Tennessee Flat Fee MLS » Frequently Asked Flat Fee Listing Questions

Video: Flat Fee Home Sales for Beginners

albert — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:06:17 +0000

Learn more about how to sell your real estate for a flat fee with this short video.

Can I temporarily remove my home from the market and then put it back on after the holiday?

albert — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:13:25 +0000

Yes, temporarily changing the status to unavailable and then back to active is free and easy. Keep in mind that showings on or right before the holidays are extremely rare in Tennessee, almost unheard of. Another item to consider is that Tennessee buyers who do need to look at homes right around holidays are often highly motivated buyers—out of town relocations “need to buy a home in 24 hours” kind of buyers come to mind. Lastly, there is no problem with declining a showing request by explaining that you have a holiday commitment at that time. Perhaps you could get that buyer to reschedule? It is better to have a chance to get that interested buyer in the property at some time then to never know they existed.

What is an agent friendly listing and why is it important?

albert — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:47:56 +0000

What is an agent friendly listing and why is it important?
An agent friendly listing is a listing that will motivate agents to show and sell a property to their buyers. The opposite of an agent friendly listing is a listing that confuses, alienates, or repels buyer agents. An agent unfriendly listing can make a buyer agent motivated that their buyer not view or buy the property, for fear of not earning the buyer agent commission they expect when working with a buyer.

Why do buyer agents matter?
Because statistically 86% of buyers work with agents, and agents either (1) select what properties their buyer will see, or (2) heavily influence which properties their buyers will see. For every 10 home buyers, only one won’t be working with an agent. The best buyers, the ones that are ready (pre-approved for a mortgage), willing (actively investing time and working towards a purchase), and motivated (relocating, needing to find their next home because their current home is sold, etc) almost 100% of these buyers are using agents.

How do I get an agent friendly listing?
Three factors: (1) Get the right listing brokerage, one that won’t input your listing using terms that will confuse or alienate agents. Unfortunately, the brokers that put these terms on a listing have no idea how much the way they list hurts their sellers, so they aren’t going to reveal this problem while answering questions or on their website.
(2) Make sure the listing brokerage will educate you as a seller how to respond to agent inquiries without confusing or alienating buyer agents. One good tip-off is how prominently do they recommend a key lockbox—listings without key lockboxes are more difficult and challenging for agents to show. You may not want/need a lockbox, but if the broker isn’t educating you about this most important factor in home sales it is a good indication that there will be little or no education on how to be effective in the MLS. Without good seller guidance, the seller learning curve will be steep, and you will lose buyers and precious time as you learn by your own experience, and lose even more time and buyers by the mistakes you are make for which there is no feedback/tip-offs to indicate the problem.
(3) The yard sign is often the most visible indicator of whether the listing is agent friendly. Avoid any yard sign that mentions the owner (by owner, for sale by owner, call the seller, etc.) or advertises a flat fee MLS listing service. These signs make agents worry that their buyer will go to the seller directly and they will lose the commission they were expecting to receive. Imagine in your own job finding out something that could put your next paycheck in doubt, that the last few weeks of work you have done you might not get paid anything for that time. We also recommend the yard sign confirm for agents that the property is listed in the MLS.

BuySelf Realty is a pioneer in flat fee MLS listings, in business since 1998. We invented the term and the concept of the agent friendly listing, and have refined it over the years. As a result, our sellers get more showings, more buyers, and a quicker sale then competing brokers. Agents from every large real estate company have sold our sellers’ listings.

Can you list rentals or for lease properties with Flat Fee MLS Listings?

albert — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 14:44:26 +0000

We can list properties for rent or for lease in the MLS as flat fee listings. They also show up on Realtor.com as a rental, for added exposure to help a landlord/lessor find a renter, find a tenant, or find a lessee.

Can we list commercial, retail, industrial, multi-family, or land?

albert — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 14:07:32 +0000

We can list most every kind of Tennessee property. Of course flat fee MLS listings are perfect for all kinds of residential real estate: single family homes, condominiums, townhomes, townhouses, quads, cooperatives, farms, hobby farms, manor homes, village homes, twin homes, and time shares. We can also list other property types including commercial properties, mixed use properties, land, apartment complexes, duplex, triplex, and many, many more types of properties. Here are just a few of the categories available:

Automatic Service
Beauty/Barber Shop
Bed & Breakfast
Restaurant
Tavern/Lounge
Hotel/Motel
Food Service
Business Service
Professional Service
Residential
Skyway
Warehouse
Industrial
Church
Raw Land
Finished Lots
Subdivisions
Subdivided Lots
Finished Lots
Developed Lots/Land
Undeveloped Lots/Land
Land with and without Site Plans
Acreage

What happens after I order?

albert — Mon, 21 Oct 2002 21:24:35 +0000

You can order online or over the phone. We will collect your contact information, property address, and payment information. Prefer to get all the information without paying first? No problem, just contact us with your name, property address and email, and we can send you the necessary forms.
You can immediately download the forms required by the MLS, for you to complete and send back to us.
The download also includes instructions for how to send us the photographs. There are many options, but most sellers will email us the photos from their digital camera.
The forms are user friendly, and if you have questions we are a phone call away at 800-556-3418.
Once we receive your completed forms and photos, we will input your listing. We generally input listings 7 days per week (holidays excepted).
You will receive a copy of your listing to double check for the unlikely event of an input error. You will see your phone number on the MLS listing.
All contact is directed to you, so get ready for interested buyers.
Yard signs, lockboxes, or other hardware are shipped right away and generally arrive within 2-3 days of your order.
You will see your property information showing up on Realtor.com and hundreds of other popular real estate websites within a few days.
Let the showings begin.
We are a phone call away, 7 days per week, with a Tennessee real estate licensee and flat fee specialist available for any questions or concerns you have.