This article written by Keith Gordon, Broker for ADDvantage Real Estate Services™, for flat fee MLS customers in Orlando (www.getmoreoffers.com)
Yes, the Florida Flat Fee MLS Seller's Bill of Rights helps protect Orlando flat fee MLS sellers from unscrupulous business practices that are rampant in Orange County, Florida. ADDvantage™ is the most trusted Orlando flat fee MLS service because not only do we practice the standards instituted in the Florida Flat Fee MLS Seller's Bill of Rights, but we actually wrote this bill or rights to help flat fee MLS sellers make a more informed decision about choosing a Florida flat fee MLS listing company. There are currently no rules or standards to protect the Orlando Florida consumer and ADDvantage hopes that by instituting this Florida Flat Fee Seller's Bill of Rights, more flat fee MLS companies will be forced to employ more ethical business practices. The Florida Flat fee MLS Seller's Bill of Rights also addresses what should be disclosed to Florida flat fee MLS sellers before they list flat fee MLS.
Not entirely. Buyer leads are the byproduct of being flat fee MLS listed in the Mid-Florida Regional MLS. All flat fee MLS listings show up on Realtor.com. Orlando flat fee MLS sellers must rely 100% on the flat fee MLS service to forward all Realtor.com buyer leads (phone and email inquiries) to the Orlando flat fee MLS seller because the seller's phone number is not permitted to be displayed in Realtor.com.
Yes. There is much more money potential for a flat fee MLS company in keeping buyer leads from Orlando flat fee MLS sellers than in offering a cheap or “free” MLS listing in the Mid Florida Regional MLS. There are two types of free flat fee MLS gimmicks in Orlando: (1) The mortgage company, such as Franklin Financial, which offers a free flat fee MLS listing and attempts to gain mortgage leads; (2) There is the convoluted Orlando flat fee MLS service that will ”do it for free if you remember me (when you go to buy)” such as Iggy's House. Regardless of which Orlando free flat fee MLS offer the seller chooses, the important question is: what happens to Realtor.com and other Internet buyer leads? And what other support will you actually get from the flat fee MLS company? Many issues can arise once your property is listed flat fee MLS and if you aren't listed with a company that has a vested interest in servicing you, you might find yourself in a very frustrating situation.
Possibly, yes. Read their Orlando Flat Fee MLS Listing Agreement carefully. If the Orlando flat fee MLS service is a legitimate and traditional Orlando flat fee MLS listing, all buyer leads go to the seller, see ADDvantage's™ Florida Flat Fee MLS Listing Agreement. These free flat fee MLS services in Orlando need to make money somehow! And, some other not free Orlando flat fee MLS services that appear legitimate also take your buyer leads. If the listing agreement doesn't expressly state what happens to buyer leads, make sure you call the company and confirm their practice with regard to leads. If at all possible, get it in writing!
These Florida flat fee MLS services are oftentimes “technically” capable of inputting a flat fee MLS listing; however, the business model might not be what meets the eye…for example, a mortgage company can masquerade as a flat fee MLS service. In order to accomplish this, all they need is a qualifying broker to join the MLS. They then make a business out of farming leads for their mortgage operation. They plant your Orlando MLS flat fee listing in the MLS and in a matter of a few weeks they harvest the valuable buyer leads. Feel free to ask the flat fee MLS services that you are considering, what other business relationships they have set up as sister companies or the like.
Once a real estate company has a buyer lead they can: (a) Sell them to an another real estate company for a 25% referral commission (b) They can give them to their own Realtors® to earn the offered buyer's agent commission; (c) They use the buyer lead in attempt to pre-qualify for a mortgage (such as Franklin Financial).
Sure, unless they state otherwise in writing. We call it “steal the buyer leads and eat your cake as well.” Of course, the cake part is the fee they charge you to list your Orlando flat fee MLS property and then have the audacity to take your buyer leads.
Yes, we call this the Orlando flat fee MLS “bait and trap.” This is what actually instigated the broker for ADDvantage™ to write the Florida Flat fee MLS Seller's Bill of Rights. What happens here is the Orlando flat fee MLS service attaches a penalty if you try to cancel the flat fee MLS listing. The last time ADDvantage™ looked, a traditional flat fee MLS listing is one that the seller pays up front in exchange for certain rights and control. One of which is the right to cancel and: (1) Just take off the market; (b) Move to a pestering full service Realtor® that promises “a sale in weeks if you list with me.”
Yes they are, as long as the listing agreement states it. Some full service (Coldwell Banker) and some flat fee MLS services actually reserve the right to lien your property for payment of the commission. MLS Realty (sister company to Buy Owner) listing agreement may have language that allows a lien before the commission is procured.
The Orlando flat fee MLS service (dis-service) charges a cancellation fee of $500. They will waive that fee if you; (a) List full service with their own agent; (b) Have an outside agent from another real estate firm take the listing “full service” and refer back a 25% commission to the original Orlando flat fee MLS service. Bait you with the belief that this is “industry protocol” and “trap” you into a commission.
Simple. There's more money in “bait and trap” than working a “traditional” flat fee MLS business model. And, there are so many full service Realtors® vying for listings. Just sit back and wait a few weeks or possibly a month and along comes a pesky Realtor® who says they have the ability to bring buyers to you. Like chum, the Realtors® will inevitably attack the listings of an Orlando flat fee MLS firm because it's easy for them to convince sellers that it isn't the market that is the problem; it's the fact that they are listed flat fee MLS. Many sellers get sucked into the promises of the full service agent. Ready for a change, they go to the so-called flat fee MLS listing company and ask to cancel their listing. This is when the flat fee MLS company pulls out their listing agreement that the seller willingly signed and says, “we'll be glad to release you for a $500 cancellation fee….or… we'll let you go but your new agent must pay us a 25% referral commission once you sell the listing at full service commission rates.”
Yes. ADDvantage™ is a member of the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, is the author of the Florida Flat fee MLS Seller's Bill of Rights and ADDvantage's™ Florida Flat Fee MLS Listing Agreement clearly has no cancellation fees, no penalties or referral kick-backs of any kind. As well, the broker, Keith R. Gordon, has zero complaints against his broker's license. Keith Gordon has been a Florida broker since 1984.
Yes. This practice of using a third party flat fee MLS listing agent could harm the Orlando flat fee MLS seller because there is no way to know who that third party broker is and whether they are reliable. ADDvantage™, as a member of 18 Florida MLS's, inputs and maintains all of our own listings 8:00-8:00 7 days. Our Orlando flat fee MLS sellers rely on our sophisticated flat fee MLS listing software, innovative products and a seller friendly message: “Real Estate By YOUR Rules!”
Yes they can. Our newest Orlando flat fee MLS innovation is a combination of the well recognized and respected bi-monthly Street Smart ADDvantage™ Realtor® eblast in combination with our over-the-top concierge ADDvantage WORKS™ marketing. This duo is designed to proactively market any type of property. It comes with International marketing on Europe's most prolific real estate website themovechannel.co.uk, 250 custom “Just Listed” post cards mailed to your neighbors, real 5 pan virtual tour by a national and respected virtual tour company directly linked to a Realtor.com showcase listing and full contract to close representation which means your MLS listing is published in the MLS as a “represented seller.”
Yes. Orlando flat fee MLS sellers must offer a 4% or higher buyer's agent commission to qualify as Street Smart ADDvantage™ property. To see how many Orlando Realtors® will receive the bi-weekly Street Smart ADDvantage™ email newsletter, click here. The purpose of the Street Smart ADDvantage™ eblast is to give Orlando Realtors® a convenient tool to locate “high commission” properties. ADDvantage™ doesn't earn any part of that commission as it goes entirely to the buyer's agent. If you sell the property yourself, you pay no commission at all. Check out the Interactive Street Smart ADDvantage™ table. It shows the Orlando flat fee MLS seller the net amount possible when offering varied commissions from 4-10%.
This seems to be the single biggest misconception held by many about listing flat fee MLS. One out of every 10 or so Orlando residents that inquire about our flat fee MLS plans asks just this question especially when we say “we answer the phone 8:00-8:00…they say, ‘so what'…” The truth about publishing the Orlando flat fee MLS seller's number in the Mid Florida Regional MLS is: (a) The broker's phone number must be published by rule; (b) The Orlando flat fee MLS seller's number is also displayed in the Realtor® remarks section stating “contact seller directly for all showings”; (c) About 65% of Realtor® calls do go directly to the Orlando flat fee MLS seller but the balance go to the flat fee MLS service; (d) Realtor.com, by rule, prohibits seller contact information. Note: Because Realtor.com doesn't allow the seller's phone number, the Orlando seller must trust the flat fee MLS company to check their email or answer their phone to capture these buyer leads. See ADDvantage's™ buyer lead capture policy.
We don't think so. We are firmly in a buyer's market where buyer leads and Realtor® showings are critically important. Sellers are busy and can't always be available to answer their phone and do miss Realtor® calls. If a seller misses a Realtor® call, the agent will quickly call the flat fee MLS company for help. Or, often they call the flat fee MLS service as normal protocol to confirm the showing instructions. We believe the roll of a competent Orlando flat fee MLS service would be to capture all calls from Realtors® and unrepresented buyers and record such as “leads” into a reliable reporting format such as an email to the flat fee MLS seller. Here are a few popular Realtor® in distress calls that ADDvantage™ receives on a regular basis: (a) “Hello, I'm a Realtor® with Remax and I want to show 8723 Orlando Dr in Orange County, FL at 3:00 tomorrow….what are the showing instructions?”; (b) “I am Kathy DuPont from Extreme Realty and I am at the door of your listing at 2234 Orlando Ct, Florida….can you give me the lock box combination? I have tried to reach the sellers but they are not answering the phone.” ; (c) “My clients just arrived from Miami-Dade, Florida and would like to see your listing on 828 Orange County, FL….They want to buy a home while they are here and I would like to see it tomorrow AM at 10:30.” At ADDvantage™, our phone is answered live from 8:00-8:00- 7 days a week, capturing buyer leads and assisting Realtors®. This is why “free” flat fee MLS listings do not work unless you really don't care about buyer leads or showings! ADDvantage™ sends all leads to the Orlando flat fee MLS seller by email in real time.
We treat our Orlando flat fee MLS seller as if we earn a big fat commission when they sell. We don't earn a commission; just respect and customer referrals. We have a serious attitude about phone coverage. We are Orlando's only flat fee MLS firm that answers the phone 8:00-8:00 every single day of the week. We get our Orlando flat fee MLS sellers more showing because we talk with more buyers and Realtors® about showings. The more contact we have the more things happen for our sellers!
Orlando home owners have 3 choices when selling: (1) Sell FSBO 2) List flat fee in the MLS Or 3) Go full service?
FSBO: Selling FSBO works best in a friendly market because marketing is not as important a factor since demand is high. In the buyer's market of 2006-2008, sellers need more creative marketing. Being listed in the MLS, Realtor.com, local IDX feeds and other popular real estate websites such as Homes.com and themovechannel.co.uk are not available to FSBO sellers. IDX feeds take your Orlando MLS listed property from the MLS and into an automatic feed called IDX. This in turn feeds local websites such as remax.com, Coldwellbanker.com and any local Realtor® website that has an approved IDX feed. Having these marketing advantages can make a big difference in selling at the right price and the right time. A seller can never have too much exposure.
Flat Fee MLS: A flat fee MLS listing in the Mid Florida Regional MLS reaches out to the thousands of Orlando real estate agents. A traditional Flat fee MLS listing means the seller pays “no listing commission.” The seller pays only the buyer's agent a commission, plus the flat fee paid to the flat fee MLS service up front. Flat fee listings vary in price from FREE to $599. If the flat fee MLS service steals your buyer leads than they are sometimes a free service or they might charge you $399 and then steal your buyer leads. Price does not always equate to value in the flat fee MLS industry. The most important thing to consider is the listing agreement and terms.
Full-service: A full service listing varies from 5-7%. Typically, about 1/2 or around 3% of this total commission goes to the listing agent and the balance is offered by the listing “broker” to any agent who finds a buyer. Listing commissions in a seller's market seem especially pricy because they might not be necessary. In a buyer's market they are worthless about 95% of the time unless; (i) the listing agent is well connected to buyers; (ii) If the seller is not unable to show the property or cannot lockbox the property.
Visit our website at www.getmoreoffers.com/Florida.asp. Questions about our flat fee MLS service in Orlando? Call us 8:00-8:00, 7 days a week…we're here – 1-877-232-9695
See our “why ADDvantage offers Orlando home seller's more flat fee MLS services that get faster results.”