Why use a Flat Fee MLS Listing?

Why Should You Do A Flat Fee MLS Listing?

If you’re thinking of selling your house, have you considered going with a flat fee MLS listing?
Here are some facts to consider before signing a contract with a real estate agent that promises them a big commission for selling your house.
In most areas, about 3.5 % of the final sales price will go right into the listing agent’s pocket. That’s a huge chunk of money for, in far too many cases, not all that much work. With a flat fee MLS listing, you can save thousands of dollars.
It’s the listing that is really crucial in most cases. That’s what gets your house seen, and attracts interested buyers. It’s not your listing Realtor knocking themselves out to line up a buyer for your house. Most agents list as many houses as possible, and find themselves with far too many to effectively market. But they know that once a house is on the MLS, odds are good someone will see it and make an offer. So why pay thousands and get little in return? The listing is the key factor, and with a flat fee MLS listing you can get your house seen, and save thousands of dollars.

Life is About Change

Life is About Change - It is so easy to resist change, to get bogged down in the sadness of change - I did that yesterday.

Today is a new day - today i read some inspiring quotes:

Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it. If change is of the essence of existence one would have thought it only sensible to make it the premise of our philosophy.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)

I especially like the part in "take delight in it while we have it" - you have to live in the present - i sometimes spend so much time worrying about tomorrow or regetting yesterday - i can't enjoy the NOW. Yesterday coming home with friends, I was so ready to be out of the car, to be alone, etc, etc. - and I purposely stopped looked out the window and enjoyed the view, the feel of the movement in the car - and it really helped - my mood changed instantly.

Another good quote is:

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)

How true this is!

Change is all about perception. When it's hot we want cold - when it's cold we want hot.

Housing survey

There are no great surprises in the National Association of Realtors® 2009 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, but, as in the past, the annual survey contains information useful both for consumers and for brokers and agents.

In these days almost everyone uses the Internet during the home search process. 90% used the Internet at some point and 76% said they did so frequently. Just seven years ago only 41% of buyers indicated any Internet use at all.

Of course, people looking for a home use more than just one information source. The top five were: Internet (90%), real estate agent (87%), yard signs (59%), open houses (46%) and newspaper advertising (40%). While people used a variety of sources, they certainly didn't perceive them all to be equally useful. When asked which information sources were very useful, the top three were real estate agent (81%), Internet (77%) and yard signs (42%). Ten percent of buyers found open houses to be very useful sources of information while another 25% found them to be somewhat useful.

What agents and sellers should be most interested in is not what buyers perceived to be useful but what, in fact, actually brought the buyer to the home that he or she purchased. This is where it really gets interesting.

36% of buyers found the home that they ultimately purchased on the Internet; another 36% learned of that home from a real estate agent. Over the years, the number who learned from an agent has diminished. In 2001 it was 48%. Conversely, the number who learned of their home from the Internet has grown greatly. In 2001 that number was only 8%. Interestingly, those who found their home as a result of a sign has remained relatively steady. Over the past decade that number has pretty consistently been at the 15% -16% levels. This year it was 12%.

It is interesting that the methods that actually work – that bring the right home in front of buyers – are among the least expensive: the Internet, working with an agent (who learns about properties through the MLS), and signs. 84% of buyers learned about their home through one of these sources.

INTERESTING: some of the most expensive methods – newspapers, home books and magazines, and television – are among the least effective. Only 4% of buyers found their homes via these media.

Who do For Sale by Owners (FSBO) want?

For Sale by Owners don't want real estate agents --- in fact no sellers really want real estate agents - so the FSBO and the Represented sellers have that in common.

What they both really want is a BUYER and having a real estate agent and putting the home on the MLS is just a means to an end - and everyone is happy - the sellers sell, the buyers get there home and the real estate agent eats for the next month.

Top 5 Cities Where Americans Pay Most to Live

According to Forbes here the are:

Top 5 Cities Where Americans Pay Most to Live

1. San Jose, Calif.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. Metropolitan Statistical Area
Median Monthly Housing Costs: $1,828

2. Bridgeport, Conn.
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Ct. Metropolitan Statistical Area
Median Monthly Housing Costs: $1,793

3. Oxnard, Calif.
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calf. Metropolitan Statistical Area
Median Monthly Housing Costs: $1,780

4. Washington, D.C.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V. Metropolitan Statistical AreaMedian Monthly Housing Costs: $1,706

5. San Francisco, Calif.
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. Metropolitan Statistical Area
Median Monthly Housing Costs: $1,660

Should you have an Open House?

Should you have an Open House? Will it sell your home?


Consumer sentiment about open houses has waxed and waned over the years, along with the ups and downs of the real estate market. In 1995, 41% of buyers surveyed relied on open houses to sell their home, according to data from the NAR. By 2000, it had dropped to 28%. Beginning in 2003, however, as the market started to heat up again, that number began rising. By 2005, the last year for which data is available, 51% of all sellers were using open houses, though not all agreed they were effective. Some 45% of sellers found open houses only "somewhat useful" and another 12% didn't consider them useful at all, according to the NAR.

One of the BENEFITS OF AN OPEN HOUSE an open house can be a valuable opportunity to get feedback about what is and isn’t attractive about a house.

WHO WILL COME?

• Nosy neighbors – they just want to see what your home looks like – they migh:
  • know someone who might be interested in your home
  • they could be thinking of selling and checking us out
• Bored Shoppers – looking to do something on a Sunday Afternoon, especially if it is raining
• Current Sellers – listed with another agent. We encourage you to check out the competition, so we expect that a percentage of our visitors are doing just that
• Recent Home Buyers – checking out the market to reassure themselves that they got a good deal
• Folks looking for decorating ideas – you never know, they might walk in and fall in love and decide to sell what they have and buy your home
• Buyers ready to purchase a home!
• 
  
• So you never know - it just takes one!
  
  

The real estate market may be tough, but Lauralei Properties, llc in St. Louis is trying to help homeowners who have already seen some of their equity disappear from the recent market downturn. The addition of the popular Flat Fee MLS service to the already successful Discount Marketing Programs is just another reason to trust the sale of your home to this experienced company.

Flat Fee MLS can help sellers save many thousands of dollars in real estate commissions and is the most flexible marketing plan for sellers as it allows For Sale By Owners as well as traditional sellers to place their home in the Realtors Multiple Listing Service for $195 instead of a high listing commission later.

The Multiple Listing Service is what most Real Estate agents belong to and where they typically search for home to show their buyers. The listing is also placed on the popular web site Realtor.com and other top real estate web sites including having the homes listing appear the web sites of local real estate agencies.

If the homeowner finds their own buyer without the assistance of a real estate agent, no additional fee is due. Lauralei Properties, llc has lots of experience offering discount commission programs. While there are other companies offering flat fee mls service, few offer such a wide range of discount services as well as being a local "full service" broker. Some are just Internet based companies who farm out the listing to another agency.

For Sale By Owners tend to gravitate towards Flat Fee MLS. Many feel they don't need the full range of real estate services most brokers offer. They see this service as a way to gain the massive exposure of the MLS and major web sites, while still retaining the ability to sell on their own, and not pay a selling agent commission. Should the buyer end up coming from a real estate agent, the seller is only obligated to pay the selling agency portion of the commission. They save the listing commission or approx. 50% of what most sellers pay. The small upfront Flat Fee of $195 is a bargain for the exposure offered when you consider how much newspaper ads and other services cost.

While For Sale By Owners, commonly referred to as FSBO's, are the main users of Flat Fee MLS services, it really makes sense for most sellers. Any serious seller can save thousands of dollars compared to selling through a higher commission broker. While an agent is not there to hold your hand every day throught the process, everything you really need to get your home sold is included.
Visit our web site http://www.lauralei.net for more details and the latest information.