If you put in our Property Profile a commission less than 2% it will be hard
to find a broker who would be willing to show your property to his or her
client. Brokers are human and if he or she can earn $10,000 versus $5,000 when
the client buys a home guess which one the broker will recommend. This of course is not appropriate behavior and in fact it violates the law. A realtor stands in a fiduciary relationship with his or her client and must always put the client's interest ahead of his own. That means if he finds home that is perfect but the commission is less he is still obligated to show it. Reality, unfortunately, may be a different thing.
That is easy. At the end of the Property Profile there are checkboxes to mark if you want
one or more of these services. You can also
have your own website linked to our homepage as a third service. The fee for
these services is $100 per service. If a broker brings you the buyer, $100
is deducted from its commission for each service at closing and credited
to you so that you receive the services for free. But since the amount
involved is advanced by you, it is included in your payment.
To
the brokerage world the term "fsbo" or "for sale by
owner" means that nobody gets a commission, not the buyer's broker
and not the listing broker. So if a broker sees that sign you can be sure
he or she won't come back. Thus purely as a practical matter the continued
use of your FSBO sign can only adversely affect your chances of sale. Also
up until now the FSBO sign has really not done you alot of good, even if
the traffic patterns in your neighborhood means many cars pass by your
home. Otherwise you would not have visited our site. That is a second
reason why an FSBO sign makes little further sense. So historically using
an FSBO sign once listed was almost never done. The third reason is the
most important: it can cost you THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS though you don't know
it now and won't be told until it is too late! That is because many
so-called "flat fee" brokers offer you a "free" yard
sign. But that yard sign prominently displays THEIR COMPANY AND THEIR
PHONE NUMBER. There is a good reason why they do this. If a passer-by
calls them, they will bring that buyer to view your home. And if that
person in fact buys your home, that "flat-fee broker" makes a
killing--off of you! We are the only flat fee broker in the country that
absolutely and totally refuses to play this game. We will never accept a
fee from a buyer for one of our flat fee listings. Don't be fooled by the
"free sign" trick: it is nothing but a gimmick, one that can
cost you like it has many others, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. Buy yourself a
"For Sale" sign at Ace or Home Depot for $5 or $10 and put your
own phone number on it. The "free yard sign" will likely cost
you alot more! Lastly and on a purely theoretical legal basis an FSBO sign
is permitted even on listed properties. While the MLS regulations are
unclear on this we have discussed the issue with senior MLS
representatives who have told us that FSBO signs are permitted but that
due to our concern the MLS regulations will be changed to make it clear!
The key though is to remember: you are listed. You are no longer "for
sale by owner." And that means you don't want to tell brokers that
you are. But that is exactly what an FSBO sign means. Practically it
should be avoided if at all possible.
This is the easiest question you could ask. The purchase and sale of real estate is an extremely complicated transaction involving numerous laws, regulations and court decisions. While there are tens of thousands of lawyers only a small minority have the knowledge to adequately represent a buyer of real es
