Saturday, May 19, 2012

Flat-Fee Listings: A More Affordable Way to Market Your Home

Are you considering selling your home? If so, there are a few options for getting it on the market. You can fly solo and list if yourself, "for sale by owner;" you can hire a Realtor who will handle your listing and marketing for you; you can go with a discount brokerage and try to save some money; or you can seek out a full-service brokerage that offers flat-fee listing options.

What does flat-fee listing entail? You pay an upfront, one-time payment to your brokerage for listing your home. For you, this means saving on commission costs on the selling side--you may still be responsible for paying a buyer's agent's commission, however, unless he or she purchases unrepresented, which is rare.

What is included in a flat-fee listing varies by agency, but two things you should expect include: inclusion in your state's Multiple Listing Service and a "For Sale" yard sign. These are basic, necessary components of putting your house on the market. Some brokerages offer more, such as an informational flyer box and inclusion on their website's listing roster, but for the most part, you're paying for a sign and a professional listing.

If your flat-fee listing doesn't include photographs, don't skimp. Typically, up to 25 images of your home can be added to your MLS listing. Consider this scenario. A buyer's agent is sourcing properties that meet his or her client's needs. Two houses in the same neighborhood are listed at comparable price points, but one of the listings has photos of an updated kitchen, great back yard and stellar master suite. The other has a large "X." The listing says "photo/image unavailable." A For which property do you think the agent will schedule a showing? If your flat-fee listing doesn't include photos, shell out the money to have some professionally done.

There are other considerations you should take when deciding whether or not a flat-fee listing is right for you.

For example, are you planning to hold open houses to market your home? With a traditional real estate agent, this would be covered; however, with a flat-fee listing, you may incur some additional fees.

There are other great marketing tools and benefits of having a real estate agent--videos, virtual tours, negotiation expertise and representation at closing. Many brokerages that offer flat-fee listing will offer these additional tools and services a la carte, and for some, being able to pick and choose what best meets their needs is an excellent way to cut costs without sacrificing customer service.

If you're ready to list your home but you want to avoid paying out thousands of dollars in commission costs at the close of the sale, you may want to consider flat-fee listing. And, if a yard sign and MLS listing alone don't satisfy you, inquire about add-ons and paying a fee for service in order to best customize your selling experience.


----------------------------------------------------
If you're ready to sell and are considering flat fee listing, consult http://homesations.com/ for advice and guidance.


EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=271894

No comments:

Post a Comment