6% real estate agent or $300 Flat Fee Transactional Broker?

[Brant Hampton]

I am about a week away from finishing a very larger rehab project and want to ask if its worth it to use a traditional listing agent or to go with a flat fee transactional broker? I understand that no matter what I will be paying a commission to a buyers agent and I am fine with that. The home is going to be listed somewhere around $425k so the listing agents commission will be around $13k. Or I could choose to list the home on the MLS for $300 + the cost of hiring a professional photographer to take photos + the cost to buy my own for sale sign + supra rental from the transactional broker. So roughly $13k vs $500. After pouring my soul into this property and literally renovating every square inch it pains me to think of relinquishing control and losing/spending another $12k so I can close a deal.

• Do buyers expect the seller to have an agent for homes that trade around $400k+?
• What "marketing" will the agent do that I wouldn't think to do on my own?
• Have you used a flat fee transactional broker?  What was your experience like?
• Why hasn't a company like Uber stepped in to modernize the selling process and reduce selling costs?  

[Russell Brazil]

Just to give you a perspective from an agent....when I sell my own properties that are in states where I am not licensed, I hire an agent to do so, even though Im an expert at selling houses.  The hard part isnt so much the actual sale, it is ushering the transaction through the entire closing process and navigating all the hiccups and legalities that come along with it. I can navigate those issues in the states where I consistently do business, but in states where I havnt done them, Im smart enough to have an expert do it so I dont screw it up.