For some Arkansas homeowners looking to sell, For Sale by Owner (FSBO — pronounced fizz-bow) is the preferred way to skip real estate agents and save on commission fees. This is especially appealing to those who are familiar with the process, want more control over the transaction, or simply prefer a hands-on approach.

However, if it’s your first time selling a home on your own, you might be wondering exactly how to sell a house by owner in Arkansas. Although it offers flexibility, it’s not a popular route, with FSBOs only representing 6% of home sales in 2023.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to selling FSBO in Arkansas, covering what can be the most difficult aspects of the transaction. We’ll also provide a comprehensive overview of the full process of preparing, marketing, and closing on your home without the assistance of a real estate agent.

How does selling by owner (FSBO) work in Arkansas?

FSBO is a method of selling your home without the involvement of a listing agent. In a FSBO scenario, the seller assumes the responsibilities that would normally fall to their agent, such as pricing the home, arranging showings, and negotiating the deal.

Agent commissions

For decades, the seller has been responsible for paying agent commissions, which typically range from 5% to 6% of the home’s sale price in an agent-assisted sale. This fee was split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. Recently, however, agent commission rules have changed following the historic National Association of Realtors lawsuit settlement.

Under the new commission structure, sellers are no longer required to pay their buyer’s agent’s fee, as buyers are expected to negotiate directly with their agents. Thus, sellers working with an agent only have to cover their listing agent’s fee, which is about 2.5% to 3% of the home’s sale price, depending on negotiations.

But while these new rules aim to reduce fees, some sellers still feel the need to cover the buyer’s agent’s fees to entice more buyers or expedite a sale. Thus, if you partner with a realtor, you may be looking at paying a commission of 3% (your listing agent’s fee) to 6% (your listing agent’s fee and your buyer’s agent’s fee) of the home’s sale price.

Commission savings

By selling FSBO, you can eliminate the cost of the agent commissions since you won’t have a listing agent, and paying for the buyer’s agent’s fee is only an option. But if you do decide to cover that, you’ll only pay around 2.5% to 3% of the home’s sale price, saving you a good chunk of money.

Even with new commission rules in place and in a FSBO transaction, buyer’s agents expect compensation for the work they do to bring a buyer to a sale, such as arranging showings and helping to tee up and qualify the buyer. Plus, when a seller isn’t working with an agent, the buyer’s agent may end up carrying more of the weight to get the deal to the finish line.

A FSBO sale does not mean that a seller won’t need any professional assistance. While the state of Arkansas doesn’t require a real estate attorney at closing, FSBO sales typically warrant legal and professional oversight of some kind to avoid an abundance of legal risk.

Most people who sell by owner will need to hire an attorney to review and prepare key documents and make sure paperwork is filled out properly, such as the seller’s disclosures. We’ll address what disclosures are required when selling a house in Arkansas later in this post.