Advantages Of Flat Fee MLS

Flat fee MLS is one of the best ways if you are planning for a sale of your property. Believe me, for I did it and had got a positive result while selling my house. If you want a price that is worth your home or you are in search of home owner rebates, then the flat fee MLS is surely going to help you in a big way.

Some of the advantages of flat fee MLS are as follows:

1) It is comparatively cheaper to the traditional real estate listing.
2) You can share wide information about the property you are intending to sell
3) The viewer will be able to see the property live as it allows posting of photographs
4) The people from the real estate will also be aware that your home is under the ‘for sale by owner’ category. This makes the sale faster
5) You will have the option to post open houses too through flat fee MLS
6) On sale of your property, you are not required to make payments to the agent of the buyer.
7) There is also no question of payment to the agent of the seller

Try it now!

Alternative Real Estate Models Inceasingly Popular

Traditional agents are fighting to keep market share

In 2002, flat fee MLS listings and discount MLS listings represented less than 2 percent of the market share. 2005 showed a marked increase as 11 percent of home sellers utilized the services of an "alternative" provider to sell their home. As market share has increased for such service providers, full service-traditional agents and brokers have pushed back actually forcing the intervention of the Department of Justice. As litigation continues surrounding the alternative listing models and "minimum service requirements" traditional brokers have found other business models to attack. 2005 has marked the arrival of Zillow and Zestimates, Redfin, BuySide Realty and other alternative models to the outdated real estate transaction process. While flat fee MLS and discount brokers have been a topic of debate for some time now, new models focusing on the buy side of the transaction are coming under scrutiny. Redfin and BuySide Realty have both recently been in the news because agents are boycotting their buyers and refusing to show them homes.

In one case an agent is trying to refuse commission payment to BuySide because it was she who showed the home to the purchaser - even though the purchaser had a buyer agency with BuySide and disclosed such information before seeing the home. In another case involving Redfin, an agent would not take an offer written through the Redfin buyer program.

The bottom line is full-service agents are going to do everything in their power to dissuade customers from using any alternative model, whether a buyer or a seller. But it seems as hard as they push, they are only drawing more attention to the existing commission structure that consumers are growing more and more tired of paying. As a home seller you could be forfeiting $30,000-$40,000 in realtor commissions, the equivalent of a brand new luxury vehicle. You are PAYING that much to SELL your home, sounds weird right?

Online Real Estate Gains Momentum

Alternative models are a growing Trend in real estate

Finally a front page article addressing the changing trend in the real estate structure. The USA Today just published an article detailing the different advantages of discount and flat fee brokers, as well as the advantages of having your home published on the internet. It seems the USA Today has hit the nail on the head with their recent title "It’s always ‘Open House’ as real estate goes online." As home owners become more familiar with the sales transaction courtesy of the internet, savvy home sellers are turning to alternative models like discount MLS brokers and flat fee MLS brokers that provide services on an a la carte basis while allowing sellers to maintain all the rights of a For Sale By Owner. With flat fee MLS the home seller maintains control over the transaction and can monitor who sees the home and how quickly inquiry calls are returned. There is no waiting for the agent to, hopefully, do the work.

As discount brokers and flat fee MLS companies gain market share realtors continue to work to persuade state lawmakers to pass laws limiting the ability of the agents to give rebates or offer services on an a la carte basis.

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