For sale by owners embrace flat fee MLS listing to get a better overall FSBO Internet and Realtor presence
The National Association of Realtors claims that homes sold by Realtors fetch a higher sales price as compared with those sold ‘for sale by owner’. They claim homes sold by Realtors sell for 16% higher than comparable homes sold by owner.
The reason is very obvious to me as I am the largest for sale by owner with MLS listing services in Florida. I speak with more Realtors on a daily basis than most people in all Florida because I handle all incoming Realtor calls and do the negotiating for all by owner MLS clients that use our hybrid-flat fee MLS plan Professional ADDvantage™.
The research that I have done indicates that when one of my by owner MLS clients sells through a Realtor, they may get taken advantage of a bit because the seller lacks the necessary knowledge about real estate contracts as compared to the Realtor representing the buyer.
We are a one of this most successful for sale by owner with MLS companies in Florida so what I have to say is credible. In a nut shell, when listed flat fee in the MLS the seller is ‘self-represented’ which is exactly the same as being sold for sale by owner. The only difference is when listed flat fee in the MLS, the by owner gets more showings because the property is listed in the MLS for all Realtors to see and attempt to sell and earn a commission. Typically, by owner MLS sellers offer 3%. But, the issue is when a by owner MLS seller engages a Realtor directly they do leave a few thousand on the table from a combination of lack of knowledge about ‘contracts’ and they are too quick to ink a deal with that Realtor. They are excited and what to get the deal done…often just a bit too quickly. Sometimes it takes 3 hours to get the deal done and at times it takes 2 weeks. Lately, buyers are checking of HOA financials very carefully and are doing more due diligence than ever before.
I recommend all for sale by owners is use our hybrid flat fee listing plan called Professional ADDvantage™ which combines the best of being by owner MLS listed with ‘representation’. The key word is ‘representation’ because that single element is what differentiates being listed in the MLS by a full-service 6% agent and going it 100% for sale by owner and being ‘self-represented’.
When a ‘for sale by owner’ chooses to be ‘represented’ they get more for their home in my opinion because a skilled negotiator will work diligently to get everything possible for the by owner MLS client. The buyer's agent will be dealing with an equally skilled Realtor.
Hence the reason why the National Association of Realtors says homes sold by Realtors sell of an average of 16% higher than for sale by owner properties.
This article is filed under Flat Fee MLS. View other articles in Flat Fee MLS.
This article is filed under For Sale By Owner. View other articles in For Sale By Owner.