Hello everyone.

I've been browsing for the last while and am currently selling my home via a flat fee MLS company. I have had it on the market for a couple of weeks now, and I don't really have much room to move the price (already at the break even point). So I figured instead of simply moving the price a couple thousand, I'd pick up activity by getting agents interested by offering a 4% buyers commission.

The question I have is: How can I get this in front of the agents at the local offices? I will be changing it on the MLS form, but I want to get it in front of everyone and get activity picking up. Any ideas and input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Taylor:

We don't know what city you're located in so it's hard to say exactly how the MLS in YOUR particular area handles agent notifications and or listing changes.

Many MLS systems notify of price changes, not commission changes. You may want to change the price by $100 or so. This will make the listing show up under price changes.

I know that on my MLS the front page has a daily summary with a link to details for each category. Examples:

New Listings 57
Under Contract 9
Sold 4
Price Changes 22
Expired 18
Withdrawn 0
Deleted 0

We can click on the links to view the properties & details. I personally look at them every day.

The Flat Fee service company that you paid, should be willing to help you figure this out. Out of curiosity, how much did you pay for their service & what service(s) do they offer for the flat fee?

Good luck to you!

Hello,

Thank you for the reply and advise.

I'm in Bellingham, WA. I went with MLS4owners.com. There are cheaper options out there, but I really liked their responsiveness and they've been helpful thus far. I will certainly talk with them about ideas as well.

Any cheap or cost effective ideas would be great. I'm of course going to notify all agents who have come to see the house, and I'm thinking of emailing offices/agents individually to let them know of the chance at the 4%

Thanks again!

Broadcast fax. Draw up a fax sheet, and gather fax numbers of the local offices, put ATTN: Buyer's Agents 4% Co-op! Put the Area or Development. You can probably do this in one easy broadcast fax once you gather the fax numbers of the office you want to send it to. Keep this list for the next time you want to do the same thing

Oh, you could also keep alot of copies of the above mentioned fax sheet and drop it all the mailboxes in the RE offices. When you are out and about, drop some off at each RE office you drive by. Good luck!

Thanks guys for your help.

I got the listing changed on the MLS and sent out an email to a large number of agents letting them know of the 4% opportunity. Hopefully this will pick things up!

If anyone else has any ideas on how to further get this in front of agents, I'm all ears and greatly appreciate it.

Thanks again!

Offering 4% is a decent sales decision; it may get a few agents to take a look.

But I'm going to be honest with you man, You are going to mostly just get Realtors calling to list you.

I am personally always willing to show a client a FSBO, but it's such a pain in the butt, if you think about it, it doubles my work from negotiations through to closing.
When I have a qualified buyer, I first look through my listings, then the office listings, then the MLS listings, Then the MLS limited service listings (your type), then regular old FSBO signs. From easiest transaction to hardest transaction. I try not to even look at brokerage fee as long as it's there.

And at least in my market, there are so many properties in the first 3 categories I can narrow down 5-10 homes that match my buyers criteria, and there is no need for me to go any further.

I hope it generates some traffic for you, all it takes is finding one good buyer!

Well the company is a local broker, so the listing is suppose to sit in the MLS just as if it was from another office, at least is my understanding and how it was told from the company I purchased it from. We wont be getting any calls about listing our house as it is stated that it is listed by another broker/company. From my understanding that's against the rules

"From my understanding that's against the rules "
You are correct!

OW! Australian real estate agencies only get 2.7%

Total? To be split 4 ways?

Taylor, is the 4% commission an increase from what you were offering before? If so, have you considered lowering the price by what you're willing to pay extra for in commission? If the break-even point is the same, the lower price may help your home sell faster.

why not have a professional list your house. you are offering a 4% co-op, why not have an agent list your home for a percent or 2 more and let them absorb the expense and time involved with selling a home? it just seems like a whole lot of work to try and sell the house yourself and offer a 4% co-op.


there is no set commission rate, so you can ask different agents what they charge. remember the agent who charges the least is not always the best agent out there, and neither is the agent who charges the most. it is in your best interest to interview a few agents and hire the one that best suits your needs and has a proven track record.

good luck, and send me a pm if you have any questions that you would like answered on the phone.

That was my thought exactly. There are plenty of agents that will accept a 5% listing.

Best to your sale.

I was'nt going to post until I saw agentpeter & estatereal and

I totally agree with both of them.

I'm in the mind set that a Local Top Producer sells more homes for a reason. Probably because they sell homes for more money, in less time & with less hassle than the average agent.

Especially one that needs to cut their fees in order to get a listing.