All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Minerick

@Jeyo Punnakottil You can verify what they said by looking at the HAR MLS rules. Paragraph 1.2 (b):

Physical Property Description - Public 

The Physical Property Description - Public field is intended to describe the physical attributes of the listed property only. Remarks related to the transaction such as available financing, cash back at closing, bonuses, upgrade incentives, upgrade allowances, repair and decorating allowances, etc. shall not be entered in the Physical Property Description - Public field. 

Confidential information such as showing instructions or security codes and contact information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, web site addresses, service provider information, the words FSBO or For Sale by Owner shall not be entered in the Physical Property Description - Public field.

@Sam Tright Zillow will automatically overwrite any FSBO listing with the MLS listing information. They don't allow the property to appear as both MLS listed and FSBO. The only way to stop this is to disable the MLS feed to the websites.

Unfortunately, you cannot disable the MLS feed just to Zillow, you would have to disable all websites from receiving the MLS feed. This means you would be losing out on other popular websites such as redfin, realtor.com, broker sites, etc.

The flat fee broker should be passing all unrepresented buyer leads to you, so its best to keep the MLS feed going out to websites.

@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.

We do flat fee listings in 14 states, including California. We charge a one-time fee $95 to list on the MLS. No hidden costs and nothing due at closing to us. We have 100+ reviews on Yelp, nearly all are 5 star.

-12 month MLS listing (free to cancel)
-FREE call forwarding + info by text
-FREE automatic email forwarding
-FREE state and federal disclosures
-FREE listing page
-10 FREE listing changes
-Unlimited photos on the MLS
-Listed on Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, Zillow, more...
-Complete and manage 100% online
-Cancel for FREE anytime
-No obligation to buy anything else
-Offer agents any commission you like

Hi @Andrew Nagy

When you list on the MLS, websites (redfin, realtor.com, zillow, etc) will automatically pull in the listing information from the MLS. The MLS rules prohibit the sellers information from displaying on the websites - however - the websites are required to display the listing agents phone or email.

What you want to do is find a flat fee listing agent that offers automatic call forwarding (full disclosure, we are a flat fee agent and offer this). What automatic call forwarding means is that when a buyer sees your home on a website (e.g. redfin) the buyer will be able to call the listing agent number and be automatically connected to the seller just by providing the phone system some basic property info (street number, zip code, or MLS number).

The advantages of automatic call forwarding are 1) It works 24 hours a day since it is software (and not humans), and 2) It connects the buyer live to the seller.

Also note that the flat fee agent should be placing your contact information as the seller directly in the Private Remarks to Agents field of the MLS, so the buyer agents know to contact the seller direct. 90% of buyers have agents, so this is important that agents know to deal direct with the seller.

 @Dan H. Still here :)

@Lionel Quiambao Yes, we do flat rate listings in the local Sacramento MLS for $95. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions about how that works.

The cheapest and easiest way to do your own listings is through a flat fee broker. You can list on the MLS for ~$100 and not bother getting licensed or paying MLS dues. Feel free to reach out if you have questions.

Also note that the cost to list on the MLS through a flat fee broker has become trivial (e.g. $150 or less).

@Anna Stairs Avoid FSBO, do a flat fee MLS listing (~$150) and you'll get much better exposure and can work with agents who have buyers. If you need help with the paperwork, get a transaction coordinator (~$450).

@Christine Hull Consider doing a flat fee MLS listing (~$150), which saves you the cost of the listing agent, and retaining a transaction coordinator (~$450, many are licensed agents) who will make sure you get all the correct paperwork done. It's very easy and will save you a ton of money.

The other added benefit is that for most flat fee MLS listings, if the buyer comes to you direct you will owe nothing for the buyer agent commission. The transaction coordinator can handle the paperwork for both of you. Total cost to sell all 5 lots could be as low as $2,750 instead of paying $57,000 using a traditional agent.

Feel free to reach out if you have questions.