan to Beycome’s $399 plan, you get more benefits. These benefits include pro photography, and customizable flyers and brochures.
So, of the two, Beycome is a better choice for you. The only drawback of Beycome is their limited coverage. They only offer services in 10 states.
Best Flat Fee Companies Near You
If you want to look for alternatives to ByOwner.com’s services, here are the top flat fee companies for you.
Other Options You Should Consider
- Sell to an iBuyer: iBuyers purchase homes needing minimal repairs in as-is condition. They can be a great option if you want to sell your house fast.
- Sell to Cash Home Buyers: Individual cash home buyers make all-cash offers, usually within 24 to 48 hours. They also let you skip listing on the MLS.
- Sell For Sale By Owner: For Sale By Owner websites help you list and sell a house yourself, saving thousands in agent commissions. Many FSBO websites will also help you with the paperwork.
Is ByOwner.com Worth It?
The most compelling factor of ByOwner.com is their $39/month listing. But if you go for this package, you’ll lose on the MLS listing. Homes listed on the MLS sell faster and for 17.5% more than homes not listed on the MLS. So, MLS listing is the best way to sell a house.
If you wish to get on the MLS with ByOwner.com, you’ll have to pay $499. This is more expensive than the current industry standards.
Houzeo is the top choice of home-sellers to list on the MLS. Houzeo’s packages include some must-have features like showing management and offering management tools. So, you can easily track your listing, schedule showing, compare and counteroffers, and request the best offer.
» Houzeo Reviews: Check out why more than 7,000 home sellers have rated Houzeo 4.9 stars out of 5 on Google and Trustpilot.
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Frequently Asked Questions about ByOwner.com Reviews
Is ByOwner.com legit?
Yes, ByOwner.com is a legitimate company founded in 1996. The company is one of the oldest FSBO websites founded by Greg Sullivan. ByOwner.com is licensed in 17 states through Wild Wild West Group LLC. In the remaining states, they offer services though their partnered brokers.
How much can you save with ByOwner.com?
You will save at least 2.5% to 3% if you list with ByOwner.com. Although you have to pay $499. If you want to save more, you can check the alternatives of ByOwner.com.
Is ByOwner worth the money in 2024?
Their MLS services are slightly on the higher side. So, we would recommend you to do your research as their competitors offer services at a lower price. Here are the top MLS listing companies that you can check out.
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