Kill Real Estate Fees

“How To Save $5,000, $10,000 or Even
Over $30,000 When Selling Your
Home—Secrets Real Estate Brokers Don’t
Want You Know!”

From: Clay Adams, N.C. 

Dear Friend, 

If you’re a North Carolina home owner and looking to sell your home while saving thousands of dollars in real estate commissions, then this could be the most important message you read this year! 

Here’s why: A lot of savvy home owners are discovering that they can get incredible marketing exposure of their properties (for a ridiculously small fee) just like using the full-fledged service of a real estate agent.  Home sellers, just like you, are selling their homes fast and saving $6,000, $10,000 and even over $30,000—money that would normally go into a Realtor’s® pocket. 

Surprised? Well, let me explain … 

Let’s say you decide to sell your home for $300,000 at the typical 6 percent agent fee.  You’re saying that you are willing to pay $18,000 out of the sale price of your home for the expertise offered by your real estate agent.

Now, that’s a lot of money and nothing to sneeze at.  But before you go away thinking you’re just enriching one sales person, this chunk of a change is typically split up equally between four people – listing broker, sales agent, buyer’s broker and agent. 

So, each of those four agents will get about $4,500 from the selling price of your home.  (Different arrangements can occur between different brokers and their sales people, but for simplicity we’ll leave it as each person getting 1½ percent each.) 

Considering that a home within a hot market may be sold within just a few days, more than a few home sellers may begrudge a Realtor’s® fee.  It’s not surprising, therefore, that more and more people are selling their own homes without the use of an agent, the so called “For Sale By Owner” or FSBO market. 

The great attraction of this arrangement to the FSBO seller is that he keeps 100% of the selling price for the home.  But, I’m sure that you’re smart enough to know there are really no free lunches in life.  Everything comes with a tag price. 

FSBO VS. Realtor®

Now I’ve seen many people on either side of the fence get all bent out of shape arguing for the advantages and disadvantages to using the going-it-alone route or using a Realtor®.  FSBO sellers try to belittle real estate agents and real estate agents try to show the “dangers” of going it alone.  Each accusing the other of using “scare tactics” to their own advantage. 

But what are you really paying a real estate agent for when you hire her to sell your home?  If she is worth her salt, then that agent will assess your home for all its appeals and charms, capture these on film, perform a comparative market analysis to see what homes just like yours in your neighborhood are selling for, write up an appealing ad, show the home to potential and qualified buyers, negotiate offers and counter-offers and facilitate the deal through to the end. 

A competent real estate agent is an expert in home selling and would be more informed than the average seller about your home’s worth, trends in the housing market and how to ‘pitch’ your house’s value.  In other words, she is more informed than you are and would most likely sell your house faster than you could. (There’s a ton other factors of course such as supply and demand for the house you are selling.)

If you decide to go the FSBO route, then you’ll have to do all the marketing yourself and deal with all the legalese and the other bumps in the road.  If you feel comfortable in orchestrating the sale of the most valuable piece of property you own, then who’s to judge you.  We don’t live in a perfect world and either deal can go sour—whether Realtor® assisted sale or FSBO. 

But what if there was a way to save money in real estate agent fees AND still get the same exposure and marketing power of an experienced real estate agent.  It’s almost like having your cake and eating it too!

Flat Fee Listing!  

Let’s return to the $300,000 home example that we used above. The agent that you used to list the house with (the listing broker) gets 3 percent commission for her marketing package.  If she sells the home herself, then she keeps the full 6 percent, but if another agent brings a buyer, then he gets the other 3 percent. 

Now listing agreements change from state to state but the fees are contingent upon the successful sale of the home. 

What if instead of paying a percentage commission to your listing broker you paid a flat upfront fee instead? Well, this is the whole idea of flat fee listing.  So in our example you may pay a flat $349 fee to the listing broker saving yourself over $8,500 in the process!  And in case you sold the house without a buyer’s agent, that amount jumps to $17,500!! 

One of the huge advantages of going the flat fee listing route is that your property will get listed in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  A MLS is simply a database which allows real estate brokers in a defined area to share information about properties for sale with each other.  So when a buyer inquires about a property he wishes to purchase, the broker can access this database and try to match the requirements of this potential buyer.  Only member brokers and their agent typically can participate in the MLS. 

This leaves the FSBO out of the loop as he cannot enter information about his property into this database—that is, without the help of a broker who can do this for a flat fee. 

A property listed in the MLS gives the owner a wide exposure to potentially all the member brokers of that MLS and dramatically improves chances of a quick sale.  So if there are 6,000 member brokers and their agents in this MLS, you suddenly have your property before all these eyes. 

So What’s The Main Difference Between
‘Flat Fee Listing’ And ‘Full Listing’? 

Well, in a full service listing agreement you are entering into contract with a Realtor® for typically 6-9 months where you give the company “Exclusive Right of Sale”.  During this period you cannot sell your house “FSBO” and you’re committed to pay the typical 6% commission on the sale of the property. 

When you choose flat fee listing there is no long-term commitment and you can change to full listing at any time you choose.  In other words, if you change your mind about going it alone you could always “upgrade” to another package. 

If you are successful in finding a buyer for your property on your own without the assistance of a real estate agent, then you would pay NO commission; just the MLS flat fee. It’s that simple.  

When Realtors® search the MLS database, they don’t care who listed the property. Their primary concern is that the customary 3% commission is being offered, which they can clearly see from the MLS data.  

So the main disadvantage of the full listing service is the long-term commitment whereas the clear advantage for the flat fee listing is the money you save.  The purpose of using a discount MLS listing service is to avoid paying the customary 3% listing side of the commission while still getting the benefit of the MLS. The key is that as a FSBO you must be willing and able to show the property yourself.  

All Flat Fee Listing Services Are
Not Created Equal 

Flat Fee Listing services may be the fastest growing segment of the real estate industry. And because of the attractive nature of “the deal” many innocent home sellers simply use the first company that approaches them without performing their due diligence. 

But one Flat Fee Listing service can be night and day apart from another.  In fact, there are many companies (especially on the internet) who advertise as a Flat Fee Listing company but are simply selling these listings to real estate brokerages.  They are just the marketing front (middle men) for other brokers and in for the quick buck with little concern about the quality or the results you get.  And you’ll agree with we that you usually get what we pay for. 

Just think about it:  Most companies will gladly take your money, list your property in the MLS and you’re on your own from then onwards. You don’t get help with the contract, no phone consultation in case you need a question answered … I mean, it’s just minimum service.  You are really paying for MLS data entry, if you asked me.   

But I don’t think that’s good enough. 

INTRODUCING …
A Flat Fee Listing Service With A Lot Of Difference!

Only recently has the market become crowded with Flat Listing companies which have made it even more critical for the home seller to be very selective. 

And here’s why: When you list your home with an MLS through a Flat Listing company they are suppose to enter your property information and also manage the queries that come to them about your property. 

Now you cannot be listed in the MLS as the person to contact for property information updates because you are not a licensed broker.  This means that, even as a FSBO, a buyer has to pass their queries for more information through the listing broker to you.  But if that brokerage is just looking for the quick buck they don’t want the hassle of passing this information to you. 

The question you must ask therefore is, “What system does this company have in place to handle the request for more information about my property listing?”  And the answer to that question is what separates the quality service companies from the ‘wannabees’. 

And this is what places ADDvantage™ Real Estate Services a notch above the rest.  But that’s not all.  In fact, here’s just some of what you can expect when you choose to list your property with ADDvantage™:
 

• You can get us by phone-LIVE-8AM to 8PM, 7 Days per week!  Just call between those hours and 99% of the time you’ll get a live person answer the phone, not a recorded message asking to leave your information in the hope that we’ll return the call.  Customer service for us is #1.
  
  
• Your MLS listing is entered by our staff, not passed on to some third party.  We are not a front for some other company but are personally responsible to you to make sure you get all the benefits of listing with us.
  
  
• You get a cutting-edge marketing package designed to get your property sold fast!  Yes, we are more than just a website.  Your ads are shown on Realtor.com, Homes.com MSN, AOL, MonsterMoving, Wall Street Journal.com, Netscape, Homestore, Trulia, CityCribs, PropSmart, Google base, Google adwords, Yahoo classified, Buyer'sKEY (coming soon) and many more. You get a free custom brochure template and you can upload up to 10 photos of your property at no extra cost.
  
  
• You get a FREE bright orange highly visible yard sign to advertise your property, you simply cover shipping and handling.  This professional looking sign will attract a lot of attention to your property and our customers can tell you that they work!
  
  
• You pay only AFTER you are satisfied with what you are getting.  Almost all flat fee listing companies take your money first, collect the property information from you and then have you sign the listing agreement last.  They are smart enough to know that you may not sign after you see all the added fees and trying to get you money back can prove difficult because response is VERY slow.  BUT with ADDvantage™, making your payment is the very last step, so there are no surprised because you’ll know exactly what you are getting.
  
  
• You get FREE contracts and disclosures.  As an ADDvantage™ client you’ll get access to a clients-only section of the website where you can download all the important seller forms.  Just in case you need other forms you can request them from us at any time.
  
  
• You get FREE contract advice.  Because we are a licensed real estate brokerage our brokers will assist you with any questions you have about sales, contracts and offers. You won’t be left in the dark to sort through these questions on your own.  Even if you are a first time FSBO you have nothing to fear.
  
  
• You get to manage your own listing on our website.  All you need to do is log in to GetMoreOffers.com with the username and password provided and you can make changes to your listing, upgrade services, print brochures, store lockbox codes, schedule events, upload documents and much more—all from your personalized section on our website.
  
  
• State of the art listing management software.  Thousands of dollars have been invested in creating an administration back-end for efficiently maintaining your listings and all changes you choose to make. We have fulltime web developer whose only job is to attract new buyers by using the latest software and online marketing tools.
  
  
• You get all your sales leads passed on to you in real time.  Your number is advertised in most cases along with our broker’s contact info. Invariably, we are called by buyers from Realtor.com, Realtors® that do not read the listing “call seller direct” and a host of other sources. We direct all buyer calls to you, the seller, in real time. Additionally, most of our programs come with our Lead Capture™ system where you’ll be notified by email when a sales lead calls or emails us. These leads are also stored in your account for easy retrieval.
  
  
• You get to choose from a broad spectrum of services to fit your individual needs.  Because we are a full-fledged brokerage firm this means that along with flat fee listing you can also add other services as you see fit.  There is no one-package-fit-all deal.  For example, if you need to be out of town and cannot handle buyer’s query you can simply choose our Agent Active™ which will immediately engage our brokers to show your home.
  
  
• You  can get lock boxes at no extra cost.  A lockbox is a secure holder for the keys to your property that real estate agent can access by using a special code.  In this way anytime an agent would like to show your property they’ll have access without having to contact you and you’ll know when they entered and when the left. All top real estate firms are now using this technology and you won’t be left out.
  
  
• You can cancel at anytime.  Because you are listing flat fee, there is no requirement for how long the listing must be. It’s entirely up to you how long you wish to list your property. You can cancel your MLS listing at anytime by simply logging into your account and request a ‘change of status’, send an email request or just give us a call.

ADDvantage™ Real Estate Services has been involved in the flat fee business for over five years now and this is not just a “side business” for us. If you think that you get less attention because you’re paying a flat fee, then we are about to change your mind big time. 

What Choices Do I have With
ADDvantage™ Real Estate Services? 

Selling a home on your own involves knowledge and commitment and we know that you may not have the time to do all the work on your own.  But this doesn’t mean that you can’t save thousands of dollars in the process. 

Depending on your confidence and experience we’ve designed three plans that will fit a whole spectrum of FSBO needs.  These three innovative plans add more marketing power at each upgrade and you can switch between each plan for the price difference as you see fit.  The choice is all yours. MLS ADDvantage™ 
This is out most popular listing service and is hard to beat in the market today.  When you consider all that you get with this plan it’s not hard to see why.  Below are the highlights of this plan:  

• You get a 6 month listing in Realtor® MLS and fast activation within 48 hours.  Your property is exposed to thousands of potential buyers through their brokers searching the MLS.
  
  
• Your property is listed on major internet portals such as Homes.com, Realtor.com (the #1 homes-for-sale site on the internet) and GetMoreOffers.com.  These websites attract over 10 million home buyer views each month!
  
  
• You get to take advantage of our proprietary Lead Capture™ system. When someone views a listed property on Realtor.com in the detailed view, there is always a section to the right that contains the Listing Agent's company info. Since your information cannot be placed here we have designed a program that redirects visitors to the specific property by reading the property ID from Realtor.com.
  
  
• You get a free customer brochure template.  You can simply fill in your property information and get a professional looking brochure to use in your advertisement.
  
  
• MLS ADDvantage™ Yard Sign. This bright orange sign has been proven to get attention and sales.
  
  
• You get the option to list your property as a rental.
  
  
• You can include up to 10 photos by easily uploading them to your account.
  
  
• You can add the optional "Realtor.com SHOWCASE" for just $79.  This showcase helps you listing stand out from the crowd.
  
  
• You sell it yourself and pay only the flat fee and there are no hidden fees so you can cancel at anytime.
  
  
• You can set the buyer’s agent commission so you're in control of the commission you're willing to pay if a broker brings you a buyer.
  
  
• You get fast answers to contract questions and can even offer virtual tours of your property for an additional fee.
  
  
• You can choose a lockbox that suits your need and we can accept offers for you.
  
  
• Investor discounts are also available.  (Click here for more information.)

And imagine that you get all this for only $349!  If you’re not already jumping for you joy you should check your pulse.  But maybe you want some more marketing punch and that we also included the … 

Street Smart ADDvantage™

This plan has all the benefits of the MLS ADDvantage™ above and much more. 

As a Street Smart seller you must offer 4% or greater commission to the buyer's agent. The whole concept behind this strategy is that you’ll set off a feeding frenzy among brokers who will go after the higher commission’s property.

When brokers see properties listed with higher than normal commissions they give these homes extra attention and so they sell faster. 

To make sure these brokers are aware of your offer, we send email alerts twice per month to broker offices and agents within the county your property is located in, notifying them of the higher than normal co-broke commission being offered on your property. Our email list is proprietary, accurate, enjoys a wide readership and is sent to all on our list within a 60 miles radius of your property.  

Your yard sign will have the Street Smart Logo on it so that agents driving by are automatically aware that the property is listed with a higher co-broke commission.

Your property photo is also placed on our rotating “Featured Properties” section of our website.   

You’ll even get your Realtor.com listing upgraded to a SHOWCASE listing for free. This includes a longer property description, 6 photos, scrolling text and a special SHOWCASE property banner with headline.  

As if this wasn’t already enough we also offer you an optional “ON CALL” agent support.  So in case you can't be present to show your home to a buyer not represented by an agent, just call us and one of our agents will show it for you.

This option is perfect for vacations or busy work schedules. (Note: In order to use this service, you must agree to allow ADDvantage™ the right to compete for your co-broke commission.) 

This plan is yours for just $599!  Or maybe you want to go for our ultimate Contract to Close program … 

                                                                      $349               $599         $999 up front*3

What People Are Saying About
ADDvantage™ Flat Fee Listing … 

We can talk all day about the amazing benefits you‘ll get from using our professional services but I think that it’s best said by those we’ve served in over five years of offering this service.  People just like you who were just thinking about saving money when selling their property and experienced the quick and easy way by using ADDvantage™.

Here’s just a sample of what our customers are saying …

So What Are You Waiting For? 

The real estate market is changing fast because of the availability of information made possible by the internet.  The new technology is allowing people to literally shop for a house online and sellers can now get unprecedented exposure that you couldn’t dream of just a few years ago with a flat fee MLS listing. 

But technology alone won’t do it.  You still need the personal touch.  That’s the reason why at ADDvantage we answer our phones from 8 AM to 8 PM, 7 days per week.  Even though we employ the latest web technology to generate more offers for you we are there to offer personal help when you need it most—just when you are engaged in one of the largest monetary transactions in your life! 

Whether you choose the MLS ADDvantage™, Street Smart ADDvantage™ or ADDvantage™PLUS you’ll get the service you deserve and just imagine the money you’ll save—money you can use to pay off your mortgage earlier of pay off those high interest credit cards. 

List your property right away while you are still thinking about it.  And if you have any questions we are here to answer those questions whether by phone or email.   

Just imagine the thrill of knowing that you saved thousands of dollars on your property and the amazement of your family and friends when they learn that you did it the smart way. 

It’s time to join the thousands who have saved thousands! Click below to begin.

                                               List My Property Now

Looking forward to helping you hold on to more of your money, 

ADDvantage™Broker

P.S. Before you choose a flat fee listing service, be sure you understand what you are really getting.  ADDvantage™ Real Estate Services gives you unbeatable marketing exposure for your dollar. We dare you to compare. 

P.P.S.  You can find many “FREE” flat listing offers online but these are just lead generation, ‘bait and switch’ techniques to up-sell you later.  You are just inviting yourself to be solicited by a thousand brokers to get you to switch to full service representation. There are no free lunches.  If you are serious about getting your property sold fast, then take this important first step and get listed with ADDvantage™ today!