Looking to sell your home, but don't want the high costs associated with hiring a traditional real estate broker? HIRE A DISCOUNT REAL ESTATE BROKER! A discount real estate broker can save you thousands of dollars over traditional agents. But before you decide to hire a discount broker consider the following tips:

• Interview several brokers or agents to determine their success in selling homes in your market area. Be specific with your questions about how many homes they have sold in the past year and particularly, how many homes they have sold in your neighborhood.
• Ask for references and contact some of their previous customers to find out what their experience was like. While your unlikely to get any bad references from the broker, you may find out some things that you were unaware of when going the discount realty route.
• Discount real estate brokers and agents often charge less, but provide fewer services. Find out exactly which services your broker will provide and compare them to a traditional Realtor's services.
• Unless your home appears in the Multiple Listing Service - MLS - you'll be missing out on a huge portion of the market (estimates of up to 85%!). Many discount brokers claim to be able to assist your sale without the benefit of the MLS. However, when it comes down to it, marketing exposure is the KEY benefit a real estate broker provides. Make sure your discount broker's marketing plan includes a listing in the MLS.
• Some discount agents charge less by offering to share less of the commission or fee you pay with buyer agents who bring buyers to your home. If your discount real estate broker is offering less commission to the buyer agents in your market than competing home sellers, you will receive less showing activity. Make sure your agent or broker is offering at least the going rate to buyer's agents.

See what the Federal Government has to say about discount real estate brokers and selling your home.

Remember the broker with the lowest rates or cheapest commission may not always be best suited for your real estate needs. Try to match the reduced commission real estate broker with your situation in order to get the services and exposure you need to sell your home for the highest price in the least amount of time.