Save Thousands in Real Estate Commissions With Flat Fee Listings
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, there now exists an alternative to the traditional way of doing real estate business. 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. By paying a one time flat fee, you will have your home listed on hundreds of Multiple Listing Service websites around the country, gaining maximum exposure for your sale. 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.
By allowing you to hang out your own For Sale By Owner sign, the Flat Fee Multiple Listing Service grants you the potential of attracting even more buyer traffic to your door, as many prospective purchasers will be more eager to deal directly with you and not through a broker. If you ultimately sell your home to someone who also is not using a broker, you will save even more in real estate commission costs. You have the potential of saving yourself thousands of dollars. Of course, brokers may shy away from directing prospective purchasers to you for that very reason, but using the flat fee system is well worth the risk.
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. When using Flat Fee, a licensed broker is assigned to monitor your listing and act as your point of contact. He or she will be responsible for keeping your listing accurate and current.