I have a lot to say about $169 flat fee MLS offers to list your home. When you read my take on current conditions in the MLS world, you'll see why we truly believe in our slogan "Real Estate by Your Rules."
Carefully read the flat fee "listing agreement" before locking your Florida home into a flat rate MLS trap.
My opinion on this subject is firm and comes from many years of listing flat fee in the MLS throughout Florida. My knowledge of flat fee MLS and the realm of discount real estate brokering goes back to 2000 when I owned one of Miami's first flat fee MLS companies called Miami Pro Realty. Since then, we have grown to become ADDvantage®, a state-of-the-art flat fee MLS service covering almost all Florida counties.
For 2½ years my partner and I have run a highly efficient flat fee MLS operation called ADDvantage® and have invested heavily in technology. We staff a full time webmaster, 2 MLS administrators, a broker, a marketing director and an SEO consultant...not to mention all the other fixed costs such as belonging to 21 MLS boards. ADDvantage® is 100% paperless, holds memberships in Florida MLS boards including Mid-Florida Regional MLS (Orlando), Greater Tampa Bay Association of Realtors (Tampa), SE Florida Regional MLS (Miami and Ft. Lauderdale), NE Florida Regional MLS (Jacksonville), pay a $7,500 annual Realtor.com "showcase" fee and is profitable only because of our level of commitment to technology and reliable customer service. We take these things seriously because we are in it for the long haul, unlike many MLS listing websites thrown up by desperate brokers that are just looking for a quick buck to supplement the tough times.
So, if a discount MLS service offers a 12 month flat fee listing for $169, be very cautious because: One, they'll likely be taking all of your buyer leads (hey-why not, you only paid $169...they've got to make money somehow); Two, you can check in but you can't check out because if you check out before the 6 or 12 month term is up, they'll charge you a $500 penalty. The flat fee listing is now $169 plus $500 = $669. Hum, I wonder if they can get away with offering a $69 flat fee MLS with a 24 month listing term...they'd make more money; Three, they will let you leave without paying the $500 fee, just as long as you list full service with one of their agents or any agent of your choosing just as long as that agent is willing pay them a "get out of jail not so free" 25% referral kick back.
The biggest misconception about listing in the MLS flat fee in general is the belief that the seller gets all the calls and all buyer leads and the listing broker just puts the listing into the MLS and that's it. Of course that's not the case as the listing broker is the guardian of all emailed buyer leads from Realtor.com and other For Sale By Owner websites as well as many phone calls from un-represented buyers and Realtors searching for the seller that isn't answering their phone...or calls that end up at the listing broker's office because the agents see our number also in the MLS since it is there by default or from Realtor.com which doesn't allow seller contact info to be posted.
Back to buyer leads...Where do your buyer leads go from Realtor.com, Homes.com and other buyer websites? Do your research before listing your Florida home Flat Fee in the MLS.
Why would a flat fee MLS company take their sellers' buyer leads? How about $12,000 in commissions! Here's the strategy they employ: the flat fee service doesn't spell out who gets these buyer leads in the listing agreement or maybe they do. One of the largest flat fee MLS services in Florida (based on the east coast...can't mention their name because their attorney would send us a nasty letter) actually includes this type of language right in their flat fee listing agreement (at the very end) that all Realtor.com leads go their agents and their agents have the right to earn the offered buyers agent commission. If that's the case, why would a seller list flat fee?
Of course, one of the primary reasons why sellers choose to list flat fee is to avoid paying a buyers' agent commission and of course, when listing for a flat rate there is never a listing commission either. So why would any seller choosing to list flat fee in the MLS in Florida give away their right to sell their property themselves? If the seller gets no buyer leads from Realtor.com or from other buyer websites, their odds of selling "For Sale By Owner" fall off dramatically.
Buyer leads are extremely valuable. If a flat fee seller is offering 3% as a buyer's agent commission, the commission on a $400,000 home would be $12,000. There are some unscrupulous and tricky flat fee MLS schemes going on in Florida these days and if you are considering listing your home using flat fee MLS, carefully read the entire listing agreement before choosing a flat fee service. ADDvantage's listing agreement is 100% in favor of the seller and ALL buyer leads from ALL sources go to the flat fee seller in real time by email every time. Because I feel so strongly about this topic, I authored the Florida Flat Fee MLS Seller's Bill of Rights which is predominately displayed on the home page of our website (getmoreoffers.com®). This declaration clearly defines how a flat fee MLS service should operate-at least according to our standards.
Why the deception by these other FSBO listing services? The truth is there is not a lot of profit in running a clean honest flat fee MLS service. Being a co-owner of ADDvantage®, one of Florida's largest and most respected "traditional" flat fee MLS services, I can tell you that if operated in the seller's best interest, there is a meager living in the flat fee MLS business. Most flat rate MLS services have simple websites and one dimensional products typically run by a broker with limited resources. National flat fee MLS websites refer their business to a broker within the state such as ADDvantage® (based in Tampa Bay, Florida).
The average cost of a flat fee MLS listing in Florida is about $250. ADDvantage® charges $349 (without Realtor.com Showcase). In the scheme of things, we are a little more expensive but offer 8:00-8:00-7 days a week live support and we don't steal buyer leads. Programs such as Street Smart ADDvantage® (Realtor® eblast) sells for $599 and our 100% contract representation product called ADDvantage PlusTM is $799 plus $150 at close. ADDvantage WORKSTM, our top end concierge program, is $1299 plus $150 at close. We offer sellers more options that help us differentiate ourselves from the other flat fee MLS websites that offer just an MLS listing but have no real service to back their sellers up. As well, these other programs allow ADDvantage® to do more for our clients while offering a true "traditional" flat fee MLS listing.
Keep it real and list with a trusted source for flat fee MLS like ADDvantage®. It may cost you a tad bit more initially but will save you valuable time and money in the long run.
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