by John Prell

As a for-sale-by-owner seller, you now have the option of getting your property (home, condo, townhouse, land or rental) listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) by a licensed real estate broker for a small flat fee instead of a 6% commission.

Please note that the only way to get your property listed in the MLS is by a licensed real estate broker. You cannot list a property in the MLS yourself.

As a for-sale-by-owner, you also have the right to sell your home without owing any commission at all with our service. Even though your home is listed in the MLS you pay no commission if you sell your own home to a buyer who doesn’t have a Realtor.

If your home sells thru a real estate agent representing a buyer, you only pay that agent a commission upon successfully closing of your property. You can set the commission rate offered to buyer’s agents at time of listing. In most areas, the typical commission offered to buyer’s agents is 3%, but you can offer as little as 2%. We recommend offering the same commission that other agents are offering for homes listed in your price range in your area. Offering less will cause buyer’s agents to show the other homes before yours. The agent that lists your property is paid a portion of the flat fee that you pay us, and does not collect a commission.

You are getting the same benefit as listing with a full service realtor at a traditional 6% commission. However, you are only paying half that commission, plus a flat fee to be listed in the MLS.

When a realtor calls you for a showing and brings a potential buyer, you will know that buyer has already been pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. Realtors do not want to waste time showing homes to buyers who aren’t qualified to buy.

Plus the potential fear factor of letting strangers into your home to show your own property as a “for-sale-by-owner” is diminished. You have peace of mind when a realtor calls you for a showing when the realtor found your property in the MLS.

The MLS flat fee listing service is the smartest way to sell your property.

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the key to Home-Sales Success. The MLS lists the vast majority of real estate listings which are listed “for sale” by real estate brokers and their agents. All types of real estate is listed in the real estate multiple listing service; houses, townhomes, condominiums, commercial property, lots, acreage and even rental properties. There are hundreds of local Multiple Listing Services located throughout the nation. Real Estate Associations in all 50 US states run their own MLS Systems. Statistics show that homes listed on the MLS sell faster.

Plus your home will appear on Realtor.com and hundreds of other websites as well.

You only pay a commission at closing to an agent that brings you a buyer for your home. Your savings add up to thousands!

For example:

• A $500,000 home listed with a traditional 6% commission agent costs you $30,000 at closing
• With the flat fee listing service method, a $500,000 home listed with a flat fee broker will cost you 1/2 of that or $15,000 at closing (if the buyer came with an agent), plus the upfront flat fee.
• If the home sells without a buyer’s agent, all it cost you to sell your home is our low flat fee!

“The MLS” is the secret to success of real estate sales, directly responsible for about 4 of 5 sales nationwide. About 85% of home buyers use a REALTOR® to help them locate a property. When a possible buyer contacts a Real Estate Agent regarding a home purchase, the Agent will search the MLS for homes matching the buyers’ desires, wants and needs. Statistics show that homes listed on the MLS sell faster.

The Realtor® MLS system will help you to sell your home faster and for top dollar!

By listing your home in the MLS the vast majority of REALTORS® will become aware that your property is available as well as its price and features. The MLS is the key to a successful sale and enables you to have maximum exposure. It is simply the greatest marketing tool ever invented for selling your home.

Important information about your property is listed on the MLS. This information includes general data such as square footage and number of rooms, to such details as whether you have central air conditioning or hard wood flooring.

Real Estate Agents search the database for homes that fit the price range and needs of their clients. They pay special attention to homes that have been recently placed on the market, which is one reason you get a lot of attention when your house is first listed.

The main point about having your house listed in the MLS is that you expand your sales force by the number of area MLS members. Instead of having just one agent working for you, now you may have hundreds or even thousands, depending on the your area.

The Power of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

The “MLS” really is how real estate is bought and sold, and has the largest impact on the sale of your home.

MLS stands for “Multiple Listing Service”. It is considered thee “Real Estate Market”, because about 95% of all homes for sale are listed in the MLS.

It’s not one national database, but actually over a thousand separate local MLS databases across the country. And your home must be listed in the correct MLS so local agents will be able to find your listing.

National websites, such as Realtor.com, collect all the property listings form all the MLSs across the country and put them on one website.

The MLS listing that a Realtor sees in his local MLS has a lot information that is not displayed on websites for the public. For example, things like owner contact information and commission amount offered are in the local MLS but not on Realtor.com.

All Realtors look in their local MLS database when they are helping a buyer find a home. And 99% of all buyers searching for homes on the internet are searching public websites that display MLS listings, such as Realtor.com.

Only a licensed Realtor can list your home in the MLS, and only MLS listings will be displayed on public MLS websites. For example, you can’t simply buy an ad on Realtor.com.

That’s why the MLS is essential if you want to sell your home in a reasonable time for the best price.

And most Realtors won’t list your home unless you agree to pay them a 6% commission.

That’s where we come in. We are licensed Realtors, but we don’t charge 6%. You get the same MLS listing for a low flat fee.