ListingSpark (Commission-Free MLS Listing for $7/day)?

Question

I recently listing at house in Richardson, TX FSBO and got a call from a rep at ListingSpark.com

It sounds very compelling and almost too good to be true.  Since I'm out of state, listing FSBO seemed a little intimidating so this seemed like a nice solution so I won't be able to do any showings myself.  It's much of the seller's agent work for $7/day and includes services listed below.  Has anyone ever tried these guys or a similar service and have experience to share - good or bad?

Below is the full pitch they emailed me.

We provide a service to give your home maximum exposure for a fraction of the cost to maximize your profits. When you are ready to significantly increase your exposure with MLS, we provide you with the following for just $7 a day:

• MLS listing as well as syndication to the other large sites like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com as well as other company sites like Keller Williams.
• Professional photos at no additional charge.
• High Quality Sign
• Digital lockbox that links to your ListingSpark account to provide information for each showing.
• Market data for active, pending and sold comparable properties in your neighborhood to aid in pricing decisions.
• E-Signatures for all contracts/documents.
• We answer calls and emails and handle them how you would want us to.
• We can show your home or you can depending on what you prefer.

We offer all of this for just $7 a day, billed on a monthly basis (28 day billing cycle).  You pay $196 for the first month (this is our minimum financial commitment) and you are conveniently billed every 28 days to the card you keep on file.  If you close or cancel in the middle of a billing cycle, you will receive a refund back for the exact amount of days leftover.  You have the ability to cancel anytime for any reason while your listing is active (if you are negotiating or under contract we have to keep you as an active subscriber until the time of closing to be in compliance with MLS rules).

We sold over 150 homes last year and our clientele was predominantly for sale by owner clients.

Typically we can get you listed in the MLS within 3-5 days of creating your account.

Please let me know if there is any other information I can provide or questions I can answer.  You can get more information online at ListingSpark.com, or you can take a look at our Zillow profile to get information about past and present sales as well as client reviews and testimonials.

Jorge Zea · Answer

There a cheaper alternatives out there that offer this flat-fee listings service.

ongoing fees can get expensive if the property takes longer to sell. It is not a real flat fee listing what listingspark offers ... it is burden on the seller and a cash-on-cash killer. It is impossible to project a profit with variables like this. Google for Flat Fee MLS in your area. You should find good reputable companies at or around $150 for 6 months. This is the way to go.

Furthermore make sure that company is licensed in your state - double check their licenses.

Aaron Jistel · Answer

Hello everyone, I am the broker and one of the owners here at ListingSpark.  I appreciate all the feedback and am more than happy to answer any questions.  I agree with some of the comments that we are not the cheapest option out there, but I do think you will find our service exceeds the other discounted options by a large margin.  The professional photos, digital lockbox, centralized showing service with text notifications and feedback are extremely valuable.  And having a company that is very responsive to agents and buyers is incredibly important.  You won't get that with any of the $99 options out there.  Not only do our listings look great online (which is very important when trying to attract buyers), but we have very smooth transactions.  Our days on market averages are in line with the rest of the market, so here in Texas it is very rare for a seller to pay for the service longer than 2-3 months (and many sell right away with multiple offers).

We work very hard to make our investor clients happy, and there is a reason we have hundreds of investor listings across the state.  Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Chance Housos · Answer

@Ryder Meehan

How did you plan on doing the showings in the first place? If you put a lock box on it and use a flat fee listing service, it would essentially be the same thing?

Are you planning on paying buyers agent commissions? Why not just list it on postlets and let the agents bring buyers?

I have not uses listingspark so I can not speak for their service. I have done FSBO but the savings is not worth the time spent and the value of agents doing open houses and getting comments have brought. (higher offers, more competition for your property)

Richardson is hot right now so I am sure you will sell no matter what you do.

Best of luck.

Chance

Simon Suso · Answer

Hello Ryder, did you end up trying a Flat Fee MLS service?  If so, can you share the experience?

Michael Plante · Answer

Your days on market are on line with others

Maybe the extra services offer s are not worth the extra money

Doug Watts · Answer

The ball was always dropped and in Listing spark's court.  All it did was slow down the selling process and make it more frustrating.  I had to constantly remind them  and follow up with them for anything to get done and still had multiple issues.  They couldn't follow the simplest instructions I sent them in emails.  They listed my house a day earlier than I wanted and I had told them at least 5 times in the weeks leading up to the listing!! It was evident they did not fully read my emails I sent to them because they would call to ask me questions that I specifically had just emailed them about.  I NEVER leave reviews, but this was a horrendous experience and I hope other investors don't have to go through it.  I am very patient and mild mannered, but they simply PISSED ME OFF. I wanted to save money on commissions and was really against paying a realtor.  Let's just say I learned my lesson and now definitely see value in having an agent on your side, who will look out for your best interest and make sure you get the most money.  I think in the long run, you probably almost break even using a realtor and getting top dollar, rather than using listing spark and end up leaving money on the table.  If you are very experienced in real estate then maybe Listing Spark works good for you, but I even had a "transaction coordinator" that was supposed to give me a little more guidance.  Man was that a joke!  They should help streamline the selling process and for me they seriously hindered it.  I will not be using them again.  I will use a realtor friend with a discounted commission to make this easier on myself next time! IT BLEW MY MIND!! stay away

Chance Housos · Answer

@Ryder Meehan

I am not an agent so take my advise with a grain of salt. From what I have seen with a good agent, you can get well over asking price and a multiple offer situation. They will do an open house, schedule all showings( don't you have a tenant in place?) and handle all closings, appraisals, inspections, exc.

I have done it both ways and have came to the realization that agents were the best option for my time. I can not make that decision for you.

On a side note, I have some friends looking for a new house in Richardson. If you are interested in bypassing the whole process, PM me the address. (I will not try to make anything on your house, just helping a friend.)

Greg H. · Answer

Valuemls.com does a flat see of $99 for 6 months and I believe has a small add on fee for a lock box. Is you tenant good with having a lockbox ?

Ryder Meehan · Answer

Thanks @Chance Housos originally I was planning to just post on Zillow.com and some of the other free listing sites but they contact me after seeing my Zillow listing.  I was planning on still paying the buyer's agent 3%, I figured saving on a selling agent saves me $7K on the $235K list price.

I'm interested to hear more on how a seller's agent can add more value than their commission in a hot north DFW market.  When do you use an agent and when FSBO?  My plan was to FSBO for a week and if I don't get any bites then to call my agent up.

I really appreciate the insight!

Ryder Meehan · Answer

@Jorge Zea thanks for that feedback, I really appreciate it.

I've seen other flat fee listing services on MLS as you mentioned but according to their marketing message, they other way more than just a listing including: photography, digital lock box, for sale yard sign, showing agents as needed for unrepresented buyers, an online contract process, lead tracking portal, etc.  I definitely need some of these, others are more just for cool-factor.  Did I also mention I live out of state and have a tenant currently renting the house?  Yeah, I know it's bold (or maybe just stupid) to FSBO but I think one of these services will give me a little more warm and fuzzy feeling about doing it.

Postlets is a good idea whether I use ListingSpark or not.  I was planning to still end up paying the buyer's agent 3%.

Fortunately it's a strong market so average DOM is under a month.

ListingSpark (Commission-Free MLS Listing for $7/day)?

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