Every single year, millions of Americans go through the process of selling their home. It is a fairly long process and it can often take sellers a couple of months to sell. While many will simply default to selling with the help of an agent, this isn’t your only option.
Instead, you could decide to sell it FSBO (for sale by owner). However, if you want something in the middle, the right choice might be to use a flat fee MLS service. But just what types of sellers use a service like this? Well, that is exactly what we’re going to take a look at. But before we do that, we need to ensure you understand what a flat fee MLS service is?
What is a Flat Fee MLS Service?
Before we look at who uses them, you need to know how a flat fee MLS Listing operates. It is essentially when a real estate agent or broker works with a seller on a limited basis, only offering a few services at most. Generally, this only means posting their home on the MLS and other online portals to help market it. Other than that, it is up to the seller to handle all of the other different tasks and duties.
This is very different from the services offered by a full service agent which includes fielding offers, handling the escrow, closing and various other aspects that go into selling a home. So why would anyone choose this over a standard real estate agent agreement? Well, it normally comes down to cost or a desire to handle the process yourself.
Most traditional real estate agents are paid a commission upon the completion of a sale. While it varies, this can often be around 5-7% of the sale price. This can often equate to thousands of dollars. On the other hand, these limited service brokers or agents will often only be paid a couple of hundred for posting the listing to the MLS.
So while the seller has to handle more tasks on their own, they also have the potential to save a ton of money at the same time.
What Sellers Generally Use a Flat Fee MLS Service?
Now that you’re aware of what a flat fee MLS service is, who are the buyers that normally use them? While any buyer can technically use a flat fee MLS service, there are a couple that may utilize it more.
First of all, you have the sellers with a lot of intelligence and/or experience in the space. These are people either familiar with the overall process of selling or home, or is close to someone who does. It could be an investor who is always buying and selling homes, or even someone who has a brother or sister that is an agent. Once the flat fee MLS listing is up and their home is in front of potential buyers, they can handle the rest and have paid attention throughout the selling process. In most cases, these sellers can experience a lot of success and savings with flat fee MLS services.
Unfortunately, not everyone who uses these services are as lucky. Another type of seller who often use these flat fee MLS services are those who are new to home selling and are simply looking for ways to save money. They may not know exactly how the process works, but generally try to educate themselves a little ahead of time. Some of these can succeed if they put the work in and are open to advice, but others may try to cut more corners to save money, which could end up leaving them unable to sell their home at all.
Also, while rare, there are some sellers who think they are in the first category, but actually fit in with the second and don’t really know what they’re doing despite thinking they do. They are often prone to mistakes or will overlook things that to them might seem like a waste of time. As you could imagine, these types of sellers may also struggle.
A flat fee MLS service is a helpful service for buyers who are very educated in the space, but also for those who want to save as much money as possible. Hopefully this article has also helped you learn a little more about what the service offers and why many people use it.
