You have questions, we have answers. Review the most common FAQs here, or contact us with your specific needs.
What is the difference between Flat Fee Agency and MLS Listing product?
Real estate agency is a service provided as a representative of a client for a fee. A flat fee real agency agreement is typically a set dollar amount for all listings. More recently, Flat Fee have been offered as both a flat dollar amount or a universally low commission amount such as 1%. Regardless the amount, agency caries specific requirements by the NAR Code of Ethics, State Department & Local Board rules.
“MLS Listing” service is a non-agency product that provides a consumer access to listing their home on the Realtor’s member-only multiple listing service database (MLS) that is syndicated to all of the local member brokers and national 3rd party real estate portals – such as Zillow, Homes & Realtor.com. This gives For Sale By Owner (FSBO) properties the distinct advantage of being searchable along side all other available properties. While this service does not include agency, it does level the exposure playing field.
What is the MLS & MLS Plus listing product?
MLS listing service product is a non-agency product that provides a consumer access to listing their home on the Realtor’s member-only multiple listing service database (MLS) that is syndicated to all of the local member brokers and national 3rd party real estate portals – such as Zillow, Homes & Realtor.com. This gives For Sale By Owner (FSBO) properties the distinct advantage of being searchable along side all other available properties. While this service does not include agency, it does level the exposure playing field.
What is the difference between Flat Fee Agency and MLS Listing product? Real estate agency is a service provided as a representative of a client for a fee. A flat fee real agency agreement is typically a set dollar amount for all listings. More recently, Flat Fee have been offered as both a flat dollar amount or a universally low commission amount such as 1%. Regardless the amount, agency caries specific requirements by the NAR Code of Ethics, State Department & Local Board rules.
What is the difference between Transaction Coordinator and Agency? This is a very important distinction and one that requires your careful consideration. As a transaction coordinator, also known as a minimal service provider, there is no agency expressed or implied the product you receive would be a list of items that are given to you for informational purposes and to get your property listed on the MLS that is where the product stops. In the case of agency, there is fiduciary responsibility reasonable care and timeline management of the process from start to finish think of it as a concierge with specific responsibilities to manage the sale and transaction of your property. Therefore, not only is there a heightened sense of assurance that you are not alone but there is a necessity to see you to close in order to get paid that. That is a rather strong incentive for an agent to give you good service in addition to our pledge to do so.
Are Agency Fees Fixed or Negotiable? All real estate agency fees are negotiable. Traditional agency commission sides have been in the range of 2%-4% of the sold purchase price of a home, with 2.5%-3% being most common. It is a relatively fair question to ask, how much more effort and cost does it take to sell a home from one price range to another. It does cost more to properly market a more expensive home however on a lower flat listing commission structure of 1% a higher priced home will earn enough to pay for the more expensive photography and market channels.
Do I have to Pay Buyer Agency When Selling? No! All agency fees are negotiable. When listing your property for sale, the listing agent should address the commission as negotiable AND how the commission will be dispersed for services rendered at close when the home sells. In your listing agreement, the seller may decide what to offer a buyer’s agent for bringing their buyer to your home. Yes, this has been the industry standard and under scrutiny of late. While it is ethically incumbent upon an agent to show all available properties, offering to pay a buyer agency fee has been an industry incentive for a very long time. Ultimately, a fee and the amount are negotiable.
How Does 1% Flat Fee Service Compare to Traditional Agency Service. Our low 1% Flat Fee service includes all the services you would receive from most traditional agents, and in some cases more! While luxury property listings benefit from additional and often more expensive services, upon reviewing the features included with our 1% Flat Fee service you will quickly see how comprehensive our agency program is to serve your real estate needs. See the features list here.
Are there any additional fees beyond the flat fee? No. There are only a few optional services that we offer that can help enhance success in marketing your home. These may be reviewed along side the features list of our 1% Flat Fee service offering – view here.
How long does it take to be on MLS? Upon purchase of a listing product you will be directed to an information uptake form to help the induction into the MLS & have access to your Seller’s Guide. If you already have taken steps to prepare your home for sale and taking pictures, MLS listing may begin within 48 hours or sooner. Under normal circumstances most of our clients like to receive the sellers guide and take steps to perform the action steps to enhance the preparedness of their home for showings. For this reason after you purchase the program/product you are in control of when the MLS is listed. From our experience, the average customer is ready to list within a 5-10 days.
What is the term of the 1% Flat Fee listing Agreement? Unlike many traditional agencies, we offer a term from 90 days to 180 days. And, should you decide not to sell or otherwise decide to make a change in your agency we agree to cancel our agreement with a 14-day notice with no cancelation fee. Our goal is your satisfaction and selling success.
Is there a retainer fee when choosing our low 1% Flat Fee? There is a small one-time fee of $395 to cover the hard costs of establishing your listing. This fee paid upfront and is in addition to the 1% commission fee paid at closing. This fee is non-refundable.
Do you offer pricing assistance? With our MLS plus service as well as flat rate listing service we include a professional current market analysis (CMA) with your package. The CMA will give you market data to review how similar homes in the immediate area have performed in recent sales as well as insight into competitive homes currently on market. The comprehensive Sellers Guide will provide information on how to establish proper value of your home.
What kind of customer support can I expect? With our 1% Flat Fee service, you can expect full service from our team to answer questions negotiate offers and see you through to closing. Our MLS listing services are largely self-service products to enhance your marketing by including you in the MLS. However well we are simply minimal service transaction coordinators we do offer review of pricing and offer advice on staging and showing as a courtesy.
Are there additional products available with MLS listing service? Yes, we do offer a few à la cart items to go along with your listing service as well as offer a list of ancillary services to assist you with clean out painting and other local contractor services that you can hire directly to enhance the availability of your home.
Are all the forms I need included in the listing package? Yes, we include blank forms that annotate the fact that our brokerage listing is minimal services transaction coordinator that removes agency but gives us the right to provide these forms to be completed by you as part of our product.
Do I need an attorney when selling my house on my own? It is always advisable to contact an attorney for review of the legal forms and protect your interests. We also recommend that you contact a financial advisor or accountant to best understand any tax implications or financial liabilities that you may incur when selling a home. From state to state, there may be different legal requirements for managing a for sale by owner transaction. The title & escrow company that provides your settlement services may be able to assist you or provide a referral, but cannot replace an attorney or account.
What about title and escrow? All of our MLS service customers and agency clients will have their property file initiated at a local title and escrow company in order to perform pre-title work for you as a courtesy. We do this because pre-title work illuminates any roadblocks to the transfer of title. This should be performed immediately upon listing in order to repair any defects in the title so that you may sell and close your home in a timely fashion.
Do you provide enhanced luxury property listing services? Many of our agents our luxury property certified. This certification is your assurance that the agent Is adapt at understanding a higher quality of listing preparation and marketing including but not limited to superior photography staging advice and positioning of your home properly against other luxury properties. It also includes a higher level of sophistication in negotiating a purchase contract and seeing it close.
What if I am behind on my payments? If you are facing foreclosure it is important to contact us or a local agent immediately to assist with getting your property marketed quickly and notifying the lender that you are working towards an amiable solution to become current or to pay off the debt quickly through a sale. Most of our agents are experienced in foreclosure and short sales a.k.a. distressed property sales and can help you navigate the waters. It is highly recommended that you do not choose to list your property FSBO – lenders have traditionally required that properties be listed with an agent in order to qualify for a short sale or to delay foreclosure proceedings.
Can I get an instant cash offer? Yes. in most markets we have resources to offer at least 1-4 instant cash offers. Keep in mind that instant cash offers are provided by investors and Wall Street corporations. They operate on buying wholesale in order to make a profit. For this reason we always suggest reviewing the current market conditions and the CMA to best determine how close a cash offer may be to your home’s fair value if sold on the open market before excepting a cash offer.
What are the most important factor to get top dollar? The three most important factors work together to help achieve a top dollar sale in the shortest possible time. These three include: 1) Preparation of your home in order to put your best foot forward on day one. This includes deep cleaning decluttering and packing away all excess stuff. 2) De-personalizing and neutralizing as much as possible. This means put away all personal items including brag walls! And in some cases painting the home with neutral colors. 3) Pricing the home realistically in the middle of the current median price range so that buyers believe you understand the true market value of a home. An unrealistically high price does more to scare off buyers and instill fear that the seller may be difficult to work with. For additional insights,
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Should I pay a buyer’s agency fee? While paying an agency fee for a buyer is up to you, our answer is “YES”. The reason is that many buyers do not feel comfortable dealing directly with an owner or seller. Instead, they enlist the services of a buyer’s agent in order to negotiate and understand the intangible to buying a home. They want the agent to point out the pros and cons, conduct their own market analysis for value, assist with the inspection process, and negotiate any inspection items or appraisal issues for them. A buyer agency fee of 2 to 3% is a small price to pay in order to attract all the buyer’s agents that may be have clients seeking a home like yours. And the added benefit is that the agent will do most of the work needed for the buyer to close including qualify the buyer, follow up with their lender, and watch the timeline to close in a timely fashion.
Does Home1Realty work with buyer on my listing? Yes! As a transaction coordinator for your MLS service product, we also offer marketing and open houses as well as showing for the buyers. When we do additional “services”, we may be acting as an agent for the buyer and require an additional disclosure agreement form signed. In attracting buyer(s), we may qualify for a buyer agency compensation fee should one be offered. As mentioned throughout our goal regardless which MLS product or agency service you choose is to enhance the quality of your real estate transaction.
Can my Home1Realty broker help me buy a home? Absolutely! Our agents work with both sellers and buyers. We have access to all the homes available on the market and can schedule to see homes at your convenience. As your buyer’s agent, we help isolate properties with the features you request in the areas of your choice, provide comps and offer strategy, negotiate inspection & appraisal findings, and manage the timeline right through to closing. We have the tools you need to make an informed purchase.
Does Home1Realty offer loyalty incentives? Home1Realty offers has an affinity loyalty program for customers. We reward our past customers & clients with additional discounts & incentives, include closing cost incentives, home warranty and other discounts or services depending on the transaction value and your needs. We strive to serve our customers & their friends for life!
Does Home1Realty Assist with referrals? Yes. We are members of several referral partnerships and have an extensive network of reputable agents across the country. In working with us on a referral, we advocate for the best results possible – whether the referral is for you, a family member, a friend or a neighbor.
Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee or any type of refund policy? Our Guarantee is that we provide the product(s) that we offer depending on which program you decide. For the MLS and MLS Plus products we agree to place your property with the description & photos you provide or provided in the Plus product on the local multiple listing service. The market of real estate is cyclical, variations from property to property exist and any number of factors outside the scope of agency are possible. Therefore, no guarantee on sale, price, timing or closing success is possible. You may withdraw from the MLS at any time and end product or services with Home1Realty ast any time subject to our terms and conditions.