Home : Blogs : Colorado Springs Realty Patricia Beck : Colorado Springs Real Estate >> CO Real Estate Professional

Flat fee listing option for sellers

Alternatives outside of hiring a real estate agent are being explored by home sellers. Many sellers say they cannot afford to pay commissions to the listing agent or buyer's agent since they already have to bring money to the closing table.

I had a listing appointment and the seller said he would hire me to list his home if he decided to go with a full service realtor but was considering listing the home with a company who would do the basics: put a lockbox on the door, company sign in the yard, and list it in the MLS for a flat fee.

Ultimately, he went with a company that would do the basics for a few hundred dollars.

The seller is the appointment contact for showings and receives all incoming offers. If an offer is received, and the seller chooses to hire an attorney to complete all of the contracts and paperwork, an additional $400-$800 can be added to their expenses.

The seller must stay in constant communication with the buyer to ensure everything goes smoothly up until closing (appraisal, inspections, and loan commitment). If a seller has time to do the work, knows how to negotiate, and understands what is involved in the transaction process then this option may be worth exploring.

Sellers can meet with a few agents to find out what price range to list their home in and get a few ideas of how to market it to sell. They can then proceed to sell the home on their own and pay a flat fee to get it into the MLS. Will homes listed this way sell just as quickly as homes listed by a Realtor?

Search the Pikes Peak MLS

For more information on Colorado Springs Real Estate or the Colorado Springs Area contact me or visit my website.

Posted by Colorado Springs Realty Patricia Beck on 06/04/2008 01:27 PM

Comments (9)

9 Comments on Flat fee listing option for sellers

It is always best to get professional advice. Flat fee companies cannot protect the buyer or seller.

06/04/2008 01:40 PM

by Melody Botting Real Estate Network

Aside from the issue of the seller knowingly using an agent to price their home for them and never intending to list with them - there will always be a portion of the market attracted to this level of service. I'm sure many use it and make it to the closing table. In our area the limited service shops are not doing well and some are closing.

06/04/2008 01:43 PM

by Bill Gillhespy Fort Myers Beach Realtor (Century 21 Tripower Realty)

The basics aren't very much. Many of these sellers will need to learn from the school of hard knocks before choosing real representation.

06/04/2008 01:49 PM

by Joe Virnig, "No Ordinary Joe" (RE/MAX Gold Coast REALTORS, Ventura County, California)

I think the seller is short-changing themselves and us. I don't agree with this at all. Come on don't take our business or jobs away from us. I don't think it is a benefit to the seller at all. What about the advertising or the other Realtors calling your offic to schedule appointments? I think the seller needs to be reminded of the benifits of using a Realtor and the protection and peace of mind we can offer them.

06/04/2008 01:56 PM

by Leann Gooderham, Owner/ Broker, GRI Mulit-Million $ Producer (All Seasons Realty)

Patricia, I don't know if there are stats on the effectiveness of discount brokers, but my empirical evidence in my area says they are not very effective. Maybe slightly better than FSBO at 11% success. You do get what you pay for in many instances.

06/04/2008 02:04 PM

by Gary Woltal - REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty)

Melody- I think the risk is too high for sellers to do it on their own!

Bill- I think full service is best, thanks for commenting!

Joe- I couldn't agree more!

06/04/2008 02:11 PM

by Colorado Springs Realty Patricia Beck (Prudential Professional Realtors, GRI)

Leann- Many of these services state the home will be listed on 100+ websites (via IDX). In my opinion, it is always best for sellers to use a realtor.

Gary- I don't have any stats, I wish I did. It would be interesting to see the success rates for this type of approach.

06/04/2008 02:13 PM

by Colorado Springs Realty Patricia Beck (Prudential Professional Realtors, GRI)

Patricia: Great post -- I also recently went on a listing appt. and I don't think I'm going to get the listing because I'm also full serivce. It would be interesting to see some stats on how many sellers who list their house this way get their house sold.

06/08/2008 10:09 AM

by Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog - Kathy Torline - Nordstrom (Prudential Professional REALTORS)

Kathy- I wonder where we can locate some stats?

06/11/2008 03:33 PM

by Colorado Springs Realty Patricia Beck (Prudential Professional Realtors, GRI)

Leave a response…

Name:

Notify me of new comments:

Comment:

What does the graphic say?