Homes And The Multiple Listing Service

Million of people call an agent each year and list their homes without knowing very much about how agents actually gets that qualified buyer. In fact most people don't realize that listing agents only sell about 5% of all listed homes! Selling agents take care of the rest. There is a difference between "listing" agent and "selling agent" One lists, the other sells. Most home sales actually take place through a huge database of homes called the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. Your listing agent, by virtue of his or her membership, places your home into the MLS for maximum exposure and probably 9 out of 10, your homes gets sold by an agent other than the one you listed with. Some people then question: why have a listing agent anyway and pay the extra commission? The simple answer is: a listing agent can be of great value, especially when dealing with difficult transactions. They also pay for a lot of the advertising and promotion that helps sell a home. Yet, the MLS is the most effective marketing tool of all. Some people are now electing to use flat fee MLS services to list their homes prior to going "full listing" with anyone. Reason: 50% savings in real estate commissions! That means that if you have a home priced at $200,000 x 6% (customary commission), you'd pay $12,000 plus closing costs when it's all said and done at the title company. With flat fee services, where you gain access to the highly effective MLS system and even Realtor.com, you get to pay only 2.5-3.0% commission to the agent who "actually" produces a buyer. This means you need to open your own door yourself and show the home without a listing agent. If you can handle that, you could be on your way to huge savings. That $200,000 home, when sold, would now only require 3% commission so your savings are substantial: $6,000! Flat fees are usually between $299-$599 and every bit worth it. You get your home exposed to thousands of agents, some 900,000 total if you count Realtor.com, plus your local MLS. A state-licensed broker does the listing so everything is legal. Some brokers will even help you with difficult transactions for a scaleable fee, say, and an extra 1%. Others will even give you cash back when you purchase your new home! Real estate commissions have become more flexible and the Internet has allowed the small guy to get the word out that you don't have to pay 6% to sell your home. You can sell it by owner while perusing the MLS at the same time. Sell by owner, pay no commission, sell via the MLS, and pay 3% plus the upfront flat fees mentioned above. One site in particular gives you a 100% free report that you can download and learn all about flat fee methods of selling your home plus a lot more. You can download the report at http://flatfeerport.com without any obligation. The whole idea behind flat fee real estate commissions is centered around the all powerful and members-only MLS system. Here's a little history: The term