Flat Fee Listing Services

[User]

Hi.. Folks.. Not sure if this is the right group, but I haven't found one yet.. So no spam / flames please

I'm thinking about selling my house using a flat fee listing (like flatfeelisting.com) and wanted to know if anybody else had used a similar service, and what their experiences were. All I know by calling their 800 #, is that they say that they will place your home on the appropriate MLS system within 1 - 2 days, & the relevant state wide MLS, as well as on realtor.com. I just wanted to know if somebody has done this, and what their results were..

Also, I was told that I would get a packet in the mail, or a real estate agent would contact me to sign a contract, but would that agent place a sign on my property as well ? I wasn't clear about that, and the person on the phone at flatfeelisting.com wasn't too clear about it either..

Thanks in advance for your help, and if anybody has a better newsgroup, please recommend it..

Thanks

-Sam

[Kyle Boatright]

I used a flat fee service and sold the house that way. The upside is/was that I more or less cut the commission from 6% to 3%. You still need to offer buyer's agents a commission, or you simply won't get any traffic through the house. No traffic = no sale, unless the house is on a well traveled path.

While the house was on the market (about 9 months for a high end home in a medium/low end market), I placed follow-up calls to each agent who showed the house. The consensus was that many agents prefer not to show flat fee listings, because over the long term, this is cutting out the easy part of their industry, which is listing homes for sale. A listing is more or less a guaranteed 3% commission for not a whole lot of work, at least compared to actually showing houses.

As far as promises made by the flat fee service, I thought they held up their end of the bargain. Would I go with a flat fee service again? Dunno. If I had an inexpensive house on a major traffic path, I might simply go FSBO. The higher up the foodchain your home is, (and/or if your property is off the beaten path), you need to go with options which increase visibility and traffic throught the house.

[Bubba]

Re-read your own post. You are calling a company to list your home and they cant even tell you if you get a sign or not? You think a Real Estate Agent is going to come to your home when you list your home with a listing service? What kind of shit is someone feeding you? Most Real Estate Agents wont even show a home unless they get their 3% commission. Your Flatfeelisting service doesnt pay that. All they do is list your property on the MLS and YOU do ALL the rest. Just a quick hint here. Putting your property on the MLS alone does NOT sell your property. That's why they have Real Estate Agents. You get what you pay for. Bubba

[User]

Hi Kyle.. Thanks for your reply..

Would you be willing to share which flat fee listing you went with ? If you can recall that, I'd appreciate it..

Thanks

-Sam

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I guess it can vary quite a bit. We had a house in the neighborhood advertised as FSBO for about 4 or 5 months. Asking price was 150k at the time and there was no action, no traffic. A real estate agent took the listing and sold it for $163k in about 2 weeks. May have just been poor advertising by the owner, poor sales ability, or whatever but in this case, the pro earned his money.

Be sure to do a good market evaluation and price accordingly.

[Colbyt]

It sound like you are working with some type of referral service. That may not be your best choice.

The simple truth is that if you don't pay the selling office the going rate in your area they just won't show your listing unless they have no choice. That means 3% +- plus whatever the listing office charges.

At least that was my experience when I tried to operate a flat fee office in

1978.

The current type of flat fee seller charges you in exactly that manner. A flat fee for listing and getting you on MLS plus the selling office commission. Roughly that works out to about 4% on a 150K home.

The person who said that some of the "experienced agents" still don't show your property was correct.They don't want to kill the golden goose. The secret to making bucks as an agent is to list property. If you don't list you don't last. You also don't make much when you cut it down to a half %.

If this company that calls on you is not a member of the local MLS and Board of R's you may want to think about this before you list. You might be better of shopping for a local broker who will discount the fees a bit.

Colbyt

[bambam]

Others have made the point that, in addition to the flat fee for listing, you will have to pay a full selling end commission if you are to have any hope of showings by realtors. And even then, they'll be less likely to show your property.

I buy and sell a fair number of properties, and my experience is that realtors are negotiable (if, for example, you are selling and buying

-- they will discount their fees or if, like me, you buy and sell a fair number of properties, they will flat rate your listings) and that realtors are effective -- it is likely they will get you a better price and terms.

In your situation (you do not appear particularly knowledgeable), I'd focus on getting the extra cost from the sale ... and use a realtor to sell.

The important thing is to price the property into the market -- usually done by "comparables" -- that is, comparing what similar homes in similar neighbourhoods recently sold for. Pay very close attention ... and be sure to at least drive by the comps to make sure they are comparable. Remember, too, that most of the commentary is BS -- extensively remodeled means a hasty paint job and a new kitchen faucet, etc. etc.

Rookie realtors rely on the MLS computer to kick out a "comparative market analysis" -- experienced realtors and sellers know that these are seldom worth the powder it would take .......

Seek out a pro ... pay very close attention to the comparables (make blood sure they are comparable) ... then press for the top end of the price range.

Ken

[hallerb]

My experience with a regular realtor was the PITS. The buyer they turned up backed out after the realtor recommended home inspector blew it noting things like bees and wasps observed in yard:( Geez it was july and such creatures live outdoors, there were no nests at all. The realtor, well I left one day yelling at him and nearly planted the sign on their doorstep.

I finally sold the home to a friend of a friend and the 6% fee was largely wasted.

My experience mirrored the one of our family when I was a 12 years old. Realtors tend to be lazy. I overheard the realtor talking down my home at the openhouse he didnt know I was there..... they use openhouses to collect clients and push them to the MOST expensive home they can qualify for to maximize their comission:(

I WILL NEVER EVER USE A REALTOR AGAIN!

[hallerb]

Incidently locally there is blue edge real estate. They list the home on MLS. the owner advertises and shows the house. once you get a perspective buyer you pass them on to blue edge who handles all the paperwork, qualifying for loan etc.

perhaps theres something like that in your area?

the home i sold using a regular real estate, and a identical home nearby sold by blue edge.

the blue edge home sold nearly 2 months faster withing a grand of my price. tract homes within a few blocks of one another

its no wonder realtors dont want you at your open house, given their trolling for customers for other more expensive houses....

I would love to see some tv investigative reports, list home with realtor, hidden cameras for open house, then watch the home inspector botch the job and put it all on 60 minutes....

the industry needs that

[Kyle Boatright]

The company was List4Less, which is a local firm here in Atlanta...

KB

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I got screwed like that some years ago. We already moved to new house and a realtor came to show the old one. Neighbor heard the prospect say he'd like to make an offer just a couple thousand below my asking price. Jerk realtor told him I would not budge on the price, but he had another house to show him.

[RobertM]

My realtor made a deal with another realtor to keep my house off the market for two months while her son searched for financing. In the end, the kid's credit was zero and he couldn't buy. And to top it off, my realtor was the guy in charge of the ethics committee of county realtors. Between the two of them they went against almost everything in the contract. My realtor represented his friend, not me. The other realtor was a good looking woman so I'm assuming my realtor was trying to get laid.

Bob