Save Yourself Thousands in Real Estate Commission By Using Flat Fee MLS
Posted 10/30/09
Real estate commission has typically been calculated strictly as a percentage of a homes selling price. The real estate agent would earn that commission at a rate of five to six percent of the sale price, which many argue is much too high for so little work. It is not difficult to agree with that argument, especially in situations where the transaction goes smoothly from beginning to end and requires very little legwork on the part of the agent.However, homeowners now have an alternative. Real estate commission (at least from the sale side of the transaction) can be eliminated from the equation through the use of the Flat Fee Multiple Listing Service when selling your home. For a flat fee, you will have your home listed through the Multiple Listing Service, and hundreds of other websites around the country, for maximum exposure. You may not realize that many real estate agents limit the amount of Internet exposure they give your home in order to increase their chances of earning the sale commission. With Flat Fee Multiple Listing Service, you will have access to all the marketing tools that traditionally were reserved for agents alone without having to pay thousands of dollars in real estate commission at time of closing. You will still be responsible for the portion of real estate commission due your buyers agent, if they find your home through a broker, but that will still be a fraction of the commission you would owe if you used your own broker.
The Flat Fee Multiple Listing Service allows you to hang your own For Sale By Owner sign, which has the potential of attracting even more buyer traffic to your door, since prospective purchasers will be dealing directly with you and not through your broker. Attracting a buyer in this manner saves you even more in real estate commission in that there will be no buyers broker commission to pay, either. You can potentially save yourself thousands of dollars. Of course, you will also run the risk of alienating some brokers who may be reluctant to bring buyers to you for that very reason, but using the flat fee system to avoid real estate commission is well worth it.
Using the Flat Fee Multiple Listing Service does not mean that your transaction will be 100 percent broker free. Only a licensed broker who belongs to the Multiple Listing Service can list a home through the service. With Flat Fee, you will be assigned to a licensed broker who will monitor your listing and act as your point of contact. That broker will be ultimately responsible for maintaining the accuracy of your listing and for keeping it current.