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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MLS™? The REALTOR® MLS™ is the primary database used by Realtors® to market and sell property. The Multiple Listing Service™ (MLS™) is an exclusive database of all of the properties listed for sale in the metropolitan or regional area of coverage. This database is generally owned and used exclusively by REALTORS® and provides them with information about all of the available homes for sale. REALTORS® use this system to cooperate on the sale of each other's listed properties and share in the compensation for selling the homes. Before now, most real estate brokerage firms required home sellers to enter into lengthy exclusive listing agreements with a hefty commission payable in any event of sale or transfer in order for their home to be placed in the MLS™ system. Is the MLS™ the best way to sell my home? The MLS™ is statistically, by far, the best way to sell your home. The MLS™accounts for over 75%-85% of home sales nationwide and is the most effective form of adverising available (about 10 times more effective than newspaper advertising, open house, or any other method of traditional marketing). In fact, a listing in the MLS™ will probably sell your home even if you don't practice any other form of marketing! Since most buyers work with Realtors® and Realtors® utilize the MLS™ almost exclusively when choosing properties to show, a listing in the MLS™ dramatically increases your chances of selling your home for the highest possible price in the least amount of time. Will Realtors show my home if it's not listed in the MLS™? It's not likely. Realtors® have lots of homes to show their buyers that are listed in the MLS™. The advantage of MLS™ listings for Realtors® is that they are guaranteed to be paid if they sell a home. With For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes, the buyer could decide to negotiate directly with the seller and cut the Realtor® out. With InSight, you are not regarded by Realtors® as a For Sale By Owner, but simply as another listing for them to sell. Of course, you may still sell your home without a Realtor® and pay no commission. Is For Sale By Owner (FSBO) for me? A recent survey of hundreds homeowners across the country showed that FSBOs make more money on their home sales than sellers who use real estate agents AND sell their homes three weeks sooner! Nearly 50% of homeowners try to sell their home on their own at one time or another, however According to studies by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), only 16% of For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) actually end up selling. The rest end up listing with an agent or taking their home off the market. So what is stopping everyone from selling on their own? EXPOSURE: Without access to the MLS™, FSBOs are at a distinct disadvantage. With just one home to sell, it's simply impossible to afford to effectively advertise and expose your lone product to enough of the public to create a sale for the highest possible price. Realtors®, by contrast, have 1,000's of homes to sell. The vast majority of buyers use REALTORs® to help them find a home because they know Realtors® know where all the homes for sale are and the buyers agent's fee is generally paid by the seller. So if you want the greatest exposure for your home to these homebuyers, advertising through the Realtors® MLS™ is, by far, the best place. KNOW HOW: Most home sellers think that the process is just too complicated and worry that they'll make costly mistakes or ommissions if they try to sell without an agent. Now there's InSight. By providing home sellers with an alternative to paying high commission rates, InSight provides an affordable way of giving you the professional support you need to safely and successfully sell your home on your own. With InSight, you are in control of the entire process. You select the plan you want and you get as much or as little assistance from a licensed real estate professional as you need, all for a low fixed fee. How long is my InSight MLS listing good for? Your InSight MLS listing agreement is good for 6 months. Most listings, when priced correctly, sell well before the expiration. You may cancel your listing at any time. You may also extend your listing for an additional 3 month increments for $100.00. When I list with InSight Real Estate Group, and sell my house to a buyer who isn't represented by a real estate broker, will I owe any commission? Yes. However, InSight will offer a 1.5% rebate on your selling commission.
Will brokers be reluctant to show my house if it's a InSight Real Estate Group listing?
Additionally, fixed fee for service real estate has become a recognized alternative in the industry and is preferred to "For Sale By Owners" (FSBOs) where there's no guarantee of compensation for the Realtor®. More importantly, it is against the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and Federal Anti-Trust laws for real estate brokers to conspire to avoid a particular firms listings based on the fee charged. In fact, with the advent of "buyer agency", agents would be in violation of Agency Laws and risk of loosing their license to sell real estate to not show their buyers all of the available properties that meet their criteria, regardless of which firm lists the properties in the MLS™.
Once listed, how can I view my MLS™ listing? Must I Use a LockBox? No. It is not necessary to use a lockbox. However, Realtors® may be reluctant to show properties without lockboxes. Most of the time, when showing property, Realtors® are on a short time schedule. A lockbox makes access to your home convenient for both you and the Realtor®. We strongly urge you to consider using a lockbox to make showings easier for everyone and to increase the number of showings of your home. Must I use InSight's yard sign? No. It is not necessary to use our sign. However, Realtors® may be reluctant to show properties with For Sale By Owner signs. Since the purpose of listing in the MLS™ is to encourage Realtors® to show your home, using an InSight Real Estate Group yard sign will let Realtors® know that your home is still listed. Otherwise they may think that the listing has expired and now they may not be compensated. They will avoid showing your home in those circumstances. An InSight Real Estate Group yard sign will also attract buyers who will know that the house for sale has a definite list price and that there is some professional regulation involved with the listing. However, you may not put a For Sale By Owner sign in your yard, as it is against local MLS regulations. Can I make changes to my MLS™ listing? Yes, you may make changes to your MLS™ listing for a fee of $25.00. There is no charge for status or price changes. Can InSight represent me in contract negotiations? Yes. When you choose our full service, you will receive full representation during all negotiations. What if I need or want to cancel or upgrade my level of service at a later date? There's no penalty for canceling your InSight listing. You can always choose to use a traditional broker at a later date or allow us to refer you to the broker of your choice.
“What are my payment options for the InSight service?” |
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Disclaimers/Disclosures: *Compensation for real estate listing services is not fixed and varies among communities and among individual REALTORs®, brokers and agents in a particular community. Variations in realty fees that can be negotiated with any real estate professional will be driven by the local housing market, brokerage company policy, individual agent policy and numerous other factors. Calculator savings examples assume InSight flat listing fee comparison with traditional real estate companies charging a 6% commission. Prices vary by MLS™ area. Laws regarding real estate agency relationships vary from state to state. It is important that you have a familiarity with the potential real estate agency relationships. |
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