All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Minerick

Hi Kevin,

I'd love to answer this one, but I'm a bit biased :)

The reviews you find on a site like Yelp are, in my opinion, the most accurate feedback you are going to get on a company. People seem to take a little more pride/ownership over their Yelp reviews (whereas on Zillow, everyone seems to be a five star agent). 

I also find it very interesting to look at the companies lowest reviews - they can fake some reviews, but with enough business you'll always get real customers giving real reviews.

Here's the best advice I can offer on what to look for in any flat fee listing:

1. The listing MUST be on the local MLS

There are hundreds of MLSs in the United States. Sellers want to be on the MLS that covers the area where their home is located, so they can offer a commission to LOCAL buyer agents.

2. Cost to List + Changes to Listing

Can range from ~$100-$400 for the exact same listing on the MLS. Watch out for fine print that requires an additional fee at closing - this is a huge red flag. Make sure you are able to make changes to the listing after it has been posted for a nominal fee. Note that a change can be anything such as pictures, description, price and status.

3. Photos on MLS

Make sure you can upload at least 12 photos. Some services offer a great price, but it's only for 1 photo - which is not useful for most properties. Home buyers are very easily visually influenced. Pictures work wonders and numerous studies have shown that pro photography pays for itself many times over.

4. Length of Listing

Get at least a 6 month listing and be sure that there is no charge for cancellation. Homes rarely sell as quickly as their owners think they will, even when the owner is sure the home is priced perfectly.

5. Fine Print

You should never be required to use any closing service (e.g. escrow) provided by the flat fee service agent. Read the listing agreement carefully - you will be required to sign it in every state.

6. Be Careful With Referral Services

Many of the flat fee MLS listing service providers you come across on the internet are actually just middlemen. These referral services find flat fee agents in each state and then advertise flat fee MLS listing service to sellers. These referral services have you add property info, photos, etc. but then send your info to the listing agent who does the work (and gets paid by the referral service).

Best of luck on the sale!

Jon

Hi Brad,

Orange County, CA uses California Regional MLS as the primary MLS, so that is the MLS you want to be listed on. In southern California, most MLSs have a data share in place - what this means is that you can list on any one of them and appear on all of them. List on CRMLS and you are fine.

That's good that you are reading the listing agreements that you are being asked to sign - that's always where the agents and flat-fee companies will make their money (fees at closing, using their preferred settlement services, collecting a commission when they represent the buyer, etc). It should always be perfectly clear how a company is making their money. 

If a company is not being totally transparent from the start, you can bet there are going to be some more surprises down the road.

Best regards,

Jon

Like others have mentioned, a Transaction Coordinator "TC" is likely your best bet. They are cost competitive, so be sure to shop around. They all have access to the California Realtor forms and they also have software which makes sure they are not missing any deadlines. Many are agents/brokers themselves.

There are numerous web based companies that help you sell for a "flat fee". Google "flat fee MLS" to get a good idea of what's out there, and be sure to check their reviews and also that their listing agreement doesn't have any hidden fees or requirements to use any of their settlement services.

Best of luck on the sale!

Hi Hen,
Also look into using a Transaction Coordinator - they have access to all the documents required, have systems in place for tracking everything, and will basically drive the transaction (many are agents/brokers themselves). 

Note that they won't negotiate on your behalf or give you advice, but they can explain options. The cost is ~$450 (in California). When we have sellers doing flat fee mls listings, we always recommend using one. I am a broker and have access to the documents, but I still use one when representing investors on purchases.

Best of luck on purchase!

Jon

Hi Carrie,

Just keep in mind you are competing with other homes in your area and the commissions they are offering. 

I agree that $8000 is still a lot of money, but when the alternative for the buyer agent is making $13,000+ (2.5% commission), the buyer agents are certainly going to think twice about what homes they show.

The typical breakdown on the MLS is as follows:

• 50% of homes offer 2.5%
• 25% of homes offer 2.75% - 3%
• 25% of homes offer 2% - 2.25%

What I would recommend is:

1. Make sure your listing agreement clearly states that the listing agent does not collect the buyer agent commission if there is not a buyer agent involved.
2. Offer 2.5%

By offering 2.5%, you know that you will not miss any interested buyers, which is the last thing you want. Once you know you are getting all offers on the table, you can review to see what your net profit is once commissions are factored in. 

If you have an offer from an unrepresented buyer that nets you more, you can go back to the agent offers and let them know they need to come in higher to offset their commission costs. Note that most agents are not overly concerned about what their buyers pay.

Best of luck on the sale!
Jon

Keep in mind that if you list it through your own broker, there are likely going to be some fees involved due to E+O insurance, office policies, etc.

If you are looking to get the experience and make the most money, do a flat fee MLS listing (costs ~$100) and get a transaction coordinator (TC), which costs ~$400 in California.

You can still host your own open houses and get all experience you would as if you were the proper listing agent.

The TC can explain just about everything (many are brokers themselves), has access to all the paperwork, and it would be a good test to see if you want to work together in the future.

Good question, @Mitra Samon. If you do the basics right, it will sell just fine and you will save a lot of money in commission costs. The basics are:

1. Price it fairly,
2. Offer buyer agents a reasonable commission, and
3. Get pro photos.

If you do #2 and #3 right and you are not getting any action, then you just need to adjust the price. Lots of showings/offers = priced too low, no showings/offers = priced too high. It’s pretty straightforward.

The truth is that most agents just want to get a deal done, which is a good thing. Make a fair offer of commission and they’ll bring their buyers.

Your thinking is correct. As mentioned, if you do not have a buyers agent, the listing agent will try to keep the buyer agent commission. So either:

1. Negotiate directly with the listing agent, like @Thomas M. said, or
2. Find an agent that will do the paperwork for a fixed fee and kick you back all of the commission, like @Kevin Lefeuvre said. 

There are plenty of flat fee agents that can assist.

A few things to keep in mind:

A. As the seller, your agent almost never finds the buyer.

B. The 3 things that sell a home are:

1. price,
2. fair commission offer to the buyer agents, and
3. pro photos.

If you are doing #2 and #3 correctly, it all comes down to getting the price right. No showings/offers = priced too high, lots of showings/offers = priced too low.

C. Most agents just want to get a deal done, they are not as concerned about getting sellers the absolute top dollar (or bottom dollar if you are the buyer).

Instead of trusting that your agent is doing the right things, ask them what their plan is to sell your home. Ask them how their fees are broken down amongst the services they are providing - the answer will be eye opening.

Finally, keep in mind that every service that an agent provides can usually be bought individually for a flat fee (e.g. $2500 to do paperwork/negotiations, $200 to list on MLS, etc).

There are a ton of flat fee MLS services out there. The best advice is Googling "Flat Fee MLS + your city" and then checking their reviews (yelp, zillow, etc). Not that not all flat fee listings are the same. In general, here's the big things you want to look for in a flat fee listing:

1. The listing MUST be on the local MLS.

There are hundreds of MLSs in the United States. Sellers want to be on the MLS that covers the area where their home is located, so they can offer a commission to LOCAL buyer agents.

2. Cost to list + changes to listing.

Can range from $100-$400 for the exact same listing on the MLS. Watch out for fine print that requires an additional fee at closing. Make sure you are able to make changes to the listing after it has been posted for a nominal fee.

3. Photos on MLS.

Make sure you can upload at least a dozen photos. Some services offer a great price, but it's only for 1 photo - which is not useful for most properties.

4. Length of Listing.

Get at least a six month listing and be sure that there is no charge for cancellation.

5. Fine print.

You should never be required to use any closing service (e.g. escrow) provided by the flat fee service agent.

We've found that a home selling boils down to getting just three things right 1) get pro photos, 2) offering a fair buyer agent commission on the MLS (typically 2.5%), and 3) price it right, which you'll know once you list (lots of offers = too low, no offers = too high. Either way you can adjust accordingly).