Brokerless Home Selling Goes Public! – Florida MLS Listing For A Flat Fee!

December 26th, 2006

Has the MLS gone brokerless? One would think so given the recent surge in popularity for Flat fee MLS, a/k/a limited service MLS.

Traditional brokers face increasing competition from real estate brokers who allow their customers to engage in brokerless home selling.

The arrangement between the real estate broker and property owner (“seller”) typically requires that the parties enter into an exclusive-agency listing agreement, a listing contract under which the owner appoints a real estate broker as his or her exclusive agent for a designated period of time to sell the property, on the owner’s stated terms.

The key to this business model is that the owner reserves the right to sell without paying a cooperating brokerage commission if he or she sells to a prospect who has not been introduced or claimed by a specific broker. In return, the seller will be required to pay the listing broker a flat fee for his/her limited services provided (i.e., MLS-listing-only services) .

This essentially reduces contractual risks between the seller and the listing broker, since the seller is free to sell (or otherwise transfer title to the real property) to any person procured by the seller (i.e. someone who is not represented by a “Buyer’s Broker”) without having to pay a brokerage commission or penalty. The net effect is to limit brokerage services provided, thereby giving the seller greater control and flexibility at significantly reduced costs.

Consumers who choose to use a brokerless home selling plan can save thousands of dollars by purchasing only those services they need.

Please note: A number of states have enacted laws that require consumers to purchase bundled brokerage services they may not want, with no option to waive the extra items. These so-called “minimum service” laws diminish consumer choice and raise the cost of selling a home. Investigate your state by clicking here.

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