Realtors have accepted the challenge of home sellers listing their homes on the MLS (multiple listing service) for a flat fee. Some real estate professionals feel it makes more work for the buyer's agent, while others see this as a method to get a foot in the door of the For Sale By Owner market.

Normally the decision to sell your home, gave you two options. You could list your home with a traditional real estate company and pay 6-7% commission or you could try selling on your own "for sale by owner". Independent research shows that nearly half of all home sellers begin by trying to sell their property themselves. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) home seller survey says that 85% of homes sold have had some type of exposure on the MLS. For the hard-nosed sellers who do successfully close a transaction on their own, they end up giving big incentives or any commission savings goes to the buyer. In the past, licensed Realtors did not like to show for sale by owner homes because most of the time they do not have a written agreement with their buyers to be compensated. So, the seller, who does not have a written agreement to pay the Realtor, could circumvent the Realtor who brings a prospect and negotiate directly with the buyer. It has happened.

A solution has come to market just for these situations called the flat fee MLS service, the seller has agreed in writing to pay a commission, usually 3%, to the buyers agent. This motivates Realtors to bring buyers to for sale by owners.

The Flat Fee MLS service works as follows: The listing agent agrees will agree to a one-time fee instead of a 2 1/2 to 4% commission of the sales price. This fee can range from $300-$700 to add your house to the MLS. Then he home seller chooses how much to pay the buyers agent commission for bringing a successful buyer which is typically 3%. For example, if you sold a $250,000 house you would pay $7,500 plus the MLS Listing fee which will save you approximately $7,200 in commissions. The number one benefit is, of course, the savings, and your written agreement that you still retain the right to sell your property as a FSBO to buyers without an agent. So you can still save all the commission if you find a buyer for your property using the Flat Fee MLS Listing service. The benefit for the listing agent is possible buyer inquiries on this property or for a different property due to size, appearance or other factors and leads to sales transaction for you. It is really a win-win situation for both the agents and the home seller.

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