Want to make the right decision about which Florida MLS listing service is truly the best value but have no time to get your flat fee MLS Doctorate?
Take an accelerated course through ADDvantage by reading this short article.
What exactly is a flat fee MLS listing? According to ADDvantage (author of the “Florida Flat Fee MLS Florida Bill of Rights” in 2007) the definition of flat fee MLS is…
“A service where a seller pays up front for a bundle of real estate services”
What exactly is in that “bundle” of services? Exactly my point…there is almost no way to differentiate between one Florida flat fee MLS service from the next without spending your valuable time researching all the nuances of listing flat fee.
But there is hope. The listing agreement is the “flat fee MLS Manual” that doesn't lie. The listing agreement should have 3 critical components that describe the “bundle of services” that are being provided by the flat fee service:
The 3 critical component are:
- Buyer leads from Realtor.com and other sources…who gets them? The flat fee broker or the seller? Because no seller information is allowed in Realtor.com, all emails and calls concerning a property go to the flat fee listing broker, not the seller. ADDvantage sends every “buyer lead” or Realtor® call to the seller in real time 9 hours a day 7 days a week and confirms that with an email. ADDvantage states this important fact in our flat rate listing agreement. Buyer Lead Capture represents 1/3 of the “ADDvantage bundle of flat fee services”.
- What exact hours does the flat fee broker answer the phones? This is the next biggest item of importance to have in the listing agreement. Just like buyer leads, the hours of phone support must be clearly stated in the flat fee listing agreement. Even though the MLS listing clearly says under “Realtor® Remarks” to “call seller directly for all contract negotiations and showings,” Realtors® have called ADDvantage over the past 12 months for showing instructions. Why do they keep calling? Because Realtors® do not read the listing data sheet or would just prefer speaking with the listing agent/broker. That's the reason why ADDvantage is number one flat fee MLS service in Florida or perhaps the United States for customer service in real estate. We pledge to our flat fee MLS clients in Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and the other beautiful cities in Florida that we will not miss any calls from Realtors® or Buyers 7 days a week. One missed call could be the one that sells your home. Our exceptional phone support represents the next 1/3 of the “ADDvantage bundle of flat fee MLS services”.
- Seller's Right to Cancel the Flat Fee MLS Listing without penalties The word “unconditional withdrawal from MLS” must be in the listing agreement or a seller cannot be assured that the listing broker will not pull some kind of “early cancellation” penalty scheme. The risk to the seller may be a cancellation fee as high as $500 or perhaps as bad is an “conditional” withdrawal for the MLS which does not remove a listing but “suspends it” until the balance of the listing term expires and prevents another broker from re-listing the property.
Florida sellers that list flat fee MLS with ADDvantage have read between the lines. Typically, our sellers have researched the differences between many flat fee MLS listing services in Florida. They appreciate the design of our website, may have read a blog written by ADDvantage's broker, Keith Gordon, about the many nuances of listing flat fee in the MLS, or truly understand the benefit a seller receives from a real estate company that staffs an office 9 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Without a degree in flat fee MLS, it would be difficult for a seller to fully understand everything about ADDvantage or filter through all the confusing offers that dot the Internet. Our flat fee plans took years to develop and we do offer the most comprehensive flat fee MLS plans in Florida.
Programs such as Agent Assure, Agent Activate®, the use of an Exclusive Right of Sale Listing v. Exclusive Agency and our 3 flat fee MLS plans…Street Smart ADDvantage®, Professional ADDvantage™ and MLS ADDvantage®.
The ADDvantage brand of service is not delivered by one agent, it is delivered by a team of professionals. From the way we handle buyers, sellers, Realtors® and showing instructions to MLS listing changes, email verification, customized client control panel and customer support.
Get the advantage you deserve…no answering machines, no phone queues…just live reliable 9:00am-6:00pm / 7 days a week phone support and a company who cares.
Calls us anytime, the Realtors® do… 727-942-2929 or 1-877-232-9695
This article is filed under Flat Fee MLS>Florida. View other articles in Flat Fee MLS>Florida.