Looking for advice on a FSBO with a flat-fee MLS service.

Cape Coral, Florida
Buying & Selling Real Estate
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Looking for advice on a FSBO with a flat-fee MLS service.

Ricardo Taboada
Member since 2022 · 4 posts · 4 votes

Hello all. Thank you in advance for your time and shared knowledge.

I am looking to sell a single-family new construction (which I developed) in Lehigh Acres, FL. This is around Cape Coral/Fort Myers. My strategy is to forgo a listing agent and use a flat-fee MLS listing service. I am a lawyer and developer and am intimately familiar with property law and real estate; however I have never sold realty without a listing agent.

I would appreciate any advice or thoughts you may have about this plan. Some of my specific concerns are:

1. I am considering using beycome.com as the flat-fee service. Any idea on how good their service is? Would you recommend an alternative service?

2. My thought is to offer a 3% buyer's agent commission. Thoughts on this amount? What is typical for the area? I think 3% is reasonable and many of my prior transactions have offered 2.5% to the buyer's agent.

3. If you have an argument that I should reconsider my strategy and instead retain a listing agent, I would like to hear it. 

4. Any other germane thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you!

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Stetson MillerBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2019 · 576 posts · 423 votes
3y

Hi @Ricardo Taboada,

I've worked with Beycome while representing my buying clients before and we didn't have the smoothest transaction. This was largely due to the fact that the seller decided to use their title company, which isn't local. If anything, having a local title company will help your transaction run much smoother. Otherwise, apart from the initial listing, they really don't have any other involvement in the transaction, and it shouldn't really make a difference who you use for that service

Your commission offerings are definitely reasonable in my opinion, I would be happy with that if I were representing a buyer in your transaction

One thing to note is that agent's aren't just there to ensure you're complying with all legal processes and paperwork, they're also ensuring that you get top dollar for the property you're selling, and ensure that you're not giving out unnecessary concessions. It's possible to still meet these goals without using an agent, but it is going to be much more difficult, especially if you don't already have extensive experience in the selling field

[email protected]850-259-2910
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  • Stetson MillerBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2019 · 576 posts · 423 votes
    3y

    Hi @Ricardo Taboada,

    I've worked with Beycome while representing my buying clients before and we didn't have the smoothest transaction. This was largely due to the fact that the seller decided to use their title company, which isn't local. If anything, having a local title company will help your transaction run much smoother. Otherwise, apart from the initial listing, they really don't have any other involvement in the transaction, and it shouldn't really make a difference who you use for that service

    Your commission offerings are definitely reasonable in my opinion, I would be happy with that if I were representing a buyer in your transaction

    One thing to note is that agent's aren't just there to ensure you're complying with all legal processes and paperwork, they're also ensuring that you get top dollar for the property you're selling, and ensure that you're not giving out unnecessary concessions. It's possible to still meet these goals without using an agent, but it is going to be much more difficult, especially if you don't already have extensive experience in the selling field

    [email protected]850-259-2910
    Stetson Miller Realtor545 Reviews
    View Page
    2Reply
  • Ricardo Taboada
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 4 posts · 4 votes
    3y
    Thank you! Very helpful insights.
    1Reply
  • Kevin Bartlett
    Realtor · Member since 2023 · 177 posts · 41 votes
    3y

    Hey Ricardo,

    Just wanted to reach out to say I have to agree with a lot of Stetson's reply. One thing to add is that agents have a vast network of buyers already waiting, so a lot of times we can get the buyer faster so you have less costs if the property is sitting with a mortgage and utilities. Just something to think about, and if you want to message me I'm always around on DM!

    2Reply
  • Wayne Brooks
    Real Estate Professional · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 23k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    3y

    @Ricardo Taboada I agree whole heartedly with offering 3% on the buyer agent side…..right or wrong, agents will tend to steer buyers away from a lower commission offered. One of the concerns buyer agents have when offering on a flat fee is the fact that they don’t have a knowledgeable agent on the seller side, they are dealing with an owner who usually doesn’t know the transaction steps and procedures, therefore they’ll have to educate and hand hold the seller, essentially doing a seller’s agent job as well.  If you go this route, be sure to note in the “agent only access” area of the listing that you are a professional, familiar with the process, etc. This may eliminate some agent’s hesitation in offering on a flat fee listing.

    1Reply
  • Bob S.
    Real Estate Consultant · Cleveland · Member since 2020 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Ricardo Taboada:

    Hello all. Thank you in advance for your time and shared knowledge.

    I am looking to sell a single-family new construction (which I developed) in Lehigh Acres, FL. This is around Cape Coral/Fort Myers. My strategy is to forgo a listing agent and use a flat-fee MLS listing service. I am a lawyer and developer and am intimately familiar with property law and real estate; however I have never sold realty without a listing agent.

    I would appreciate any advice or thoughts you may have about this plan. Some of my specific concerns are:

    1. I am considering using beycome.com as the flat-fee service. Any idea on how good their service is? Would you recommend an alternative service?

    2. My thought is to offer a 3% buyer's agent commission. Thoughts on this amount? What is typical for the area? I think 3% is reasonable and many of my prior transactions have offered 2.5% to the buyer's agent.

    3. If you have an argument that I should reconsider my strategy and instead retain a listing agent, I would like to hear it. 

    4. Any other germane thoughts would be appreciated.

    Thank you!

    You are overthinking it, just list it FSBO, do not even offer 3% , let realtors come to you, trust me they will. You tell them ok I want X, you add your fee on top

    Keep it simple :) 

    1Reply
  • Jonathan Minerick
    Real Estate Broker · San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 725 posts · 129 votes
    3y

    @Ricardo Taboada

    1. You'll usually be fine with 2.5% commission.

    2. Well over 90% of the time, someone other than the listing agent finds the buyer. Use a flat fee service and offer the buyer agents a reasonable commission. If the listing agent finds the buyer, it can be a yellow flag.

    3. Be sure to use a flat fee broker that passes unrepresented buyers directly to you without trying to collect the buyer agent commission.

    4. Check out our BP blog post on the most important things to look for in a flat fee listing.

    1Reply
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