Quote:
Originally Posted by TrudyM
Hi,
Did anyone who when they sold their home up north (or west) use a flat fee MLS service? It costs between $300 and $500 depending on the length of listing and if it includes any help like a webpage or more pictures. There is also Redfin that charges 1.5% instead of 3%. Now of course I would still have to pay the 3% to the buyers agent but I mean this is a difference of between 15 and 28 thousand dollars in commission.
If I price it low (interviewed realtors suggestion) and have a professional stager (realtors suggestion) and wait till April (realtors suggestion) it should sell in about a week to ten days, if this summer was any indication.
Paying out a total of $54000 in commissions for a weeks work just kills me. I hate paying the high closing fees, about $20 thousand, as well but those I can't avoid (we have a state tax of 1.78%and county excise etc ).
All advice gratefully accepted .
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I used Continental Realty (a national outfit) and was very happy with the results. I ended up selling the house myself, and thus paid no commission other than Continental's $199 (at the time) listing fee. Under their "basic arrangement", Continental will not only get you on the MLS system (you pay the selling realtor, whatever % you specify-- I would recommend the standard 3% to encourage showings), but Continental also gets your property listed on numerous other internet sites and gives you access to all the downloadable forms you need for the deal. If a prospective buyer contacts Continental directly, the prospective buyer is referred to you. I.e., you will owe no commission if the prospective buyer buys your house unless the buyer is shown the house by a selling realtor. Continental's website is:
Flat Fee MLS Their whole operation is very efficiently run. For more details, go to their website.
However, bear in mind that, if you use a flat-fee broker, you will have to line up a title company to handle the closing, document recording, and title insurance. In addition, the flat-fee broker will not advertise your house in the newspaper. You also will have to take your own pictures to post on the internet, write your own property description, hold your own open houses, negotiate the price and contract details, and resolve any issues that come up-- all without a listing broker to help you. I.e., I am not sure that a flat-fee broker is for someone with no understanding of real estate transactions. In other words, using one means that you will have to do the work and incur the expenses that otherwise would be handled by the listing broker.