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Step by step seller Guide

1. What is the Multiple Listing Service?

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a local realtor association membership database. It is mostly a non-profit organization. Usually it covers one to five counties in an area. All of the realtors will help each other sell their listings. When you list a property with one realtor, you essentially hire all of the realtors who belong to that MLS.

The MLS has over 90% of residential properties for sale. All types of real estate property are listed in the MLS; houses, townhomes, condominiums, commercial property, lots, acreage and even rental properties. Statistics show that homes listed on the MLS sell faster. “The MLS” is the secret to success of real estate sales, directly responsible for about 4 out of 5 sales nationwide. About 85% of home buyers work with a realtor to help them find a property. Realtors rely primarily on the MLS to meet the needs and preferences of their buyers.

NO. There is no FSBO (For Sale by Owner) MLS System. The general public is not allowed to use the REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Only a State Licensed REALTOR® Member may access and use their local MLS and list a property for sale.

Yes, the vast majority of homes are sold through the MLS due to the large network of REALTORS® working with home buyers. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reports homes listed by REALTORS® result in a higher net price to the sellers compared to “FSBO” home sale transactions. FSBO without a REALTORS® often results in a lower home price due to low market exposure.

Yes. Your MLS Flat Fee Listing will look exactly the same as any other listing. You are essentially acting as a listing agent with the Flat Fee MLS Listing. Realmart will only act as a transactional broker. Our flat fee listing method gets your property on the same MLS used by your local REALTORS®. Your listing will appear the same as all other MLS property listings. The buyer agent gets paid the same amount of commission as any other listing on the MLS. The difference is you are guaranteed to save at least half of the total commission, which is usually 5-6% of the property value.

It makes little to no difference for the listing broker to be in your neighborhood to help sell your home. It’s merely an often-used marketing technique to make you believe it makes a difference so that you end up listing with them. Comparatively fewer potential buyers reside in your neighborhood. Most buyers come from another part of town, another city, or even out-of-state. Even if a prospective buyer happens to live nearby, why would the location of the listing broker make any difference at all? Keep in mind, a buyer who comes via The MLS in all likelihood already has a REALTOR® who is working with them. A buyer rarely works with the Listing Agent to be their dual agent because there is implied conflict of interest when the realtor represents both the buyer and the seller. Data from the MLS indicates that over 98% of the listings sold are from a different buyer agent other than the listing broker. The Buyers’ Agent needs to contact the Listing Agent and they normally use the phone or email to submit a purchase contract offer and in-person contact is rarely needed. The listing broker could be located in another city or even out-of-state, it really makes no difference.

When you list a property with Realmart for a flat fee, you are essentially acting as a listing broker yourself. You do not need to disclose that you are not paying a commission on the listing side. We always advise you to remove all references of FSBO and stop marketing the home as soon as your home is listed on the MLS. Many homeowners do not understand that, and keep trying to market their home as FSBO. It is a very costly mistake. Please be smart, and keep it a secret that you are not paying a commission to Realmart. Let all buyers and realtors assume you are paying the full 6% commission.

The three biggest reasons for you to remove all references to For Sale By Owner, or FSBO, on your signs, web sites, flyers, any marketing materials:

1) FSBO unfortunately attracts bargain hunters only. They feel you are desperate to sell and will offer only ridiculously low prices.

2) It scares away local buyer agents as they are afraid of losing their commission.

3) It attracts realtors to solicit your listing, as 95% of realtors that call or visit your FSBO property, will try to become your listing broker at full 5-6% commission to list in the exact same MLS. 

Once you are on the MLS, you just hired 1000+ buyer agents working for you. You have the same playing field as all other homes on it. All buyer agents are protected. Please be aware of those local listing agents who contact you while your home is actively listed on the MLS. We would like to advise you that it is UNETHICAL and ILLEGAL to solicit your listing. Please report them to us immediately and file a complaint on NJAR web site:

https://www20.state.nj.us/DOBI_UIC/servlet/Servlet.submitServlet?&pstate=complainant

Your home should sell quickly when priced correctly.   On average, a home is sold within the first 3 months. Our flat fee listing is by default, 6 months, which is more than enough time for a buyer agent to sell it. 

As you know “PRICING” and “STAGING” are the most important factors for selling fast. Please review our site to learn more:

1) Pricing: http://wiki.realmart.com/pricing-your-home/

2) Staging: http://wiki.realmart.com/home-staging-tips/

Yes, contact our office for a withdrawal form. Fill it out and sign, once we receive it your listing will be unconditionally withdrawn. Please be aware of any agent soliciting your listing while you are still listed with us.  It’s strictly prohibited by the Real Estate Commission.  If any agent did that to you, you should get the agent contact information and notify us ASAP.  Please keep in mind that we DO have a limited 100% money back guarantee. Even if you want to cancel and list with a full price broker, you should ask us first to see if we can work out a referral agreement to get your money back.  It does not cost you any extra, and you will get your money back at the closing of your home.

YES, If you wish to cancel within 30 days after your order is placed, but before your listing is entered, there is a $25 cancellation fee. This fee covers what we are charged by the credit card company. 

If you wish to cancel more than 30 days after your order is placed, but before the listing is entered, a refund cannot be issued. However, your order will remain valid and you may enter your listing at ANY TIME in the future.

After your listing is entered, we unfortunately CANNOT issue a refund. The service you paid for is considered provided once your listing is active in the MLS.  However, if you wish to cancel your listing, that’s not a problem and you will not be charged any additional fee.

There is a refund of $80 for Realtor Lockboxes after they have been returned , in good working condition. Yard Signs are free; the $25 charge is for packaging and shipping.

Realmart.com is very simple and fast to list your home. All the listing forms and questionnaires are online and your listing will be live in the MLS within one business day after you finish the sign up process. If you have a question regarding the listing process, we have live customer support from 9 am to 9 pm EST, 7 days a week.

We do our best to provide outstanding customer service to make our clients happy. If there is ever any problem, or if you feel we did not live up to your expectations, please call our office. We are always here to help you.

All of our listings qualify for a 100% money back guarantee under certain conditions. When you decide not to act as your own listing broker, you can contact Realmart to find an experienced local agent. We will enter a referral agreement with that agent and will refund the flat fee you paid after you close this property with that agent. The referral agreement will not cost you any extra money in commission.

Flat fee listings allow the homeowner to act as the listing agent, where Realmart acts as the transactional broker. The flat fee of $395 covers the listing part and the buyer agent usually gets paid 2.5-3% commission.

 The full service listing is a total representation by a listing agent for 5-6% commission, where half of the commission is paid to the listing agent and the other half paid to the buyer’s agent.

Both types of listings are on the MLS and almost all of the time, the home is sold by a buyer’s agent. We all rely on buyers’ agents to sell the homes. Also note: if you sell it yourself while listed with us, you do not pay any commission. On the other hand, if you find the buyer while listed with a traditional broker, you will still pay a full commission.

  • A Selling Agent is the Real Estate agency who actually sells the property. They are sometimes called Buyer’s Agents.
  • The Listing Agent is the Real Estate agency who lists your home for sale in the MLS.

Yes, Realmart Realty has over 300+ agents across the states NJ, NY, and CT. They are acting as buyers’ agents and will be paid the same commission for any other MLS listing. Regardless of which REALTOR® sells your property, you still pay no listing commission and only pay 2-3% to the broker who was the procuring cause of the sale.

No. For Flat Fee MLS listing, If you find a buyer for your home with no Agent being the procuring source, there is no commission to pay. Please be certain that the buyer has no working relationship with any other buyer agent and they must sign a statement to indemnify Realmart and the homeowner if later they were found to be working with another agent.

Lock boxes are highly recommended, especially the digital realtor Lock box which all local realtors have an e-key to get in.  A lockbox is a metal container for your house key(s) and is normally hung on the front door knob or gate. The MLS Listing will advise Realtor’s if they can not reach you by phone, they may use the key lockbox for showings. It provides access to Agents when the owner is away, thus assuring full exposure to prospective buyers. Without a lockbox, Agents representing buyers will have to set appointments to meet you at the house to view the home. If you do not have a lockbox, you may miss out on some potential buyers who do not have time to wait. Lockboxes are completely removable and controllable by you. Your Listing Agent will indicate your showing instructions on the MLS with a contact phone number to call  showings. Showings are most always done on an appointment only basis (assuming key lockboxes are not used).

Yes, we do offer free forms. When you list your home with us, all forms are present online. In most cases, the buyer’s agent will prepare the purchase contract for you.

Yes, you can make changes by submitting a change request online from Seller Tools.
Note: Some changes require an additional fee, most are free.

Depending on your area, your listing may appear on many different internet sites. Plus licensed REALTORS® can display all of the MLS listings directly on their own private website. It is really impossible to predict exactly how many websites your listing will be on. Aside from the private websites owned by REALTORS®, your listing may also appear on major public internet sites such as REALTOR.com®, Trulia.com, Zillow.com, Homes.com, Redfin.com, Streeteasy.com, and many others.

In general, REALTOR.com® and other public realty websites do not allow owner contact information for privacy concerns. REALTOR.com’s main benefit is for home-buyers to contact a REALTOR® for more information and showings. It is not for home-buyers to contact you as a FSBO (which is a common misconception). The-MLS does allow owner’s contact information (Seller’s Name, Phone Number and Address) for Realtors to view and contact sellers for showings, etc. Our own website, realmart.com, also provides buyers and realtors to contact homeowners directly. Our customer service representative always directs all inquiries to homeowners.

Realmart Realty’s professional staff are very knowledgeable and qualified and can review the initial contract for you. If you need us to help with negotiations, review contracts, etc., you can upgrade your listing to the 1% Professional Service.  We will help you all the way from negotiation till closing.

Realmart has introduced this 1% professional agency plan due to high demands from sellers who are not 100% confident in representing themselves as a listing broker. This service provides a middle ground between flat fee MLS service and 5-6% commission full service listing plan. The details are listed below: 

$695 Flat Fee + 1% At Closing (Includes Legal Fee)

  • Listing until sold with free rolling 1 year extensions
  • Unlimited seller-hosted open houses (Agent hosted open houses available upon request)
  • FREE 3D Photo and Floor Model (on-line open house 24 Hours a day)
  • 365-day 9am-9pm live customer service with online appointment scheduling
  • Free For Sale Sign Package (1 For Sale Sign + 4 Open House Signs)
  • Realtor Digital Lockbox (Supra, Codebox or SentrilLock) where available
  • Professional agent consultation on pricing, clean up, repair and staging ideas
  • Full paperwork support and legal representation from contract review to closing (Save $1500 legal fees)
  • Dedicated professional guidance/coaching on negotiation, inspection, appraisal issues etc.
  • Total Cost: 3% (1% or $3000 (whichever is higher) to listing agent + 2% commission to a buyer agent)

100% Money Back Guarantee(see details)

It depends. When a realtor offers to stage your home, help guide home repairs and renovations to make it ready for sale, they should also provide professional photography service and promise to do open houses each week after it is listed. When there are showing requests from buyers or buyer agents, they will always personally come to each showing to actively sell your property. These agents are worth every penny for the 5-6% commission.

Most realtors are not providing such services and usually put a realtor lockbox on the property, letting the buyer agent show the property alone. They rarely conduct open houses by themselves, rather having junior agents in their office to do so. Homeowners rarely see them after their home is listed on the MLS. Those types of agents are not worth the 5-6% full service.

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