{"id":782,"date":"2021-03-13T20:06:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T20:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readyretiree.com\/flat-fee-vs-traditional-broker\/"},"modified":"2023-06-26T23:43:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T23:43:17","slug":"flat-fee-vs-traditional-broker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readyretiree.com\/flat-fee-vs-traditional-broker\/","title":{"rendered":"Selling Real Estate With a Flat Fee vs. a Traditional Broker"},"content":{"rendered":"
Preparing to sell your home can be an intimidating prospect. As you get ready for your next move, your primary concern will probably be on how much you will you make from the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if this is your first time selling a house, you are probably aware that brokers typically charge a percentage on the money you get from the sale of a home as compensation for their services. This is referred to as commission payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The broker will then split the commission between itself and the agent who facilitated the sale. In most cases, they both get paid rather handsomely. As such, the traditional broker arrangement often ends up to be a costly arrangement for the home seller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flat fee is a type of arrangement that allows you to cut back on those monumental costs so that you can have a lot more in the bank once you sell the house. Here is what you need to know about flat fee listings and their benefits over traditional brokerages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to notify potential buyers that your home is available for sale, traditional brokers will put your home on an MLS (Multiple Listing Service) \u2013 which is a website where brokers sell and buy houses for their clients. An MLS is the primary method that brokers use to make house transactions. This is because once the home goes live on the MLS, it will appear in many other house selling\/buying sites as well, thus making it easy to find potential buyers. As such, when you hire a broker, they will list your home on the MLS, get leads, show your home, and make the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flat fee listing companies, however, give you access to the broker-exclusive MLS to allow you to list the house for yourself. You will pay a set fee, and that\u2019s that; you will not pay any commission when you sell the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you can tell, you will not have a dedicated broker doing all the work for you; rather, you will have to do the work yourself such as talking to the buyers\u2019 agents and showing the house. Nevertheless, the flat fee company will provide you with a team of dedicated listing agents to help you throughout the entire process at no extra cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on the fee you agree upon, the company might also include provisions such as creating \u2018For Sale\u2019 signs for you, professional photography, contracts assistance, or even a full-service agent to help you make the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some companies might get you this access for as low as $299. The additional services and features could bring this price up to between $1,500 and $3,000 depending on your location. Nonetheless, this does not compare to the traditional broker commission which could be as much as $12,000 for a $400,000 house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, flat fee companies allow you to make significant savings by eliminating the need for an agent to do most of the work for you. This drives down the costs while giving you more control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n