MARKETING is ONE OF the THREE components in selling a home. The majority of marketing done by many agents is to place the property for sale on an MLS website. Our company is part of the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the folks who work there are wonderful. Fifty years ago, it was innovative and unique. Today it is but one web-based tool for Sellers to use when selling their home.
What most Sellers don’t know is that there are multiple FLAT FEE real estate brokers in most areas that can get them MLS access for a modest fee of a few hundred dollars. The fees may vary depending on a few factors such as the number of photos posted. Once on the MLS, the information is typically also shown on other sites such as Homes.com; Realtor.com; Zillow and more. And these companies probably won’t lock you into a year long contract! Why jump into the most expensive way to sell your home right off the bat?
If Sellers want more exposure, they can place advertisements themselves in magazines or newspapers, again, for relatively modest costs. Sellers are going to find that if they want to use other tools, they can be had on the open market at costs far below that of traditional real estate commissions.
That largely takes care of MARKETING the property. The OTHER TWO components needed in the sale are help with VALUATION, again Flat Fee companies may also offer this for a fee or the true experts in the area of real estate valuation, APPRAISERS, can provide this service again for a one-time fee and these are very useful negotiating tools.
The last component (which may be the best the place to start) is help in NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SYSTEM. Consumers may be surprised to know that they can hire a real estate attorney for less money than a real estate agent. Those attorneys are adept at preparing and reviewing contracts and you’ll never hear from them (when a problem arises) – “You better call an attorney”- because they are already there.
When you put together the individual cost of the pieces, MARKETING, VALUATION AND SYSTEM NAVIGATION, you will find that it may cost you several thousands of dollars but NOT TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars. You can get everything you need, with individual experts at a lower cost.
