Alternatives to a Flat Fee MLS Service

Flat fee MLS services can be great for experienced FSBO sellers, but they aren’t the best option for everyone. Fortunately, if you’re unsure about using a flat fee MLS company to sell your home, you have options. Here are some alternatives to flat fee MLS services:

Alternative 1: Flat fee real estate agents

With Flat fee real estate agents, you gain the help of a licensed agent and can avoid paying a listing agent’s traditional commission. Instead of taking commission, a flat fee real estate agent asks for a one-time payment up front.

You’ll still be paying for the agent’s services, but this route lets you pay a chunk of money at the beginning of your sale. That way, you’ll know how much money you’ll be pocketing at the end of the sale.

However, it’s important to realize that flat fee agents don’t have the incentive of commission to motivate them. That means they may not work as hard to negotiate or land the most profit possible from your home sale.

Also, keep in mind that you may still have to pay the standard commission for the buyer’s agent, reducing the savings potential.

Alternative 2: Selling Your House for Cash

If you want to sell your home fast and aren’t as concerned about receiving top-dollar for your house, you can seek a cash offer from a house-buying company. When you sell for cash, you can sell quickly without having to handle much of the prep work that typical home sales require. The downside to selling for cash is that you may not receive as high of a price as you could if you listed your home on the market.

One easy and convenient way to sell your home fast for cash is to use HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform. This tool allows you to bypass repairs, showings, and commissions and presents you with a cash offer in as little as 72 hours. You’re under no obligation to accept offers, but if you do, this method makes it possible to close in as few as 10 days.

Alternative 3: Discount real estate brokers

If you go with a discount real estate broker, you’ll likely still need to pay commission. However, discount real estate brokers tend to take lower commission than full-service real estate agents. They usually provide basic real estate services, such as listing your home on the MLS, marketing your home, and managing paperwork.

These low-cost brokers can be a solid choice if you want to trim costs. Just remember that they tend to make up for low commission by plowing through as many jobs as possible. That means they may not give you the same attention and support that a full-service real estate agent would. They also don’t shield you from the buyer’s agent’s commission, so don’t forget to factor in buyer-side commission when you’re crunching the numbers.

Alternative 4: Full-service real estate agents

A final, and often most cost-effective, alternative is hiring a full-service real estate agent. If you hire a full-service real estate agent, you’ll end up paying commission. However, top-selling agents will handle marketing, market research, pricing, negotiations, paperwork, and other critical home-selling tasks.

Even though you pay commission to these professionals, they usually can secure a higher price on your home than you might receive with other options.

Jay Glover, another top-selling agent who works in partnership with Justin Glover in Grand Rapids explains, “If we can get your home listed and do all the things that we do, and use all our tools, we might be able to net you an even higher amount – even after paying a higher commission – because we’re going to reach a broader audience, we’re going to prepare your home better for market, point out things that we might think are flaws in the home before even putting it on the market, and just make sure it’s a 10 out of 10 when it’s time to actually list it.”

Data suggests sellers who lean on a real estate agent’s help often end up making more money on sales in the long run. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the typical FSBO home sold for $260,000 compared to $318,000 for an agent-assisted home sale.

What’s more, experienced real estate agents may be able to increase your profit even more. Homelight data found real estate agents that perform in the U.S.’s top 5% sell homes for as much as 10% more than average real estate agents.

One of the easiest ways to find a top-selling agent in your area is to use HomeLight’s Agent Match platform. This free tool searches your local housing market and finds real estate agents who have a proven track record for selling homes in your area.