Real Estate Contracts FSBO Websites For Sale Signs Contact Me

MLS Listing by Owner

A Brief Lesson

MLS listing by owner, is a fairly new add-on to the for sale by owner arsenal, when it comes to selling by private sale.

MLS which stands for Multiple Listing Services, is probably the strongest argument that the Realtor have for listing with a real estate broker.

The reason the MLS system has an advantage is the multiplication factor. Here is what happens:

A homeowner named Dan lists with real estate agent Beth.

Beth enters the property into the MLS system.

Every agent that belongs to the MLS system, now has the informationabout Dan's house and can either sell themselves, or if they practice in a different area, make a buyer that is moving to Dan's area, aware of the property and the details.

I've always thought that the MLS system as the biggest advantage that Realtors have, when it comes to selling real estate.

Now You Can Have it Both Ways

Not every country, state, province, or territory, may have this service available.

The Short and Sweet of this system

You are "for sale by owner" promoting and showing your own property.

You are also listed with an agent that provides the MLS exposure.

You pay the real estate agent a flat fee for the service. This may be in the $300.00 to $500.00 range.

You also agree to pay any selling agent that finds a buyer a commission. This may be somewhere in the 2 - 3% range.

If you find the buyer yourself and complete the transaction without a real estate agent, you are only out the flat fee.

Advantages of MLS Listing by Owner

The advantages of MLS whiule for sale by owner are:

Exposure - Realtors will possibly bring qualified buyers to your house.

Exposure - Buyers may find your listing on such places as Realtor.com or Homes.com in the U.S.A. and buy directly through you.

Cost - If you sell through a Realtor this way, you save the commission minus the flat fee.

The Disadvantage of MLS Listing by Owner

Cost - You will pay more money out of pocket than if you sell the traditional "for sale by owner" way.

A Comparative Example of Costs

Using our traditional $275,000.00 house that I've been using throughout this website, lets look at the comparison of costs.

Whether you are doing a traditional "for sale by owner", or a MLS by private sale, your advertising costs, signs, flyers etc, should be roughly the same.

Don't forget, you are still offering your house "by private sale".

What we will do, is just look at the Extra cost involved with a MLS for sale by owner sale. We will look at two different scenarios.

You Sell Without a Realtor

In case you are using the MLS listing by owner and you find and sell to your own buyer, it would cost you:

The flat listing fee of perhaps $300 - 500 plus any applicable taxes.

Sell Through a Realtor

In case you use the MLS listing by owner option and you sell to a buyer that a Realtor brings you, your costs would be:

The flat listing fee of perhaps $300 - 500 plus any applicable taxes,

PLUS

The Buyer Commission percentage on your contract. This may be in the 2% - 3% range.

Lets split things in the middle and say the listing fee is $400.00 and the selling commission is 2.5%. We will not consider the taxes that may be involved.

Here is the 4 different possibilities of FEES ONLY costs.

Sell on your own. - $0.00

Sell using MLS listing by owner but, you find and sell to the buyer on your own.- $400.00

Sell using MLS listing by owner and a Realtor brings you the buyer.- $400.00 plus 2.5% of $275,000.00 = $6,875.00 bringing the total to $7,275.00

Sell using the full MLS service without the option to sell privately.- 5% of $275,000.00 = $13,750.00.

Savings Please

Obviously, you put more money in your pocket if you sell totally on your own. You will have costs, but they will vary greatly depending on some of the following;

Advertising budget for Newspaper Ads and Internet Exposure

"Listing" with a for sale by owner company costs.

Length of time on the market.

Extra costs such as signs, Flyers, Feature Sheets etc.

Lets just compare the Full MLS listing costing $13,750.00 and the MLS for sale by owner listing costing $7275.00

Some simple math would mean if you sold using MLS listing by owner service, you would save;

$6,475.00 plus any taxes on the difference compared to selling by the traditional full MLS system.

How do I do this MLS Listing by Owner?

You can simply go on line and search for MLS websites that give you the for sale by owner option. Depending on where you live, you may find many companies, few companies, or none.

Look at their services and costs and then you decide if this is a viable option to you.

For More Information about Using Realtors

For Sale by Owner Realtor Types

Real Estate Fees

How to Find a Realtor that will Represent You

Go Full MLS While Still For Sale by Owner

Understanding Real Estate Agency

Handling Realtors - Main Page

Home Page

Disclaimer Privacy Policy Contact Me