Sell Your House Faster Using the Flat Fee Approach

If you have sold a house recently using a real estate agent or are talking to real estate agents about listing your house for sale you are likely aware that there is a significant charge for their services. A typical charge to sell your house is 6% of the selling price. In many states there is a way to have an agent find a buyer yet your net cost for their services will be an amount you can set yourself.

This strategy to sell your house is called the flat fee approach and is simpler then you might think. It's called a flat fee MLS (Multiple Listing Service) listing and can combine the elements of FSBO (For Sale by Owner) and an agent listing in MLS. No matter what approach you might take to selling your house a listing in MLS is almost imperative if you want the nationwide exposure needed to attract as many prospective buyers as possible. Over 90% of houses sold in the United States are done using an MLS listing.

In the past the way to get your house listed on MLS was to sign a contract with a listing agent. In return for a commission of 4 to 7% the listing agent arranges for your house to be listed on MLS along with arranging for photos to be taken, a descriptive write-up of the features of your house, and arranging for the proper forms to be filled out (Disclosure Statement, etc.) that may be required by your state or municipality.

Once the house is listed on MLS the listing agent may arrange for an agent open house to highlight that your house is on the market to other agents. In addition they may list the house on other Internet sites, most of which have no listing charge. They also may hold a public open house where prospective buyers can tour through your house.

If a buyer represented by a non-listing agent makes an offer on your house and the purchase takes place the listing agent typically would get 3% and the buyers(selling) agent would get 3% from the original agreed to rate of 6%. This rate may vary from 4 to 7%. Experience has shown that a majority of times it is the selling agent and not the listing agent that secures the sale.

If you want to save the 6% you can use the For Sale by Owner approach where you do everything that both the listing agent and the selling agent do. While this approach is used by a number of people it does not give you the advantage of being listed nationwide in the MLS.

The flat fee hybrid approach described here is to contract with a broker who will list your property with your description and photos on the MLS for a flat fee, which is often on the order of hundreds of dollars. When you use the flat fee approach you are responsible for whatever additional marketing you want to do such as listing on free internet sites, printing brochures, and holding open houses.

With a flat fee MLS listing you have up to 6% of the sales price to to offer as commission before you match what a conventional listing agent contract would cost you. You can contact agents and offer them a commission if they produce a buyer. If it's a buyer's market you may want to kick it up to perhaps 4% so that the buyers agent will be more likely to focus their efforts on selling your house as compared to one where they will only be getting the standard 3%. If it's a sellers market you may want to go below 3% and perhaps offer 2% or even less. In either case you pay the same flat fee of several hundred dollars to list on the MLS. This is a powerful selling tool previously only available if you contracted with a listing agent for a significantly higher commission.

If you pursue a flat fee listing make sure that contractually that if you find a buyer yourself there is no need to pay a buyers agent commission. As a seller you will also have the option of canceling the MLS listing at anytime.

Using a flat fee approach to selling is an economical way of getting the benefits of being listed on the MLS while having selling agents working on your behalf. In addition you can have the economies of a FSBO approach to selling where you do some of the work yourself.