HOW THE TRADITIONAL REAL ESTATE SYSTEM WORKS
In every real estate transaction there’s a home seller and a home buyer. Usually a real estate agent represents each. The home seller (say that’s you) has a listing broker who lists the property with MLS (Multiple Listing Service). The home buyer also has an agent who finds properties for their buyer to look at on the MLS. Both agents receive commission on the sale of a home.

The Listing Broker (who works for you, the seller) is paid a commission (by you) upon transacting a home sale. Then he or she gives a part of that the home buyer’s agent. That commission is usually somewhere around 6% of the selling price of your home, which is a substantial amount of money – your money!

If you sell your home for say $200,000, 6% is $12,000. That’s how much gets subtracted from what you receive from the home sale, not even taking into account other normal closing costs.

CUT YOUR COSTS DRAMATICALLY OUR WITH OUR FLAT FEE MLS SERVICE
Our flat fee MLS listing service lets you cut the Listing Broker fees. You will still pay the buyer’s agent a commission, but the listing broker gets a small flat fee up front rather than 3% (or any other percent). If you happen to sell to a buyer with no realtor then you pay no commission whatsoever. SaleByOwnerRealty.com has spent the last 7 years developing a trusted network of brokers willing to take flat fee listings and now you can take advantage of that network. In many areas we have several brokers so if you aren’t happy with one you can try someone else.

You get all the benefits and exposure of an MLS listing and save thousands of dollars when you sell your property.

ORDERING IS FAST AND EASY
When you decide to list your property through our service you can either call us at 877-657-7211 and place your order over the phone or you can use our easy and quick online order service.

Either way we’ll take your billing address, the address of the property you are selling, and contact information like your telephone numbers and email address. We’ll also collect your payment. Once your order has been completed we’ll send it to the number one flat fee broker in your area. They will contact you within just a few hours and they will send you all the forms you need to get your property listed.

MEANWHILE...

• Get your photos ready. Photos need to be in .jpeg format, and certainly no smaller than 640x480 pixels. Take some time to put together a good collection of photos. You will need one of the front exterior of your property and then usually the kitchen, living room, master bedroom and bath and pool or outside yard. Don’t rush this step. Your photos are going to provide your all important curb appeal. A little care, a little review and you can put together an attractive group of shots.
• Set up your SaleByOwnerRealty.com webpage. This is an online form that you will fill out with property details, a description, and then you’ll upload your photos. This webpage will also produce a flyer for your prospective buyers. There is no limit to the length of description you can write but in order for the flyer to print on 1 page you need to limit the decription to about 17 lines.
• Work on a good description for the MLS. About 300 characters describing the main features that make your home desirable or a good value.
• Establish a price. Use one of the online evaluation services like zillow.com, Homevalues.com or electronicappraiser.com to get an idea of the value of your Property. You can also ask your broker to run some comparables for you. Remember you need to look at prices of property that has sold, not just what People are asking.
• If you haven’t done it already start getting your house “show ready” – that means uncluttered, sparkling clean, lightbulbs replaced and small repairs done. Check out some of the online staging websites for some easy to apply ideas that will help make your home more appealing on first sight.

GETTING YOUR ACTUAL MLS LISTING
Once you have the forms from the broker you need to sit down and fill them out.

Be sure to hang on to everything he sends you for future reference, pay attention to the contracts and to any explanations he sends regarding his services. Keep track of his telephone and email information, pay attention to any instructions regarding how to make changes to your listing, and close attention to any requirements there are about the reporting of purchase agreements and closings. Look over any additional services to see if there’s anything extra you might like to contract with him for, either now or perhaps in the future.

Once you’ve filled everything out to the best of your ability, you will fax or scan and email it to the broker, and also send them your photos. They will then enter your listing into the MLS and send you a copy for review. Your 6 month listing period begins the day you are actually listed in the MLS.

REALTOR.COM AND OTHER PUBLIC WEBSITES
Your listing will appear in Realtor.com 2-5 business days after it becomes active in the MLS. From there it will also make its way into other public real estate portals like MSN real estate, AOL real estate and others. Other local realty companies that have MLS search on their website, may also download your listing from the MLS, however we have no control over that or over the way your listing may or may not appear on sites like MLS.com or Homes.com.