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Be careful on choosing any of these services local or Internet based. A huge local flat fee MLS Company in my area went out of business about a year ago.
There are MLS for owner services out there, usually charging around $500 plus the buyer's agent commission (usually 2.5-3.5%) that you determine. These same agencies will also charge you extra for signage, for negotiation assistance, and administrative assistance, but all of that is a la carte, so you get to pick and choose the tasks you don't want to deal with, and hire them out.
Keep in mind, if you do not want to pay any commissions at all, don't bother with the MLS. Over 95% of all MLS inquiries wll come from agents. Furthermore, the average home sold by owner sells for 8-16% less than one listed with a full service agent, mostly because of a lack of marketing and negotiation skills. Finally, listing agents are lowering their commission structure across the country, as their marketing costs go down, thanks to the internet. Its now poossible to get full service and pay as little as a 4% commission. Your attempt to save some of your equity may not be that necessary.
" Furthermore, the average home sold by owner sells for 8-16% less than one listed with a full service agent, mostly because of a lack of marketing and negotiation skills."
i researched flat fee mls in my area (phoenix, az) and found a few that charge $299 for 6mo. mls listing. each one provided different extras and the more extras you want the price goes up.
artyst, those are the fees to the LISTING broker, you will still have to pay a commission to the broker who brings a buyer, typically 3%. I'll list in tempe for 4.5%, so the savings are not that much, full service versus zero service.
4.5% for full service is one h*ll of a great deal! Five percent is the lowest I have ever seen in my area for full service.
A real estate agent in your local area may be willing to do so for a flat fee. Or, check out www.owners.com. For $399, they'll put you on the local MLS - but be careful, they don't work with all MLS services in the country.
Be very careful about using nationwide flat fee companies. I recently spoke with a seller who had listed thir house with a large, well know company only to find out later that the large company was not a member of the "local" mls. They put the house on a large mls that primarily serves an area about 60 miles away and the seller didn't realize they were getting almost no local exposure whatsoever. They complained, but were out of luck, so after pay over $1000 they really got nothing for their money.
About the only thing I would add here is that sellers need to be careful when choosing a flat fee listing service to get on the MLS. They make you put the agent's number on the yard sign and in the MLS listing. If the contract you sign says that the flat fee listing service gets the buyer's commission if THEY find the buyer, that should be a BIG red flag. When an unrepresented potential buyer calls the agent, the agent can refuse to give the buyer your contact information. Instead, the agent "finds" this buyer for you, and you wind up paying the buyer's agent commission to your flat fee broker when there was no buyer's agent. As a potential buyer, this happened to me. I called the seller directly when the flat fee broker refused to give me the seller's contact info, but many buyers would not pick up on what the flat fee broker was trying to do. I should add that I've dealt with other flat fee brokers who gladly passed me along to the seller. Not all flat fee services are the same. Be careful and READ THE CONTRACT!!!!
I don't think you should use discount brokerages when you go to sell you biggest assest. I think you should use a full service broker who has experience and knows what they are doing. Would you go to a discount house if you need a surgery? Or to Mexico for cheap dental care? Professional in real estate are professionals for a reason. We know what we are doing. Goo dluck with the discount brokers us agents who have real buyers looking to purchase from real sellers appreciate it when the biggest assest of thie life is handled in a professional manner and not a discounted manner.
histolz, are you putting us on? When people can and do sell their homes without any help of an agent, WHY do you think that a discount agent will not be enough? You and the other agents do not have the training that a doctor has - don't compare yourself to a surgeon or a dentist. NO, I don't know anyone who has done their own brain surgery but I know many that have sold their own homes let alone have a discount broker help. Don't post things that make you look foolish.
Welcome Heather
It is good to see that Zillow saw that your one post was brilliant enough to award you All Star status. The regulars on this site who are buyers and sellers will take very seriously your analogy of doctors and Realtors. :)
Nice slammin' the discount guys.. I work for a discount firm we do $595 at time of listing and 4% at closing.. (1 to us, 3 to the buyers agent..) We do full service, and always act professionally.. what we don't do is throw around a bunch of pompous crap and compare ourselves to people with advanced degrees who literally hold peoples lives in their hands.. people are much more saavy these days..they need assistance selling homes.. it's not rocket science..
"would you go to mexico for cheap dental care?" YES! funny you should use that as an example, here is my friend's company DIAL DENTAL in local news...
Beware of any online service offering to list your home on the MLS.
Instead, contact a local company charging a flat fee.
Just remember, you get what you pay for!
Good Luck
Since August 2009
Jennifer is right, find a local flat fee company. Owners.com program is very limiting and doesn't offer very many services. You want to be on MLS w/ max photos & Realtor.com with multiple photos, not just a simple listing on there. I have a flat fee company in Arizona and can let you know about companies in other states as I have an extensive network of FSBO on the mls companies. Good luck!
Hi great info
Are there any San Diego county flat fee companies that have a good rep.
Looking for one that doesn't charge more commission in addtion to what is already given to buyer's agent. A similar format to owners.com if I understood it correctly
It is definately best to go through a local broker. We are a local brokerage that provides flat fee services and we are contracted out by the larger online companies to provide local service. Deal directly with the local flat fee brokerage and save a couple hundred dollars off the top!
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How do you go on the MLS as For sale by Owner?
yourcasa
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Hello,
With so many websites out there offering MLS services, I am wondering which is the official one that owners selling their home can go on?
I see a few that want to charge a commission from your sales price (which we don't want). We are looking for the MLS that provides good exposure and had a flat fee without having to higher a realtor or pay a percentage of your home sale? I am aware of the free sites, but I am specifically looking for MLS service too.
Any ideas?
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