How to List My Home on the MLS Flat Fee:

Generally a flat fee company does the following:

• Charges and receives no listing commission, just a flat fee ranging from $99-$999
• Offers one or more MLS flat fee listing plans
• Flat fee list homes, condos, town homes, vacant land and commercial property in local MLS (Multiple Listing Service)
• Maintains that listing by allowing the seller to change details about the listing; some charge for changes
• Advertises in MLS, Realtor.com and other real estate portals
• Offers tools such as Supra Realtor® lockboxes, other mechanical lock boxes, virtual tours and signs
• Some offer free signs, pointer signs, open house signs, and on-line brochure templates
• Some offer Realtor.com showcase for free and others charge for it

Exercise due diligence with a Flat fee company before you trust them with your listing…

• Do a “Google search” using their name along with terms such as lawsuit, complaints, bait and switch, class action, legal action, etc. to check for consumer complaints.
• Call them and see if they answer the phone.
• If they use an affiliate broker, call them and see if they answer the phone.
• Ask or read about the topic, “charges for changes in the MLS”. Get details before signing up.
• Make sure there are no cancellation fees or backend charges.
• Review their “Limited Service Listing Agreement” BEFORE giving your money (not “pay first and we'll fax the agreement later”).
• Make sure there is no language in the listing agreement that references anything such as “listing broker may lien seller's home to protect commission” (ex…search Google: MLS Realty lawsuits)

What makes for a reputable flat fee listing company? One that:

• Answers the phone during business hours; no automated system.
• Allows sellers to modify their listing once per month for free.
• Allows sellers to change material items such as price and commission as often as needed, free.
• Sends buyer and Realtor® leads to seller in real time.

How flat fee MLS companies structure themselves:

• Local based: Mom and Pop shop. They are licensed brokers, accept payment, are members of one or more local boards and maintain listings themselves.
• Statewide-only website: accepts payment, has a dedicated licensed broker in the state; they either list and maintain listing themselves and/or may also use third party brokers (called affiliates) to input and maintain listings. Broker who inputs listing is a member of that local board.
• National website (Type 1-most common) Accepts payment, is not a licensed broker in any state; is not a member of any MLS board; uses third party brokers (called affiliates) to input and maintain your listing. Does not use central website for listing maintenance; designated broker takes over listing and each broker uses their own individual system to manage the listing. Disadvantage: no standardization of process.
• National website: (Type 2-Ideal) Accepts payment, is not a licensed broker in any state; is not a member of any MLS board; uses third party brokers (called affiliates) to input and maintain your listing. Uses centralized website for listing management and maintenance. Advantage: standardization of process; one platform for customers to make changes and interface with the brokerage company who has the property listed. Usually this type of arrangement requires the brokers involved to adhere to certain standards and are more carefully screened. Example: www.getmoreoffers.com

Tips for checking out a flat fee company's reliability

• Call the company before you sign up. Call them at 9:00 am, 12:00 noon and 5:30 pm before you sign up…see if they answer the phone.
• Ask them how they handle incoming calls from Realtors® and non-represented buyers. Do they send the leads to you by email or do they just refer the caller to you by giving your number?
• Speak with the Broker or Realtor® that will actually be managing the listing
• Ask if they are affiliated with any other companies and if so, what the purpose of that affiliation is. For example, are you required to close with a certain title company?
• Ask if you will be solicited by a third party once you sign up (a good way to determine if they have other motives for obtaining your listing).

Twists, Hidden Fees, Half Truths and Bad Ideas…Things to think about…

• Who is answering the phone? When you list in the MLS as “flat fee”, the seller and the listing broker of record are going to both get calls. Even though the seller's phone number is published in most areas, Realtors® are used to calling the broker of record so they often call the broker.
• Buyers call and email the “listing company” (as well as the seller) because the company name and phone number will often appear along side the sellers because they are the owner of the account.
• Realtors® are particularly impatient and they hold the key to 85% of all real estate sales. When they call for showing instructions, they will often call another house for “availability” if their call is not answered quickly.
• Mortgage broker says “I will flat fee list your home for free or very little and screen all buyers for mortgage qualification and I'll place MY BIG UGLY SELF-SERVING SIGN on your property…now, is that a deal?…NO, NO, NO! …IT's CRAZY…here's the reality…a mortgage broker doesn't necessarily value your lead in terms of selling your home…if they can capture that buyer lead and write the mortgage, they don't really care what that buyer buys. They will make money off of that lead regardless of whether that lead purchases your property. The mortgage broker might even sell the buyer lead to another real estate broker.
• Cheap is cheap. If it sounds too good to be true…it is!
• The phrase “flat fee” is often perceived as “flat service” by Realtors. Realtors® believe flat fee listed properties and their “listing company” will give them less than traditional service which might result in more work for them. They believe that the agent or broker in charge of maintaining the listing will either; (a) not call back promptly; (b) waste their time if they bring a buyer; (c) not help negotiate a deal. Make sure that if you are not savvy with contract negotiations that the company you are signing up with has a program to accommodate you with contract service.
• If you flat fee list your home, make sure the sign says nothing regarding “flat fee listing.” This only promotes the flat fee company and negatively affects your marketing. Not all flat fee companies offer poor service but many do.
• Some flat fee companies allow you to use your own FSBO sign (if allowed by the Listing Agreement). The drawback to using a FSBO sign is that Realtors® will not put together that the seller is offering a buyer's agent commission. If the flat fee listing company offers a sign that is generic in nature (ADDvantage Real Estate Services for example), then this actually attracts Realtors.
• The advantage to using a FSBO sign is that it draws prospects because there is a lure about selling FSBO. This is because many buyers think, “I might get a deal from a seller that doesn't know the market.” Many Realtors® use FSBO type ads (illegal a.k.a.”blind ads”) to draw attention to a property and they even use FSBO yard signs for the same reason to sell their own property.
• Most flat fee MLS websites or brokerage license-backed websites are legit businesses. However, be wary of a flat fee website that takes your business and then throws your listings off to an UNDISCLOSED third party broker to input the listing. The risk is that you have no control over whether the listing broker poorly services your listing. This could result in lost buyer leads and Realtor® showings.
• “No Commissions, No Kidding!” Really??… Here's the reality: Just as you are getting settled into this marketing company's FSBO website (and paid an astronomical fee to do so), an agent from MLS Realty solicits you list in the MLS as well. MLS Realty lists you for free in the MLS. That quickly, your “FSBO” listing ends up being the following: Pay MLS Realty 2.5% if YOU sell the home, pay MLS Realty 2.5% commission if another Realtor® sells it. Now you've paid thousands to list with the Buy Owner website and you've also agreed to pay a percentage of your sales price. Doesn't this all seem like a contradiction to NO COMMISSIONS and “For Sale by Owner (FSBO)?” Basically you are being locked into paying 2.5%, even if you do SELL BY OWNER…and to add insult to injury, they have been known to have language in their listing agreement that liens your property to protect their commission (Actually, this is illegal in Florida and most states even if it is clearly stated in the Listing Agreement.) Read more on this topic
• Other flat fee companies might charge a commission at closing of 1%. They do this because they might charge just $99 up front. Not a good deal because 1% of $220,000 (average house value) is $2200…that's not a flat fee, that's a real commission!
• The person that gets scammed by an online MLS or FSBO listing company will not be you because you are reading this article. The person that gets scammed doesn't know about a “google search” for pending lawsuits and isn't diligent about researching first. Do your homework!

Is the flat fee company organized? Questions to ask before you list…

• How do I make changes to my listing? How often can I make them? What kind of changes? Is there a charge for changes?
• How do you deal with changes in status...for ex, pending contracts, etc. What is the turnaround time?
• Do I have to use the flat fee company yard sign? Is there a penalty if I don't? If I have to use your sign and someone steals it, will you fine me?
• Does your company employ a full time webmaster? If not, what happens when your website has a bug or goes down?
• Do you have a full time MLS administrator? Who is in charge of inputting listings, edits and quality assurance?
• What are your hours of operation?

Read the Listing Agreement carefully before you sign up.

• Many flat fee companies want your money first and then they send you the listing agreement by fax. This is not a good idea.
• Get the Listing Agreement first, review it and then proceed.

What qualifies a flat fee listing company as a true “seller's advocate?”

• They must answer their phone during business hours
• Marketing which includes MLS, Homes.com (a good idea but not a must), RSS feeds to major websites
• Listing Agreement is straightforward; you can you cancel any time, there are no hidden fees, etc. See a Real Estate attorney if in doubt.
• Option to use your FSBO sign or theirs (unless State law says MLS listed properties must use the sign of the listing real estate company)
• Make sure no bad articles found on a “google search” (if someone has had a bad experience, they will talk)