Questions, answered the long way.

FSBO stands for "For Sale By Owner." It means selling your house without hiring a real-estate listing agent or broker. You set the price, you write the listing, you handle the showings, you negotiate the contract, and you close. FSBO sellers have the option to hire an attorney to review the contract and a title company to handle closing.

Roughly 15% of U.S. home sales close FSBO every year. It's legal in all 50 states.

For more, read our primer: What is FSBO?

Yes. The library, the checklists, the listing-draft generator, the account are all free. There is no premium tier.

Free online estimates (Zillow Zestimate, Redfin Estimate, Realtor.com) are a starting point but they're algorithmic guesses based on public records and recent comps, and they can be off on their calculations.

Your county appraisal district publishes the assessed/appraised value of your home for property tax purposes. That value is not necessarily the same as the home's current fair market value or what it could sell for today.

The defensible way to set a price is a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). Our Estimate your home's value (free) article walks through it. We do not run valuations and we do not present any single number as authoritative. Always consult with a professional to get your home's true market value.

Yes. If FSBO turns out not to be the right fit (you're under a deadline, the home needs major work, you're handling probate or divorce and want it done, or any other situation), you can request a direct cash offer through /get-offer. We'll ask for basic info, do a walkthrough, and present a no-obligation offer. When the offer makes sense, you choose whether to accept.

Yes. In all 50 states, you can legally sell property you own without hiring a real-estate agent or broker. No state requires homeowners to use an agent to sell their own home.

However, every state has legal and procedural requirements that still apply to FSBO sales such as: property-condition disclosures, federal lead-paint disclosures for many pre-1978 homes, deed and transfer-tax filings, contract requirements, and closing procedures. Those obligations generally apply whether the home is FSBO or agent-listed.

You will almost always need either a title company, closing/escrow company, or real-estate attorney to complete the transaction properly.

In Texas and some southern and western states, title companies commonly handle the closing process, including the title search, escrow, title insurance, payoff coordination, and closing paperwork. Attorneys are usually not required at closing in those states.

In some eastern states like Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and New York, attorney involvement is either legally required for closing functions or is the industry standard in residential transactions.

Even when an attorney is not legally required, many FSBO sellers choose to hire one to review the purchase contract and closing documents, especially in higher-value or more complex transactions.

Pause, read the article that covers wherever you got stuck, and come back to it. Real-estate transactions move on a timeline of days/weeks/months, not minutes. You almost always have time.

When in doubt, hire help. A real-estate attorney can be hired for contract questions. A licensed professional if you can't pin down a price. A title company to assist with procedural questions & closing procedures.

If you would rather just sell your home directly to us, the direct-offer option at /get-offer is always there. Use it.

ownFSBO is an educational platform that provides free informational resources to homeowners about the home-selling process. The content is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, financial, or real estate brokerage advice.

In addition to educational materials, ownFSBO may present homeowners with the option to receive a direct purchase offer from our company. In these cases, ownFSBO (or its affiliated entities) acts as a principal buyer purchasing properties directly from homeowners. We do not act as a real estate broker or agent representing buyers or sellers in third-party transactions.

Participation in any offer process is entirely optional and does not require the use of our educational resources or services.

Most U.S. real estate websites are English-only. Our educational library is being translated into Spanish, with an English/Spanish toggle available on each page for accessibility.

The founders and team behind ownFSBO have experience participating in real estate transactions, including purchasing properties directly from homeowners. However, ownFSBO does not provide legal, tax, or real estate brokerage services.

Homeowners are encouraged to consult licensed professionals for advice specific to their situation.