Tip to Save Money when Selling A Home

Almost all the properties sold today are sound because they were found online . Now, people looking for homes online are able to view the same homes for sale as are available to Realtors on the MLS through IDX feeds. In most cases, buyers looking for properties online actually tell their real estate agent which properties they want to see. The best thing you can do to make sure you have a chance of selling your home is to have it listed on the MLS and all the websites that receive IDX feeds from it.

Until recently, the only way to list your home on the MLS was to hire a real estate agent to list your home. You have to pay the listing brokerage the selling fee regardless of  if they actually find the buyer or not . But now, you can get all the advertising available by selling your home as a MLS listing, for a lot less money.

A flat fee MLS service will allow you to sell by owner , if you can find a buyer yourself, and have the complete MLS exposure. Many of the potential buyers touring your home have already signed representation with their real estate agent. You will still need to be prepared and able to pay a buyers agent a 3% commission, if they provide the buyer. Even paying a buyers agent commission will still save you nearly half of what you would have paid with a full service brokerage. However, a lot of the time buyers will contact the person selling by owner, even if they found the property by searching a MLS site. Buyers usually try avoid contacting a real estate agent as well, because they want to save on real estate commissions if possible. A lot of the time they go to check out the exterior of the home, and the neighborhood, before they call a real estate agent. When this happens, your total real estate savings will be closer to 6%, as you will have no real estate commission to pay.This is thousands of dollars in potential savings. This is a pretty hefty savings for most sellers.

Listing with a flat fee brokerage can save you a lot of money, but it also doesn’t offer the support and advise full time Realtor’s give. Brokerages that sell flat free MLS listings are not usually very helpful, they receive no extra incentive if the home actually sells. Flat fee brokers are only recommend for use by people who understand the real estate transaction and contracts.