Flat Fee MLS

[Victor Noriega]

I'm looking for a Flat Fee MLS broker with the following features, MLS listing obviously, social media listing (trulia, Zillow, etc) yard sign, on-line form (I will not print out, complete, and scan). My max budget is for this service is $300-$400. The on-line form is very important to me for automation purposes, and because printing anything is a waste of time. If the on-line form doesn't exist for flat fee MLS, then I hope a broker will read this and create it.

I buy and sell land within a 2 hour driving radius of my home. The acquisition of the property has been virtual as much as possible. I only need to go into my local credit union for notary services. The selling side is more challenging. The properties I sell are $5k to $20k in value. So using a full listing agent takes a big chunk of my profit. Some have a minimum, because 6% of $5k is $300, and it’s difficult to find an selling agent that will split $300. One example, I sold a $10k lot using an agent, they charged $1k and did not market the property very well, in my opinion. Now, if I sell property in the $20k to $100k sales price, then an agent maybe needed. However I would feel irritated to pay $6k for placing a yard sign on a $100k property.

From my short experience of 3 years, I know that the yard sign makes the biggest difference in selling the property. I can post it on Craigslist everyday, but the buyer usually drove by the property and called the number on the for sale sign. The county where I’ve made most of my sales is 4 hour round trip driving. I figure the cost for me to drive there, take pictures, and place a sign is between $200 and $600, the figure is based on an hourly rate of $50 to $150.

So why use a Flat Fee MLS when a yard sign is all I need? I figure being on the MLS would bring more buyers that do not want to deal with FSBO. I'd appreciate any feedback on this. Also, If I could find a Flat Fee MLS with an on-line form that will create a MLS listing and list it on social media sites and places a yard sign, then my business model for the selling side becomes much more virtual. I'm willing to give the buyers agent their fee, how does $300 sound for them?

To sum up the questions:

Is there a Flat Fee MLS broker with an on-line form, in Texas?

Do you think the buyers agent would think $300 is fair for them to bring a buyer?

Are Flat Fee MLS brokerage services worth the cost for land?

When should an traditional agent be used?

[Greg H.]

I have used ValueMLS.com. They contract with most of the MLS systems in Texas. The price varies by MLS but the range is $99-299 for a 6 month listing