All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Minerick

@James Burciaga Google "flat fee MLS Houston" and you will find many companies that can do this for you for $100-$200. Lookout for hidden fees. LMK if you have questions

@Account Closed

1. How does a FSBO handle an open house?

If you have a flat fee MLS listing, just have the broker add the open house to the MLS and it will syndicate to the major real estate websites. Agents will often offer to host these for you for free as well, as they get leads from it.

2. Besides the FSBO website, are there any other sites that can help educate me and provide me with needed documents?

Google "new york real estate disclosure requirements" and you'll find some sites that list out the state disclosures of concern in NY. Note that the state just updated the Property Condition Disclosure Statement a few days ago, so be sure to use the current version.

3. Can a FSBO place their house on MLS?

Google "flat fee MLS New York" and you'll find many brokers that offer this service. Be sure to check the fine print as some will charge a fee at closing. LMK if you have questions on this.

What you are looking for is a "Flat Fee MLS" listing. This is when an agent provides the single service of listing your home on the MLS for a small fee ($100-$200). Here are the big things to look for in a flat fee MLS listing:

1. The listing should 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 and how most flat fee companies make money. Make sure you are able to make changes to the listing after it has been posted for a nominal fee. For example, we provide 10 free changes with any listing (and $5 per change after that). Most sellers use ~5-6 changes. Note that a change can be anything such as pictures, description, price, open house, 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. How Buyers and Agents Are Connected to You.

Ensure your contact information goes into the MLS private remarks to agents. The MLS rules prevent your contact information from appearing on websites, but websites are required to show the listing broker phone number. Find a flat fee service that offers free call forwarding so buyers are able to connect with you instantly.

6. 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.

7. 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).

Here's the catch: The actual listing agent is going to need to send you the real listing input form for your local MLS. The generic form that the referral service had you fill out is basically useless. Check out the listing input forms for a residential property for two different MLSs: Los Angeles and San Diego (in case you want to see how different the forms can be). Note that many fields are required on the forms and typically only the seller is going to know the right info.

You will also be required by state law to sign a listing agreement with the listing agent. It can be very dangerous paying for a listing without knowing what terms you are going to be required to agree to.

To recap: Be extremely cautious with flat fee MLS sites that only refer business to other agents.

Bonus Points

You should also consider the ease of use of the flat fee MLS listing provider, for example, can you complete everything online? How quickly is the listing added to the MLS? How quickly can changes be made? Is the agent easy to get in contact with?

@Sateesh Kumar Yes, I'd recommend just using Yelp! to find local real estate photographers.

You can do a flat fee MLS listing ($100-$300), which gives you the marketing exposure of the MLS and all the major portals (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, homes.com, etc) without paying the big commission to a listing agent. You can still offer a commission to buyer agents to incentivize them to bring a buyer.

@April Eilers The MLS rules prohibit the seller contact information from syndicating from the MLS to websites. The best solution is to find a flat fee broker that has automatic call forwarding, which will connect buyers that call the listing broker phone number directly to the seller.

The broker call forwarding system should be entirely automated so the buyer can enter in some basic information about the home (e.g. street #, zip code, or MLS number) and automatically connect them with the seller.

@Gregory Saysset Do a flat fee MLS listing (costs $100-$200), which gets you on the MLS and all the major websites. Get nice photos (~$250). Price it fairly. Offer a reasonable commission to buyer agents (~2.5%). Hire a transaction coordinator (~$450) to assist you in making sure you get all your disclosures and other paperwork done.

Selling yourself this way is the easiest money you'll make in real estate. 

There's no need to get a license yourself when you can get real estate services on a flat fee basis.

@Nirbhay Mehta 

Try googling "flat fee MLS" and you will find many providers of this service.

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 and how most flat fee companies make money. Make sure you are able to make changes to the listing after it has been posted for a nominal fee. For example, we provide 10 free changes with any listing (and $5 per change after that). Most sellers use ~5-6 changes. Note that a change can be anything such as pictures, description, price, open house, 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. How Buyers and Agents Are Connected to You.

Ensure your contact information goes into the MLS private remarks to agents. The MLS rules prevent your contact information from appearing on websites, but websites are required to show the listing broker phone number. Find a flat fee service that offers free call forwarding so buyers are able to connect with you instantly.

6. 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.

7. 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).

Here's the catch: The actual listing agent is going to need to send you the real listing input form for your local MLS. The generic form that the referral service had you fill out is basically useless. Check out the listing input forms for a residential property for two different MLSs: Los Angeles and San Diego (in case you want to see how different the forms can be). Note that many fields are required on the forms and typically only the seller is going to know the right info.

You will also be required by state law to sign a listing agreement with the listing agent. It can be very dangerous paying for a listing without knowing what terms you are going to be required to agree to.

To recap: Be extremely cautious with flat fee MLS sites that only refer business to other agents.

Bonus Points

You should also consider the ease of use of the flat fee MLS listing provider, for example, can you complete everything online? How quickly is the listing added to the MLS? How quickly can changes be made? Is the agent easy to get in contact with?

@Sandy Land Try googling "flat fee MLS" and you will find many providers of this service.

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 and how most flat fee companies make money. Make sure you are able to make changes to the listing after it has been posted for a nominal fee. For example, we provide 10 free changes with any listing (and $5 per change after that). Most sellers use ~5-6 changes. Note that a change can be anything such as pictures, description, price, open house, 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. How Buyers and Agents Are Connected to You.

Ensure your contact information goes into the MLS private remarks to agents. The MLS rules prevent your contact information from appearing on websites, but websites are required to show the listing broker phone number. Find a flat fee service that offers free call forwarding so buyers are able to connect with you instantly.

6. 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.

7. 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).

Here's the catch: The actual listing agent is going to need to send you the real listing input form for your local MLS. The generic form that the referral service had you fill out is basically useless. Check out the listing input forms for a residential property for two different MLSs: Los Angeles and San Diego (in case you want to see how different the forms can be). Note that many fields are required on the forms and typically only the seller is going to know the right info.

You will also be required by state law to sign a listing agreement with the listing agent. It can be very dangerous paying for a listing without knowing what terms you are going to be required to agree to. 

To recap: Be extremely cautious with flat fee MLS sites that only refer business to other agents.

Bonus Points

You should also consider the ease of use of the flat fee MLS listing provider, for example, can you complete everything online? How quickly is the listing added to the MLS? How quickly can changes be made? Is the agent easy to get in contact with?

The NAR stats on FSBOs are extremely misleading. The NAR report says:

• - FSBO sold for a median of $260,000, lower than the median of agent-assisted homes at $318,000

So the NAR claim is that FSBO homes sold for a whopping 18% less ($58,000) than agent listed homes. Read that again.

The truth, that you can ask anyone involved in real estate, is that FSBO homes are usually significantly overpriced. Does that make sense that a FSBO seller would go from being significantly overpriced to being 18% underpriced?

But how can the NAR finding be so wrong?

Aside from the obvious answer that they are a trade group for real estate agents, and they would not be around for long if they said that using an agent doesn't make a difference, here are a few reasons, which NAR acknowledges as not being factored in to their finding:

• - Lower priced properties are more likely to FSBO (e.g. commission costs are high relative to price, agents aren't as interested in selling low prices homes).
• - Rural homes are 3x more likely to FSBO than urban homes. Rural homes are $104,000 less, on average, than urban homes.
• - The NAR finding is not an apples to apples comparison. For example, a small home sold FSBO in the midwest compared to an custom home in Los Angeles are going to have very different price points. The NAR study treats them the same and tries to compare them against each other.
• - 57% of FSBO homes are sold to someone the seller knows (e.g. family, friend, etc).

Can we find any independent studies on FSBO vs agent listed homes? Yes, two studies from private research institutions:

• - Northwestern University "FSBO sellers ended up with a significantly enhanced net sale price because they didn't have to pay the brokerage commission that real estate agents charge seller" https://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2007/06/fsbo.html
• - Stanford University: “The use of a broker does not significantly affect either the average initial asking price or the average selling price of a home” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IdAEb6LJC6DH7BUltgOtIStkUYUvjnZW/view

The truth is that real estate is a market like any other. It is driven by supply and demand. Agents do not make homes sell for more money - which would also infer that a buyer would significantly overpay by buying a home listed by a real estate agent.

Real estate agents are useful for many reasons, but the myth that they will make a seller more money is not one of them.

If you are looking to get the same marketing the MLS offers without paying the huge fees, do a flat fee MLS listing. It will cost you $100-$200 to get on the local MLS and all the major real estate websites.