Yes!  That is the beauty of List2Move.com!  Full service agents, who are still charging 6% to list homes on the Realtor MLS, are still demanding a 3% commission for their agent counterparts ... but ... at List2Move.com, we respect our home owner's selling strategy.  Sellers, after all, are paying the commissions for the very people who are actually negotiating against them.  Buyers' agents are working in the best interests of their clients (well, they should be anyway!) and the dictate that sellers "owe" them 3% for their "services" is long outdated!  

Listed below are some of the commission strategies utilized by our clients when listing their homes on the Realtor MLS:

The $1.00 commission

Clients list their home at $1.00 for myriad reasons.  Some just plain want to work with buyers in an effort to save the entire 6%.  This strategy works best for clients who are offering a desirable product at the right price and want to attract buyers without agents. 

This strategy has worked for many of our clients.  To date this year, 60 % of our clients have successfully sold their homes without any commissions at all.  That means that they saved 3% on the selling side and 3% on the buying side! (For those that buy their new home with List2Move.com, the savings  are even greater! The earnings can then climb up to 71/2%!)

The flat fee commission

Clients who opt for this plan, decide for themselves what they feel is a fair commission.    The great thing about the flat fee commission, is that like the $1.00 commission above, sellers are in a position to negotiate.  

One of our very first clients utilized this strategy.  When a buyer's agent called the seller with a qualified buyer, she asked him if he would negotiate the commission for her services. Our client negotiated a commission that satisfied not only the buyer's agent but that still came no where near the 3% he would have paid on his higher end home under the old rules of 6%! (Clients with higher end homes don't understand why they pay so much more in commissions and who can blame them? Research tells us that it takes the buyer's agent about 40 hours to complete a transaction - regardless of the price of the home.)

Another example comes from my own experience as a seller.  When selling two of my own investment properties at the same time in 2007, I utilized a 3% commission on one (on a less desirable street) and a flat fee on the other (on a nicer street.)  Same buyer for both properties, same buyer's agent for both properties, but different commission strategies.  The money that I saved more than made up for the occasional complaints from agents!

Broker advice for those opting for flat fee commissions:  Be open to negotiations.  It has been our experience that professional agents will not complain - they will negotiate.  They are getting the notion that times are changing and if they are working with a qualified buyer, professional agents will call sellers to professionally negotiate their services.  (If though, the thought of  negotiating with agents intimidates you, this might not be your best option.)

The Percentage Commission

A commission of 1% and 2% is acceptable and many clients appreciate that they now have that option.  Be realistic about your home and what you believe is fair for bringing in buyers.  Some homes sell themselves through price, location and desirability.  Don't leave money on the table.  For the home though, that could use the boost that a buyer's agent might bring, upping the commission through negations is an option.  It is a slow market at the moment and some agents would rather earn 1% or 2% in commissions than nothing at all.  Remember though, you are selling your home to buyers, not agents.

(Some buyers have understood the work that their agents have put forth on their behalf and have paid the buyer agency commission themselves. It is another option available to sellers who wish to pay less than the typical 6% of the past. The buyer's agent, is unless otherwise disclosed, working for his buyer best interests and not for yours.)

THE FREEDOM OF OPTIONS!!

The option to declare commissions is setting sellers FREE from the high cost of selling real estate.  It is a long time coming and those that are willing to think out of the box are reaping serious savings!  The best part of listing your home with List2Move.com,  is that as a seller, you are never locked into one selling strategy.  Want to play with commissions?  You can.  Any time you wish to raise or lower the commissions that you have offered to a buyers agent - you can - with your own computer and on your own time frame.  List2Move.com is completely automated and data-driven and sellers can tweak their strategies anytime, day or night, with the stroke of a few keys!  It is your selling strategy and your money! Enjoy the freedom of naming your own commissions and ... saving the THOUSANDS of DOLLARS that comes with it!

Q. WILL AGENTS "SNUB" MY LISTING?

Well, some of them are determined to make you think so. Scaring the public into believing that they have the "power" and the "magic" to make By Owner home sellers sorry for trying to save their own money is unfortunately still the case with some area realtors. Many By Owner home sellers with the "gall" to sell their own homes over the years have reported that realtors have gone out of their way to communicate to them that they will not bring buyers to their listings.

So what do we say to that?  Baloney! The realtor that takes the time to call you and tell you that he will not bring to you a buyer ...does not have a buyer. They are venting and blowing smoke. (They are also breaking the law - but we will deal with that later.)

If you are offering 3% to an agent to bring to you a qualified buyer - agents with a qualified buyer (interested in your home) will beat a path to your door in order to present him to you. Realtors don't care if sellers hired aliens to get them onto the MLS - they care about their commissions and about from where the next commission after that... is coming.

Some realtors may not like the fact that so many people are selling on their own these days but like any other person, they have kids to feed and mortgages to pay. Realtors will no sooner walk away from thousands of your dollars "on principal" than will anyone else.

Realtors calling to "harass" and "punish" you are out there but thankfully they are in fact the small minority. But if and when one does remember this:

Buyers agents are hired by buyers with the expectation that the agent will put his own feelings aside and do what is in the buyers interests - NOT HIS OWN!  An agent that readily admits to you that he does just the opposite is telling you more about his own moral and professional codes than he probably should. 

The agent that calls you and tells you that he is boycotting your listing is BREAKING THE LAW! Steering and boycotting are against the law in NYS and those that admit to it are as contemptuous of the law as they are the public that it serves.

The agent who tells you that he will walk away from thousands of dollars in commissions in order to teach you "a lesson"... is bluffing. Most realtors only close a few deals a year - they can afford to call and harass you because they don't have a buyer to begin with.

Professional Realtors that adhere to higher moral and professional codes will never call to harass you. They are the realtors who have sold many of our client's homes because even if the commission is NOT 3% - they call to negotiate - not vent! These are the buyer's agents with whom it is a pleasure to work and you will know them by the way in which they treat not only their own clients but by how they treat you!

Note: One agent who tried to shield his client from a listing in 2008 because he did not like the lower commission shot himself in the foot doing it. When the buyer found the listing on Homesteadnet.com on his own a few days later he asked his agent why the home had not been presented to him. The agent in fact not only lost a buyer and a commission (the buyer made the deal on his own with our client) but a great deal of self respect too.

* Remember - rogue agents are all talk... and they can only make you miserable if... you let them!

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Q: WHAT IF I AM IN A HURRY TO SELL?

List your home on the Realtor® MLS (full service or flat fee) and price your home according to market conditions.

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Q. DO I NEED TO PURCHASE A SIGN?

No. A professional Realtor® yard sign is included with all Realtor® MLS listings in most areas. Either way we always recommend that you have a sign in your front yard with your phone number on it!  Other services are also available to our clients including Realtor® lock boxes, video tours, and professional CMAs.

Q: FULL SERVICE AGENTS SAY THE PAPERWORK IS DAUNTING AND THAT I COULD MAKE A MISTAKE.  THEY CITE EXPERIENCE AND MARKETING AS A REASON TO PAY OUT 6%.  ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT?

Our flat fee clients are given all of the paperwork and disclosure forms necessary to ensure compliance with NYS laws and guidelines. Have a question? Call or email us or speak to your lawyer. 

As for experience; per the National Association, in 2005, 24% of Realtor® sale associates have been less than 1 year in the business!   If you do, decide to list full service, check out how long your Realtor® has been in the business and their reputation. There are a lot of really great, professional Realtor®s out there that deserve their hard-won reputations.  Be sure to find one!  If you are going to pay 6% or 7%, you may as well pay for the best! If you want an unbiased opinion call us. We have the stats on every agent.

As far as marketing goes: If you are listed on the same Realtor® MLS that full service Realtors® utilize in the marketing of their listings, what do they have that you don't? 

(Remember, less than 5% of full service Realtor®s sell their own listings. Selling their own listing means that they find the buyer, as opposed to the buyer or buyer's agent finding them on the Realtor® MLS).
 

Full service Realtors® rely on the same Realtor®MLS database that flat fee listers do. There is no magic in real estate - just tools of the trade;  exposure being primary!

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Q: YOUR SITE EMPHASIZES LISTING ONLINE.  CAN I LIST AT YOUR OFFICE?

Since we are a technology driven company, and because less overhead offers our clients more service at a better price. Listing online offers our clients the opportunity, convenience, and the benefits of listing their properties on the  Realtor® MLS on their own time.  Also, our clients control their own listings, making changes and listing open houses according to their own schedules - not ours!  (We are still surprised by how many of our clients list and make changes to their listings well after the workday is over!  But that is the beauty of our system!  You control every facet of your listing - anytime - of any day!)

If you are listing online and have questions, check out the Listing Tutorial on our site or call! We are happy to talk to you and walk anyone through the process. We are always available to our clients.

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Q: CAN I ADD SERVICES TO MY LISTING AS I GO?

Sure. Come back to our website anytime and purchase services on line.  It is your selling strategy. Tweak it whenever necessary, and at your own convenience!

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Q: WHAT HAPPENS IF I LIST FLAT FEE BUT WISH LATER TO LIST FULL SERVICE?

You may withdraw your listing at anytime. List2Move^® will refund your flat fee listing cost upon the sale of your property, if you choose to use a full service Realtor® referred to you by us. (Win/Win Disclosure: We receive a referral fee directly from the broker/agent and pass your listing fees back on to you at  the closing table.)

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Q: YOU MENTION THAT YOU ARE A FULL SERVICE BROKERAGE.  ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE LOCAL MLS?

Yes.  Roxwell Properties, Inc.  is a member of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors.  Our broker is a New York State Certified Real Estate Instructor.   He is also a recipient of the GRAR Sales Master Gold Award.    All affiliates are also members of their local MLS.

We are excited about the changes being wrought in the real estate industry by new technologies.  We love what we do and sharing our knowledge and experience with our clients ... sellers and buyers! 

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