We need to do everything we can to sell homes
Essentially, this is the question (Can your MLS sell my home?) a Seller would ask subtly when s/he calls to ask for a Flat Fee listing. My short and sweet answer is No. Carol Honkanen of NW Real Estate in Bellevue WA discussed this in her recent post, Flat Rate Fees versus Typical Commission Rates.
She believed in giving her clients a "choice". Hence, she offers a Flat Fee rate AND a "Typical" commission rate. (There is no "right" or "wrong" about this.) Consumers should be given a choice. If they demand, someone should supply. Over the years, I became impartial about this subject.
Recently, a potential seller called me to see if a Flat Fee listing is a part of an ala carte service I offer. I politely said No and gave him the reasons why.
So, here's the share (the long answer):
In my experience, the MLS does not sell homes. Good Realtors(R) and good homes do. Especially in today's market, there is no secret that this home selling business is a very serious proposition. It is NOT to be taken lightly. It is really a matter of life moving on or not.
Selling a home is just an obstancle, it is not an end result. Not selling a home stops you from being where you want to be. With that in mind, how important is it to get the home sold before you can turn the chapter?
Because I have never done business this way, I cannot clearly say what goes on with Flat Rate listings. I just assume that the homeowner would take some photos, prepare the home for sale and sign a "limited" listing agreement where the homeowner will negotiate his/her own contract and see that the transaction goes to closing and funding.
First of all, my local MLS board does not allow for homeowners to "negotiate their own contracts if they have an exclusive listing agreement. So, some flat fee listing agents go around that by disclosing, Call Seller with questions but do not negotiate contract. Copy the owner on the offer.
Negotiation is a honed skill. It takes time and years of practise. When the agent has to negotiate the contract and spend time on it, and decides to work for pennies on the dollar, good for the homeowner, bad for the agent. Hence, more than likely, sellers handle their own negotiation despite the exclusive listing agreement.
It takes expertise, tools and technology to market a home these days. The Seller said that he's willing to do the Open House himself, hence he wanted a reduced fee.
Well, the truth is that Open Houses do not sell homes and many agents opted not to utilize their marketing time that way. It yields no high results.
I have a fiduciary duty towards my Seller clients. When I take on the listing, I pledged a duty to my clients and myself that I will do everything possible (and everything I know how) to get the listing SOLD. In my opinion, just getting the property on the MLS system with no proper consult, no proper marketing plan in place is not doing my full duty as the appointed listing agent. When a Seller client hires me, s/he pays for experience, expertise, market knowledge, marketing plans that utilize tools and technology, negotiation and the ability to take the listing from signing the listing agreement, to contract and then to closing and funding. Entering information on the MLS is merely an administrative work. Hence, I do not offer it. (But again, I have no objections to those who offer it. I just have my own opinions about the subject matter).
If the MLS sold homes, then the Real Estate industry would not have such high turn-over rates since most Realtors(R) can get access to the MLS if s/he wants to. Of course, the turn-over rates are not solely dependent on this reason for inadequacies, a partial reason can be contributed to it.
Would it be fast money? If you type fast and familiar with inputing alot of information into the MLS system, I would think so. But money should be well-earned (again only from my opinion).
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Loreena Yeo
Frisco TX Realtor® / Broker of 3:16 team REALTY
(214) 783-2210
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