The Multiple Listing Service, also known as the MLS, is a portal that real estate brokers can access to list properties, view local real estate data, and interact with other brokers. Most people recognize the MLS as the database that all realtors use to post homes for sale. The MLS can only be accessed by local licensed realtors, who pay a membership fee. There are over 800 MLS’s in the country and each one is geographically based. Real estate listings should only be posted on the local MLS. Realtor.com acts as a nationwide collection of all properties listed on the 800 MLS's around the country. The only way to get your home listed on the MLS is through a licensed broker who is a member of your local MLS.
Many homesellers are unaware that they can get their home listed on the MLS without paying 5%-7% commission to an agent. Some homesellers don’t think they can get their FSBO listing on the MLS because they do not want to sign a listing agreement with an agent. However, FSBO’s can successfully list and sell their for sale by owner property on the MLS. A growing trend in the United States is homeowners wanting to get their home listed through the Flat Fee MLS service. It is a simple process that allows sellers to get their home listed on the MLS by paying a FSBO-friendly broker a one-time, flat-fee payment.
Many homeowners want the exposure the MLS provides, but they do not want to hire a realtor to sell the property because of the commission fees. The Flat Fee MLS product is a great option for these homesellers to get their home on the MLS without paying a full commission. This can help homesellers save thousands of dollars when selling their home. With a Flat Fee MLS offering, homesellers are able to post their property on the local MLS through this "a la carte" option. They can pay a few hundred dollars and enjoy the same exposure they would have if they listed with an agent, but instead of paying the listing agent a commission they pay a flat fee.
If you are going to list your home on the MLS, you should consider offering a commission to the buyer’s agent. Instead of paying 5%-7% commission at closing, the you will pay about half of that, around 2%-3% in commissions to the buyer’s agent. This is a significant savings of thousands often tens of thousands -- of dollars. That is where Fizber.com comes in.
Fizber.com offers a competitive, low-cost ($295) fee for our Flat Fee MLS service. This service gets you 6 months on your local MLS. Additionally, your local MLS listing will share your property with Realtor.com as well as other sites that have sharing agreements with your local MLS (Zillow, Trulie, etc.).
Here’s how it works:
- When you purchase the Flat Fee MLS from Fizber, a receipt will be sent to the email address you provided.
- You will be contacted via email by a licensed broker/brokerage who will put your listing on the MLS. The broker will send the MLS paperwork to the email address associated with your Fizber account. Please check your junk mail, sometimes the forms end up there.
- All inquiries from the MLS are forwarded to you by the broker that posted your listing on the MLS. Even though the broker put your listing on the MLS, you are still in control and will be responsible for answering all questions from buyers, setting up showings, negotiating the sales price, and handling the seller’s closing paperwork.
- Once you receive the paperwork, please fill it out and send it back to the broker along with the photos of your property. Once they receive your completed paperwork, your MLS listing will go live within 1 to 2 business days. At that point the 6 month MLS listing starts.
- Once it’s live on the MLS, Realtor.com will pick it up within 24 to 48 hours.
- Now your listing will receive maximum online exposure.
- You will start receiving buyer inquiries!
- Soon you will Find a qualified buyer and close the deal!
Flat Fee MLS History
In the early 1990’s an agent in Florida owned a brokerage and started offering "a la cart" services to his clients. When homesellers purchased these services from him, he would accept a flat fee instead of a percentage of the sales price when the transaction closed. One of the most popular a la carte options was the Flat Fee MLS listing. The agent would unbundle this service and post the home for sale on the MLS without requiring the homeseller to use his other services.
The reason the Flat Fee MLS listing was so popular was it offered the exposure the MLS provides while cutting out the listing side of the commission. Homesellers could now work directly with the buyer’s agent (and still need to offer the buyer’s agent a commission). By doing this, they typically save about half of the commission. As home prices have increased over the years, this saving has become very significant to home-sellers.
The Flat Fee MLS has dramatically changed the way homesellers think about selling their home. It is also a very different way of selling a home from the traditional method. Over the last 25-30 years, technology has empowered the homeseller to control several aspects of the home sales process that were very difficult to manage before the internet era. As home-sellers utilize technology to sell their home, they will be able to cut down costs and keep more money in their pocket. Fizber will continue to empower home sellers to sell their home by owner and save the commission!