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2/22/2010 - Why Flat Fee MLS doesn't work - Our Agents Produce For You

Flat Fee MLS is inappropriately named. It would be better described as "Minimum 3% Commission MLS, at best, lost sale more likely."

Flat fee MLS hasn't worked nor will it work due to fundamental flaws in its system. Is the concept attractive? Yes. Who wouldn't want as low as $99 to get an MLS number? You have seen the ads for this service all over town. "Just buy the services you want ala carte" or "Be on the Realtor MLS and save the listing commission".

The serious problem that these people are hiding from you is that the MLS is a realtor system which is designed for use by realtors. The system requires that the contact information on Realtor.com and all board of realtor sites is that of a real estate agent, not you.

This means that potential buyers searching homesteadnet.com and realtor.com are directed to the listing agent, not you. Buyers are looking mainly during nights and weekends. They call your Flat Fee MLS office and get no response. They may get a call back the following week. By then the buyer has either moved on or has called another real estate office. At the other real estate office the call goes to floor time which is where mainly inexperienced new agents wait to receive a call on nights and weekends. The buyer's agent will also get the same non-response from your Flat Fee Service. The buyer's agent will likely take the buyer to another home. So long to your potential buyer.

If you paid for a flat fee service where the inquiry from the buyer is not handled properly and immediately - YOU HAVE LOST THE BUYER! You just can't buy the MLS without the realtor system.

Almost all the sales, if they occur at all, at Flat Fee MLS comes with a minimum 3% commission. Why would you want that? Some companies even require you to offer a minimum of 3%. The ones that don't do not have full time agents handling the inquiry so the buyer ends up with an inexperienced buyer's agent who has no knowledge of your home. If you are lucky enough to get a sale you will pay 3% or more to that buyer's agent.

We do not lose the buyer. Our professional agents turn the MLS inquiry into sales for you for 1%. Our agents are full time agents who work nights and weekends for you. Just look how 10 Galante Circle and 15 Galante Circle in Penfield both received contracts over $300,000. The sellers paid only $495 to America's Choice and 1% commission to their 2.5% Real Estate Direct agent. The key is these two $300,000 homes sold in this environment through our program quickly and professionally. The low cost to sell is really the icing on the cake.

Our Agents are Better: Check out this posting from my blog:

I looked at page 7 of the February 20, 2010 edition of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle real estate section which has a full-page advertisement by RE/MAX. It shows a pie chart depicting the production of agents with RE/MAX, Hunt ERA, Realty USA and Nothnagle. It is titled "# Transactions Per Producing Agent GRAR -2009". Take a look at it. It fails to include our agents from 2.5% Real Estate Direct. On my blog I made the same chart including our agents. You will see that our agents are much more productive than agents of Remax, Nothnagle, Hunt ERA, and Realty USA. There is no comparison. Two of our agents received the coveted Sales Master Award for 2009 based upon millions of dollars of production. These agents both worked for either Re/Max or Nothnagle in the past. We have been selling expired listings from other companies and we are by far the fasting growing real estate company in the Rochester area.


Our program works because all of us are top professionals who know how to use the system to produce faster sales at higher prices. Our agents at 2.5% Real Estate Direct will respond for America's Choice sellers and be there for you nights and weekends. They will complete the paperwork and draft the contracts. All for a low a 1% (as opposed to the 2.5% commission charged to non America's Choice customers). Our system works.

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