BiggerPockets

I'm looking for a flaat fee lister. What questions should I be asking?
Thanks,
Ofgift

Where is the MLS it will be listed on located. If it is on the MLS 50 miles away it will not be as effective as the MLS the agents in the area the property is located in are using.

Also, if the listing contract you sign is offering a commission to a buyer's agent, how much is it. You may be saving on the listing side but if you skimp on the selling side some agent haters think agents will not show it.

Be aware that some of what you save on the listing side you must allocate to use in marketing the property yourself to be succesful. All you are going to get in many cases is on the MLS, nothing more. What exactly do you get, and what are you obligating yourself to.

Some flat fee listers get their money upfront, and it is nonrefundable.

Can you find a buyer on your own?

Can you cancel the listing anytime?

Hello,
You definitely want to make sure that your property will be listed in the appropriate MLS where it will be marketed most effectively. You also want to know what exactly is included. Flat fee listings are the way to go for people who mainly want to market their properties and are willing to pay a commission to a buying agent if they bring their buyer. Either way, you save at least 50% and you are expanding your marketing to a lot more potential buyers than just posting it in the newspaper or placing it on flyers.

Just so people know agents can see in the MLS that a flat fee person listed your property.

2 things will happen.

The buyers broker will inform the clients they can come in with a lower offer as the seller is saving on the commission.

The buyers broker understands they will be helping the sellers and do twice the work for the same fee as the flat fee brokerage will provide limited help getting to closing.

This makes it a negative showing your property.

Bottom line is the listing broker did not create the market or a seller overpaying in the first place.Using a flat fee company is not in many cases going to solve your problems.

My experience is similar to Joel's...

I know a lot of buyer's agents who steer clear of flat-fee listed properties, for a couple reasons:

1. The big flat-fee lister around here (one of the most successful brokerages in the country) is known for poor service, and many agents don't like to deal with them or their clients;

2. Sellers who use flat fee listing services are often less responsive than a listing agent, which makes sense because a listing agent has the job of being responsive;

3. Buyer's agents realize that they may have to do some hand-holding of the seller through the process if the flat-fee lister doesn't provide any back-end support.

I'm not saying you fit into any of these categories, but many sellers who use flat fee services do.

Another point to note -- the big brokerage in this area I mentioned above (again, one of the biggest in the country), does almost exclusively flat-fee listings. On average, their seller-clients pay over 7% in commissions on each sale.

Yes, you read that right...the sellers using the flat fee services average paying OVER 7% IN COMMISSIONS -- more than a seller who uses a typical full-service listing broker.

This is because the flat-fee brokerage provides a la carte pricing for lots of services -- the $500 flat fee listing, up-charge for signs, up-charge for agent lockbox, up-charge for marketing services, up-charge for negotiation support, up-charge for closing support, etc.

So, make sure the bargain you're getting is really a bargain...

This is an excellent question--what questions to ask. There are so many questionable flat fee MLS listing websites out there, it is essential that sellers do their homework to avoid a bad experience. Many sellers fail, not because they went with a flat fee multiple listing, but because they chased saving the last dollar and got burned. Don't sign up for a listing until you have taken a couple of minutes for due diligence:

1. Call, do they answer their phone?
2. Any established flat fee listing service should have numerous past customer reviews online. These are not testimonials, which can be made up. Make sure you see reviews at an independent website where a complaint could be posted and the broker couldn't remove it. Enter the company name at http://maps.google.com, an established company should have multiple reviews.
3. Make sure they guarantee the right MLS in writing(used by agents in the area).
4. Check BBB.org Only new companies do not have a Better Business Bureau record, unless the company hasn't registered with the State as required (scary!).
5. Get a guarantee that they won't bid out the listing to the lowest bidder broker—some well-known companies are middlemen that send the seller to a completely different broker, paying them as little as $55—the seller gets stuck with a broker who needs to make more money to cover their costs, which isn't good.

Learn from other sellers' experiences-Spend your time and money wisely on your home sale. Thanks.

It's all relative.

In SOME cases even with FSBO you can save but in many cases you lose.Just like lotto tickets you hear the occasional winner and not the thousands and thousands of losers.

I am really happy it worked out for you.

My clients on the commercial side understand the value of time and money.Meaning they do not have hundreds and hundreds of hours to learn the selling process to save a little on commission.

If you look at it they really LOSE MONEY because it takes away time from their business or area of expertise where they make a lot more money then their perceived savings on any commission.

So in that respect my clients are always glad to pay usually whatever fee I have as long as it is not outrageous.Mostly 7 to 10% depending on what it is.

I work with clients who put a premium on time and want help and will pay for it.There is a market for flat fee companies that is a volume business.That's not the type of business I want just like I am not into the per transaction fee model for agents on that end either.