List by owner in MLS

For years, extremely savvy home sellers – people like commercial real estate agents, real estate attorneys, and former residential agents – communicated with their friends in the residential real estate business, asking them to make a deal. “Just put me on the Multiple Listing Service (it could have been called Multiple Listing at the time) for a small fee and I’ll take care of all the work,” they said. Every now and then, the residential real estate agent would please you, although you would want to keep the deal a secret from your paying clients in full. Although the seller of the house did not have a way to directly list his property in the MLS, he was able to gain access through his real estate agent friend. However, real estate agents would not offer something like this to the general public.

In recent years there has been such a demand for these types of services that real estate agents have realized that it can be a viable business to focus exclusively on this niche. Flat rate real estate brokers effectively separated their services by charging a base listing fee for the listing and offering upgrades that a client could pay for, such as signs, safe deposit boxes, and virtual tours. These money-saving programs are becoming increasingly popular for a reason: They work. Many sellers close the escrow on their properties after saving thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

Homeowners need to understand what the “by owner” listing is in the MLS. First, technically the listing is not “by owner” at all, as every time you list with a broker, even a fixed fee broker, your property is no longer considered for sale by the owner or FSBO. It is treated like any other property listed on the MLS. Buyer’s agents find the property in their regular search process and display the property knowing that the seller will pay a particular level of compensation at closing in the event that their buyer purchases the property. However, the “by owner” concept is about understanding that the helpful owner is in control of his or her own list. They can decide how the screenings will be handled, when to have open houses, and how they want to negotiate. For some sellers, simply having control over their listing is their primary motivation for listing flat-rate MLS; the money they save is an added bonus. They can price the property as they see fit. They can stand firm at a particular price or lower the price for the sale to go through. Since money is saved in commissions, more money will often be put in your pocket. Some sellers like that they can answer their cell phone for all phone calls from prospective buyers and realtors instead of worrying that those calls will go unanswered.

The listing per owner in MLS, flat rate listing, flat rate MLS, or whatever the term may be, has grown in recent years and continues to grow even in a declining market. Preserving equity is important to homeowners, regardless of market conditions. After all, when a real estate agent sells his own property, he usually does it himself, offers a commission to the buyer’s agent in the MLS (often 2.5 or 3%), and saves thousands in the process. Homeowners want to list their own properties in the same way and luckily they now have the option.

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