List for Less on the MLS

The Details about Flat Fee MLS Homes For Sale By Owner MLS Marketing Method

The Multiple Listing Service has been used for nearly a decade by real estate professionals, but Flat-Fee MLS Listing is still relatively new marketing method for most home sellers. Using this Full Service realtor alternative, the property owner literally pursues both methods of marketing through the realtors MLS and FSBO(for sale by owner) simultaneously. This can be accomplished several ways, but the similarity is that the listing agreement will specifically reserve the right to sell the home yourself and avoid Selling or Buyers agent commissions and the listing broker will only receive a flat fee for the listing function and no selling commission. This type of listing agreement can provide that the owner will have the continuing right to market the property themselves and avoid further commissions altogether if the owner finds a buyer from their own marketing efforts.

Flat Fee MLS Listing for Home Sellers

Home sellers find that Flat Fee MLS Listing service, or fixed fee MLS listing service, is an excellent value, and gives more control than a discount realtor would. Flat fee MLS listings are a new evolution in real estate services...more than just a way to get a cheap MLS listing.

Listing on the MLS for a flat fee can save you money

When you sell your home through a full-service realtor, they place your property on the MLS. When a buyer is found(usually by another agent), they will show your property to the potential buyer. Once the sale is set, your realtor collects usually 3% of your home sale price, as well as 3% going to the agent that found your buyer. Now imagine cutting out the middleman. If you list your home on the MLS for a flat fee, you pay only that flat fee to get onto the MLS, and the commission to the agent that finds a buyer. As an added benefit, some Flat Fee MLS Companies give you the option to find your own buyer, and sell your home as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) listing. In that case, you just pay the flat fee and PAY NO COMMISSIONS!

Will it be more difficult to Flat Fee List my Home?

Some realtors say it is more difficult dealing directly with a self-represented seller and their associated flat fee MLS company, than it is to deal directly with another realtors.

realtors representing buyers are responsible for writing the sales contracts. A listing agent is not responsible for writing the sales contract. The Realtor® representing the buyer will be doing 75% of the work and the listing agent will spend 75% of their time worrying about whether the deal will close. The other 25% of the time is spent asking the buyer's agent how the closing is coming along.

What is the MLS (Multiple Listing Service)

The MLS is a proprietary electronic database that contains every residential home, vacant land, and commercial property listed by realtors for sale or lease within a geographical area. Created by the National Association of realtors (NAR), the MLS is the most widely used source of properties for sale by realtors in the United States. The MLS combines all realtor-listed properties in one database within a large geographic area. realtors are members of a local Board and pay an annual fee which allows them to access their local MLS. The MLS contains detailed information on the properties it lists, records of all recent closed sales and their sales prices as well as property tax information. With this information, realtors are able to generate comparable analyses of properties and custom searches by any criteria. The MLS also provides a platform for realtors to state the listed properties' commission participation to other realtors. This is why you do not typically see For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) properties listed in the MLS. Additionally, many realtors do not approach FSBO's because there is no stated commission agreement.

A full service listing agreement is typically a 6 month listing. The main drawback of most full service agreements is that the Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Agreement most often used by realtors is a contract which lasts 6-9 months. You cannot sell your house "FSBO" during this listing period. Customarily, a 6% commission is shared between the listing agent and the selling agent (sometimes the listing agent is also the selling agent). Flat-fee MLS listing saves you the listing side of the commission(which is usually 3%) because you become the listing agent for a flat fee.

With Flat fee Listings, if you are successful finding a buyer for your property on your own without the assistance of a real estate agent, then you would pay NO commission; just the flat fee. It's that simple.

When a realtor searches the MLS database, they do not care who listed the property. Their primary concern is that the customary 3% commission is being offered. All listings in the MLS state the commission being paid. We recommend offering 3% or more. (Visit Street Smart ADDvantage to learn about a commission strategy to get you better and more plentiful offers.) The purpose of using a discount MLS listing service is to avoid paying the customary 3% listing side of the commission while still getting the benefit of the MLS. The key is that you must be willing and able to show the property yourself.

Flat Fee (MLS) services can be designed for Investors & Sellers who have the experience and time to show their properties. This means your property is placed (or listed) in the number one real estate database in America used by the best realtors in your area. Every time a licensed real estate agent searches for a home or vacant land in your price range for one of their clients, your property will appear in the available properties for sale. All calls from your MLS listing will come directly to you, if you have a good flat fee MLS company.

MLS - How it Works

The MLS is not one big database of all properties for sale. There are many separate MLS databases throughout the country.
Each MLS covers a specific geographic area. Some MLS databases overlap areas.
Some realtors boards share data or "reciprocate" with each other. Members of either board have the passwords to access each other's MLS and search listings.
Some realtors pay to belong to "MLS Advantage" which gives them the ability to search listings for all participating boards.
Sellers need to be listed in an appropriate local board where MLS data will be seen by the local realtors in that area.

Realtor.com, unlike the MLS, is one big database of properties for the entire US. Data on Realtor.com comes directly from all of the MLS databases. It is not as extensive as what the realtors see but it does give buyers a way to search properties in a limited way.

Beware of cheap(but more expensive) imitations

Home sellers should be aware that some companies call their services "Flat Fee MLS Listing" services but they reserve a sales commission for themselves in the sales contract. That means the Buyers Agents are actually being offered less commission to sell your home than they are being offered to sell other homes on the market(and therefore, your home may not get shown to any buyers at all). Alternatively, some slimy Flat Fee companies contract with you to pay a sales commission which is in excess of what the listing agent is actually offering to pay to the Buyers Agents so that the listing agent can keep a listing commission for themselves while they are calling it a "Flat Fee Service" just to get you to buy a plan with them. A true Flat Fee MLS Listing means that there is no extra fee being kept by the listing agent. It also means a flat dollar amount is what you will pay, not a percentage value.