Locally owned and operated in Altamonte Springs, Florida. We currently service 22 counties in Florida, but we are not a giant listing factory. We are more like a mom & pop establishment using 21st century technology and experience.
We offer flat fee MLS listings and discount real estate brokerage services in addition to the traditional full service available to our customers. If you are a For Sale By Owner a/k/a FSBO in Orlando, Kissimmee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Deltona, or anywhere around Central Florida please consider our firm before you go the traditional Realtor route.
These are just 2 of the MLS's that we are members of.
1. What exactly is the MLS? The MLS is a powerful tool that Realtors use to market properties. MLS stands for Multiple-Listing Service which is the computer database that Realtors use nationwide to list real estate. The MLS is owned by local member Realtor associations and is typically broken up into regions or counties. The Mid-Florida Regional MLS is shared by over 20,000+ Realtors in the Mid-Florida area including those in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter, Polk, Hillsborough, Western Volusia, and Eastern & Central Pasco Counties including the metro Orlando and metro Tampa areas. The Regional MLS of South Florida services the South Florida and Treasure Coast area and is shared by some 25,000+ Realtors in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Martin County, and St. Lucie County. Some areas like eastern Volusia County including the Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach area, Brevard County, Flagler County, Ocala/Marion County, Alachua County, Citrus County, Nassau County, and Hardee and DeSoto County MLS's cover much smaller areas. Realtors who are members of these MLS's can view your property information and show your property to their customers. The general public does not have access to the MLS. Generally only dues paying Realtors have access to these databases, however MLS data typically uploads onto many other real estate websites.
2. What other websites does the MLS load onto?By listing your property in the MLS, your property is automatically loaded onto the most powerful real estate website in America, Realtor.com where millions of potential buyers can review your property's information. The MLS also automatically uploads onto many other internet sites like Florida Living Network.com, Orlando Sentinel.com MLS search (not their paid classified ads) for Mid-Florida MLS listings, Google.com, Yahoo.com, MSN.com, SDRhouses.com, and many more similar real estate websites. Being that these websites are owned by 3rd party companies, we only have limited control over the exact content uploaded onto these websites from the MLS. However the exposure that uploading onto these websites provides is unmatched by any non-MLS real estate service provider.
3. Why would I do a flat fee MLS listing instead of selling as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO)? The answer is simple: Market Exposure. Most serious buyers are working with a Realtor to help them buy a house. The MLS database is used exclusively by Realtors to search for properties for sale in the area. Thousands of Realtors use the MLS every day to search for properties. The MLS automatically uploads onto many real estate websites and exposes your home to millions of potential buyers by virtue of these websites. Some 70%+ of all house buyers begin their search on the internet, and nearly 80% of all FSBO sellers end up hiring a Realtor to sell their house anyway. The cost to list in the MLS is only a few hundred dollars, and you get all that additional exposure. If you are considering using one of those FSBO or For Sale By Owner type services that charge hundreds or thousands of dollars upfront and do not even offer MLS exposure, you may want to strongly consider doing a flat fee MLS listing instead of or even in addition to those services.
Other traditional FSBO marketing includes store bought (often unprofessional) yard signs, newspaper ads (quite expensive), property flyers, posting on For Sale By Owner websites, open houses, etc. While all these things can generate leads and we certainly do not discourage them, the exposure they give you is limited at best and often produces dismal results. As we stated before, most serious buyers are working with a Realtor. Smart Realtors are going to make sure that their buyer is pre-approved to obtain a mortgage before they even start showing the buyer a house. That Realtor is going to want to know that they are going to get paid a commission prior to showing your house to their buyer. That is another feature of the MLS. By advertising in the MLS, you are offering broker protection by automatically offering a commission to all of the member Realtors. While there is no guarantee that the MLS will sell your house, it is definitely your best avenue for getting your property exposed to the greatest number of potential buyers.
4. Why shouldn't I just hire a full service Realtor to sell my house for me? That is definitely an important question to consider. ...
To read up on more of what our firm can offer you please go to the Frequently Asked Questions page of our main website. You can read up on all the details of the creative services that we can provide to you. Thank you Orlando and Central Florida!
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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, CRB, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public
407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 http://www.sdrhouses.com/ http://www.webuyhousesflorida.com/
Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Tampa, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Ocala, Volusia, and Brevard.
We buy houses cash, sell properties, and list properties in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, College Park, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Pine Hills, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Mount Dora, Eustis, Leesburg, Clermont, Kissimmee, Saint Cloud, Davenport, Winter Haven, Lakeland, and more.
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