What is fee-for-service real estate?
Fee-for-service packages allow the seller to only pay for the real estate services they need or want. Sellers therefore save money on the real estate commission paid to the listing agent. The buyer’s agent must be compensated separately and this commission is indicated in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). I offer about six different fee-for-service packages and full details of each package can be found on my web site,
www.PointClickandPack.com. Click on the Fee for Service link on the Home page.
My least expensive package is a $550 flat fee MLS listing only. This package includes an MLS listing with 8 pictures of the house and room measurements along with exposure on all of the following web sites: the public’s version of the MLS,
www.RMLS.com,
www.Realtor.com,
www.realestate.msn.com,
www.REMAX.com, and my web site,
www.PointClickandPack.com. A RE/MAX yard sign and flyer box are included. (Add $40.00 for a custom color flyer template). With my flat fee package, the seller is listed as a limited representation agreement in the MLS. This designation tells other realtors that the sellers have paid for an MLS listing but will be representing themselves in the negotiation of all offers.
At closing, the seller pays the buyer agent’s commission (typically 2.7% of the sales price) plus a $300.00 processing fee to my brokerage. The processing fee covers my and my broker’s review of all documents, (which must be submitted to me within three business days of the sellers receipt), changing the status of the listing in the MLS and the legal requirement for me to hold the file for six years after the transaction closes.
If I have a buyer for a home listed with me under my flat fee package, I would represent both parties as a dual agent and will take care of all paperwork involved in the transaction. The commission paid to me would be equal to what the seller agreed to pay in the MLS to the selling realtor, (again, 2.7% of the sales price is most common), plus the initial flat fee investment. However, the seller would NOT pay the additional $300.00 processing fee.
Having an MLS listing allows over 5,000 realtors in the Metro Portland area to find a home online easily and to share it with the buyers they are exclusively working with. Most realtors work with approximately 5 -10 buyers at a time. As a for-sale-by-owner, (FSBO), the realtor market and the buyers working with those realtors are the primary markets sellers are missing. Because FSBO homes will not appear on the most visited public web sites, (
www.realtor.com alone generates 40,000 user hits per day), FSBO’s must rely only on buyers or realtors physically driving by their house and seeing the yard sign or seeing an ad in the newspaper to find out that their home is for sale. These avenues for selling are not as efficient as an MLS listing for finding buyers quickly.
Another benefit to listing your home with a realtor is that most sellers can deduct real estate commissions on their taxes as a cost of selling their home. Sellers should check with their CPA or tax advisor to see if those deductions apply to their situations. Please feel free to call me directly for more details about this package or any of my other fee-for-service packages. I look forward to assisting with your sale! You can reach me at 503-421-2407.
