Selecting a great Flat Fee Service

Flat Fee Listing services exist all across the 50 states. In the state you are looking to sell  in, you can be sure that many companies are looking to compete for your business. With so many out there, what are some things to look for?

Below are considerations to think about before listing.

The more states a company serves, proceed with caution.

In the state my brokerage serves in, Massachusetts is the only state we serve. While it is impressive to see brokerages those that serve multiple states, that fact is unlikely to help you.

What to really look out for are companies that pipe listing opportunities to other brokerages for a price (like http://www.brokerdirectmls.com/) . It is in your best interest to find a service that serves the state directly without a middle man. All funds paid go to that broker, which should be dedicated to paying for your service.

Look to see how many listings the company has

With many competitors, only a few have more than 10 listings at any given time. The more listings suggests that there is reputation that has been earned and kept. You can easily find the current listings on the website. Possibly, they have a record of their history handy.

Cheaper in dollars comes at a cost in other ways.

As I’m writing this post, paying a few hundred dollars ($200-$400) is a sweet spot for getting both competitive price and responsive service. That being said, do not expect phone based communication to be perfectly responsive. To get more handholding and greater phone service, naturally expect to pay more ($500-$1000).  There are services out there claiming price under $200, which is very competitive price-wise, but very low on service or very limited in listing lifespan (less than 3 months).

Being computer savvy (even slightly) is to your advantage.

Email and digital photos are flat-fee listing friendly. Email is a great way to get what you want done effectively. Phone service is generally slower and could possibly be ignored at times. While it doesn’t mean the phone is off limits, but if phone service is very important to you and would consistently use it, look to more expensive flat fee options.

Searching for a listing service that meets what you see above is readily done with some googling effort or by the ever reliable word of mouth. There are lots of them around, so taking the time to see what is more reputable with the suggestions above is in your best interest.