Secret To Save Money When Selling Real Estate

When people start looking for homes for sale, they almost always start their search on the internet. Buyers have access to all the same MLS listings that Realtor’s do. In most cases, buyers looking for homes online actually tell their real estate agent which homes they want to see. Because the internet is so essential for home selling, the #1 thing to do to sell your home is have it show up on the MLS.

It used to be that the only way to have your home appear on the MLS was to hire a full service real estate brokerage to list your home at 5-7% of the gross sales price. You have to pay the listing brokerage the selling fee regardless of if who actually finds the buyer. But now, you can get all the advertising available by selling your home as a MLS listing, for a lot less money.

A flat fee MLS service will allow you to sell by owner if you can find a buyer yourself, and have the complete MLS exposure. Many of the potential buyers viewing your home have already signed representation with a real estate agent. You will still need to be prepared and able to pay a buyers agent a 3% commission, if they bring you a buyer. This still saves you almost 3% by not having to pay the listing side of a real estate commission. However, a lot of the time buyers will contact the person selling by owner, even if they found the property off of a MLS site. Most buyers don’t like contacting Realtor’s either, until they absolutely need them. A lot of the time they go to check out the exterior of the home, and the neighborhood, before they call a real estate agent. When this is the case, your savings from using a flat fee mls service will be much greater.This could bring you a savings of nearly $3,000 for every $100,000 worth of house. Not exactly chump change.

While California flat fee MLS services can save you a lot of money, there are also disadvantages of using these services. Companies that sell flat free MLS listings generally don’t offer much service, advice, or help. Only experienced sellers, and people who understand real estate rules and contracts should use flat fee real estate brokerages.