Best contact State on Monday review what the terms would be in this situation.

We do flat fee listings here in Dallas our contracts are a specific way protect seller with no hidden fees. It does save seller $1000's at closing however buyers agent is still paid norm within standard practice in that area. Also allows incentive sale your home over another "like residence"

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Lynn911

Excellent answer from Chris Payton below.

And Rockinblu's FSBO Blog is excellent - read and enjoy!
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If you "feel you have been duped", you may want to see a Real Estate Attorney for Legal Advice.

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I don't know who your Broker is... These are just general comments about Flat Fee MLS and are in no way intended to interfere with any existing Contractual Relationship between you and any Broker.


Was the Broker possibly referring to the commission that you have to pay to the Selling Office? That is, the amount that must be offered to MLS cooperating brokers.

Bearing in mind that Commissions and Fees are negotiable between Brokers and Sellers, and that any attempt between Brokers to Price-Fix or establish a Set Fee for an area may be a violation of Federal Anti-Trust Laws:

If you are offering a Co-Brokerage Fee (aka, "Split") that is only 0.5% , then you may have problems in getting your house shown by other Real Estate Agents.

Even though it may be, and probably is, a violation of the Realtor Code of Ethics, many Real Estate Agents will try not to show a property unless they are getting paid a good commission. 0.5% is pretty low. (There is a long rambling thread on Trulia where you can read over 700 opinions on this low commission issue).


My company does Flat Fee MLS and discounted brokerage (in Florida); we strongly encourage Sellers to offer a Selling Commission that is equal to or higher than the fees being offered in the MLS for similar properties.

As Chris pointed out below, since the impetus of the sale may be upon you, be sure to do a Full Disclosure in Writing of any known defects, conditions, or issues that affect your house, or the value of your house, or your neighborhood. Your Broker may be able to provide a Seller's Disclosure Form to you.

Another issue is the quality of Photographs that will appear on Realtor.com and in the MLS, etc. Since most $299 Flat Fee MLS Programs (including my company) require [you] the Seller to take the photos and upload them, be sure that they are of the highest possible quality. Buyers surfing the Internet are looking at photos... bad photos = back button. Cell phone pictures, un-enhanced photos taken on cloudy days, photos of cluttered rooms, oil-stained garage floors, etc. will work against you. Hopefully you have access to a Good Digital Camera (if necessary, borrow one, or go to Best Buy and get one) .

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Best wishes to you,
Fred
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Easman61,

Obviously even if this is the truth, he should have advised you initially instead of after the fact. You might want to read my blog attached to the link below for another thing to watch out for concerning dealing with flat fee arrangements. There are some other useful tips in it as well.

http://www.trulia.com/blog/rockinblu/2008/08/thinking_about_…

I am not aware of any special Arkansas requirements, so I would ask your Broker for a written copy of those requirements. I work for a full commission Real Estate Firm, so I just may not be aware of the law surrounding the flat fee Brokerages.

Also, if they are placing it for sale in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), then you must be offering a commission to the agent that sells your home, correct? Make sure that offering is in writing on your listing agreement. Also, make sure you receive written copies of everything you've signed so far.

Please know that if your Broker is placing your home on the MLS for a flat fee, then they must be a Realtor, and thus must abide by the Realtor Code of Ethics. Go here to see what that means to you: http://www.realtor.org/realtororg.nsf/pages/consumersplash

To protect yourself, make sure you disclose in writing anything pertaining to your home that might affect value, or anything that may be wrong or broken. Your Broker should send you a copy of the Arkansas "Seller's Property Disclosure" for you to fill out and give to all prospective buyers.

I wish you good luck in the sale of your home!