If you’re selling your home for sale by owner (FSBO), hiring a flat-fee MLS service can help you increase your listing’s visibility without breaking the bank. Flat-fee MLS companies charge a set rate to list your home on the local multiple listing service (MLS), a database of homes for sale in your region.
What Is A Flat Fee MLS Service?
According to Wikipedia, a flat fee MLS service is “the practice in the real estate industry of a seller entering into an ‘a la carte service agreement’ with a real estate broker who accepts a flat fee rather than a percentage of the sale price for the listing side of the transaction…The primary objective of a flat-fee listing is to be exposed on the MLS and cut the listing side of the commission completely out by dealing directly with ‘buyer’s agents.’”
Many people are wanting to avoid paying real estate agent commissions that can top six percent. With the average cost of a home in the U.S. at $278,900, sellers can fork over nearly $17,000 at closing. Why so much? Sellers are responsible for paying not one, but two agents’ commissions at closing. Typically, three percent go to their own agent and another three percent go to the buyer’s agent as a fee for bringing the buyer to the sale.
What many sellers don’t know is that both commissions are negotiable, particularly in today’s competitive market. Still, even with a discounted commission, sellers want to keep more of their own money. This is the main reason why so many home sellers decide to sell their own homes through For Sale by Owner (FSBO).
With FSBO, the home seller takes on all of the responsibilities a licensed real estate agent has, such as listing their home on the MLS, which is proprietary to real estate agents and brokers. The only way for a non-licensed homeowner to get their property listing on the site is to pay an agent the commission or pay a broker a flat rate MLS fee to access it.
Do I Really Need My Property to Be on The MLS?
In the strongest terms, YES. The MLS is THE place to get your property found. Unless you have neighbors, family, friends, or co-workers who are wanting to buy your home off-market, you will likely have a difficult time selling your home without an MLS listing.
The MLS is a database of property listings and all of their many details. Agents fill out the fields for their clients and then make it “live,” where other agents and brokers can see it in a search. The listing is also available to real estate websites, such as REALTOR.comⓇ, Zillow, Trulia, and real estate agency websites. All of these sites make the property database searchable for consumers.
Do I Still Work with A Real Estate Agent If I Use A Flat Rate MLS Service?
Typically NO, with a flat fee MLS service, you pay only to gain access to the MLS. The agent will not be working for you to list your home, market your home, negotiate deals or walk you through all of the contracts. If you are an FSBO, you will do all of this yourself, unless you pay a separate fee for agent support.
Can I Really Save Money Using a Flat Fee MLS Service?
Yes, in fact, when buying or selling your home with Beycome, you can save a significant amount of money by bypassing the traditional method of marketing your properties. With several options available to owners, the challenge lies in understanding what each website can do for you. Pay attention to the rates and the packaged services to find the platform that is compatible with your requirements, and don’t pay for services that you don’t need.
For instance, beycome’s basic package is totally free. However, enhanced services can be added by sellers to help meet your marketing goals. When owners reduce their transaction costs, they have more leeway to offer discounts on selling price or the rental rate, so cost savings trickle down to buyers and renters.
Buying and selling a home can be a complicated transaction, but Beycome’s revolutionary platform has simplified the process so that you can complete the sequence from house-hunting to closing negotiations on beycome.com. Contact our team of real estate pros to get started on your real estate adventure right away.
Comments are closed.