All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Minerick

Why Waste Money On Listing Agent Commissions?

$95 to list on your local MLS with homecoin.com!

• 100% online, listed on the https://homecoin.com/flat-fee-mls for more info
• One-time fee, $0 due at closing
• 12 month MLS listing
• Unlimited photos on the MLS
• Cancel for FREE anytime
• Includes MLS, realtor.com, redfin, broker sites, zillow/trulia, more..
• Offer buyer agents any commission you like
• Visit https://homecoin.com/flat-fee-mls for more info

List On Any Major MLS In California

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• BAREIS
• California Regional MLS
• CRISNet MLS
• Desert Area MLS
• East Bay MLS
• Fresno MLS
• Golden Empire MLS ($199)
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• MetroList MLS
• MLS Listings MLS
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• theMLS/CLAW
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homecoin.com Is The Easiest Way To Make The Most Money!

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homecoin.com | CalBRE #01888948 | Broker | REALTOR®

Why Waste Money On Listing Agent Commissions?

$95 to list on your local MLS with homecoin.com!

• 100% online, listed on the MLS in 24 hours
• One-time fee, $0 due at closing
• 12 month MLS listing
• Unlimited photos on the MLS
• Cancel for FREE anytime
• Includes MLS, realtor.com, redfin, broker sites, zillow/trulia, more..
• Offer buyer agents any commission you like
• Visit https://homecoin.com/flat-fee-mls for more info

List On Any Major MLS In California

homecoin.com can list your home on any of the following MLSs

• BAREIS MLS
• California Regional MLS
• CRISNet MLS
• Desert Area MLS
• East Bay MLS
• Fresno MLS
• Golden Empire MLS ($199)
• iTech MLS
• MetroList MLS
• MLS Listings MLS
• Sandicor MLS
• San Francisco MLS
• theMLS/CLAW
• VCRDS

Not sure what your local MLS is? Find out here: https://homecoin.com/mls

Additional Services Available

homecoin.com provides the following optional services:

• Electronic lockbox rental
• Photography
• Signage
• Free Open House Kit
• Free Valuation Report
• Free Comps
• Free Flyers (SoCal only)
• Agent Assistance

homecoin.com Is The Easiest Way To Make The Most Money!

• View Our Past Sales
• View Our Current Listings
• View Our Yelp! Reviews

homecoin.com | CalBRE #01888948 | Broker | REALTOR®

There is one big advantage of working with a seller who has their home listed with a flat fee MLS company and it relates to commissions.

Let's say a seller signs a listing contract with a traditional agent and that agent charges a 6% commission. If a buyer comes along with an agent, that buyer's agent will typically get half of the 6% commission (3%). If the buyer does not have an agent, under the traditional listing agreement, the listing agent gets the entire 6% commission.

Now let's say the seller gets a flat fee MLS listing and offers 3% to buyer agents on the MLS. If a buyer comes along with an agent, then that buyer's agent gets the 3%. However, if the buyer comes along without an agent, then under some flat fee listing agreements, the seller pays 0 commission (this is how we set up our flat fee listing agreement).

What this means for you, as the buyer, is that if you are working with a seller who has a flat fee MLS listing, you can potentially capture some of the money the seller would save since you do not have an agent. In the above example, if you knew the seller was offering 3% commission to buyer agents then you could say offer the seller 2% less than the asking price and this would be a more valuable offer than a full price offer from a buyer with an agent. Here is how that pencils out:

------------------

Buyer 1 (with an agent)

$500,000 offer amount

- $15,000 buyer agent commission (3%)

$485,000 net to seller

------------------

Buyer 2 (you without an agent)

$490,000 offer amount

- $0 buyer agent commission (no agent on your side)

$490,000 net to seller

------------------

As you can see from above, the seller would make more money with a lower offer from you - and you have less debt than if you were represented by an agent.

A "flat-fee" MLS listing is the way to go, as having it on the MLS will also get you on sites like realtor.com, broker sites, etc.. You don't want to miss out on top dollar due to poor marketing.

Offer a commission to buyer agents on the MLS, as 90% of buyers have an agent. Often buyer agents can bring you offers that more than make up for their commission.

Look at the offers you get from agents and those from buyers directly and select the one that nets you the most with the least headaches.

In general, here's the big things you want to look for in a flat fee listing (full disclosure, we do these in California):

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.

Ultimately, we've found that the three most important things when listing a home are 1) price, 2) pro photos, and 3) offering a fair buyer agent commission on the MLS (typically 2.5%).

A "flat-fee" MLS listing is the way to go, as having it on the MLS will also get you on sites like realtor.com, broker sites, etc.. You don't want to miss out on top dollar due to poor marketing.

Offer a commission to buyer agents on the MLS, as 90% of buyers have an agent. Often buyer agents can bring you offers that more than make up for their commission.

Look at the offers you get from agents and those from buyers directly and select the one that nets you the most with the least headaches. 

In general, here's the big things you want to look for in a flat fee listing (full disclosure, we do these in California):

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.

Ultimately, we've found that the three most important things when listing a home are 1) price, 2) pro photos, and 3) offering a fair buyer agent commission on the MLS (typically 2.5%).

@Dee Bowers If the MLS listing had your contact info on the listing, that may be what these agents are reading. You can ask the previous listing agent to remove the contact info from the MLS. If that's the case, also consider getting a google voice phone number for future listings (it's free).

There are websites out there that you can pay to get people's cell phones and personal emails based on address (does not work for all addresses). So even the above may not work completely.

@Mike Savage Your best bet is likely to use a "Flat Fee MLS" service that will list the home on the MLS and all the websites that pull data from the MLS (realtor.com, redfin, broker sites, zillow, etc). The cost varies, we do this in CA for $95. Here are the big things to look for in a flat fee MLS 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. Most sellers use ~5-6 changes. 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.

@Eric Percival No, that is not an industry standard practice. 

Flat fee brokers are great (full disclosure I am one in California), however some of them try to sneak extra fees into the listing agreement. Always read the listing agreement before signing and check the flat fee brokers reviews. If you see these extra fees, find another one as there are plenty out there. 

In this case, I am not sure how this flat fee broker would enforce that fee on the buyer. Something tells me that if the buyer pushed back, you would end up paying the fee.

@Gary A. Let me know if you still need assistance with this. We do flat-fee listings in most areas of California (including most of NorCal) for $95. 

If we can't cover you, I'd recommend checking the reviews of any service you do use. 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 MLSthat 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.

@Raven Parmer Next time around, instead of doing FSBO you could also consider doing a Flat-Fee MLS listing. ~$100-$200 gets you posted on the local MLS and all the major websites. You can still offer a commission to buyer agents on the MLS as well. Easy way to save the seller side commission, and sometimes the buyers come direct to you so you can save the buyer side commission as well. It's a bit of the best of both FSBO and agent worlds.