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(Source) Real estate agents warn that now a seller may have to pay more directly or indirectly to get a property sold in a timely fashion. So many homes are for sale that finding a buyer amid the competition can take extra effort and strategy.

Does your real estate agent understand your market? Are you have a tough time selling your home? If so, then you might consider selling it yourself through a flat fee real estate broker. A good discount broker can save you thousands. You will likely, in this market, have to drop your home’s price by several thousand dollars. If you do that and you pay a hefty commission to a traditional broker you might lose any equity you have built up or even take a loss, in some cases. But a flat fee broker can save you thousands in commissions, which you can then offer to buyers as an incentive.

Think about it: On a $250,000 house, a 6% commission will mean a $15,000 payout in commissions. That’s not talking about taxes and fees - just commission. Then, if you take a 5% cut in price due to the downward trend in the market, you could end up selling for $237,500 instead. Add the $14,250 you’ll pay in commissions onto that and you’ll leave with $223,250 then still have to pay fees on top of that. By the time it’s said and done, you’ll walk away with more than $30,000 out of pocket.

By contrast, a flat fee listing could cost you $1,000 tops. Then you can drop the price of your house by $15,000 and still walk away with more money in your pocket after you pay the fees. Why not look into the flat fee MLS today?

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Is there a demand for your home on the market? You should ask yourself this question and if not, ask why not? Here are a few ways to tell if your home is in demand:

• Are people calling and asking to see it?
• How many people have visited your home?
• Do you have a pile of contract offers to sort through?
• Are agents lined up to negotiate?
• Are buyers lined up to negotiate?
• Do you have any offers above your asking price?

You don’t need to meet all of these criteria to have a home in demand. But you should be getting one or two of these. Now that you know your home is not in demand, how can you create that demand?

• List your house on the MLS
• Host an open house
• Send a post card to every real estate agent who works your area
• Put a sign in the front yard
• Place a large “Reduced Price” sign in the front yard
• Get with a mortgage company to offer buyer incentives if they purchase your house

These are just a few ideas. If you want your home to sell, though, you need to create buyer demand.

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Buying a new house can still be a mystery to many people. But it needn’t be. At http://www.ihsrealty.com/ they have this to say on the matter:

“You may think that buying a home is a difficult process - in part, that’s just what traditional real estate agents want you to think. The reality, however, is that buying a home is as easy or difficult as you make it.”

Don’t go into the process assuming that you can’t understand all the legalities of it all. You can if you try. It’s not really so difficult. You just need to plan properly and know what you can afford. Then you need to work out how to proceed. http://www.ihsrealty.com/ have a check list that might be useful:

1. Have a game plan. Know what you’re looking for and what you can afford.
2. Choose to work with a company like IHS Realty that can help you through the process without working with a traditional buyer’s agent.
3. Get pre-approved for a mortgage. It’s important to know how much you can afford to spend before falling in love with a home that you cannot afford.
4. Determine which of the things that you’re looking for in a home matter the most to you.
5. Negotiate the right price.
6. Stay aware of what’s going on throughout the process. There are deadlines to be met, and you need to stay on top of the mortgage process so that the closing takes place on time.
7. Plan ahead for the move. Remember, you’ll need to shut off utilities in your current home, set up the utility accounts for your new home, schedule movers, forward your mail and, of course, bring everything required to the closing meeting.

Break the process down into little chunks. Understand each little chunk fully before moving on to the next one. In no time at all you will understand all you need to understand about buying a new house, and you won’t need the services of an indifferent traditional real estate agent.

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(IHS Real Estate Blog) When you’re selling a home, there’s an unstated hope that you’ll be able to turn a profit. This is the case whether you make your living flipping houses - buying, renovating and turning around for a quick sale and profit - or you’re selling a home that you’ve lived in for years.

Why spend more money than you have to? By using a flat fee service you can save yourself a ton of money on agent commissions. But even better than that, if you are selling a house that you have lived in for at least 2 of the last 5 years then you can sell your house with no tax on capital gains. That’s U.S. law so if you live in Canada you’d better ask your CPA. Nevertheless, the benefits to selling your own house through a flat fee realtor are tremendous and getting better.

By cutting your costs you can increase your profits. Even if you have to sell at a lower price you can save money. That $10,000 on the house is just $10,000 to you, but to a buyer it’s $10,000 plus interest over the life of the loan. They’ll save a lot more money than you’ll ever lose. And if you save 6% commission on a $250,000 house that sells for $240,000 you’ll be saving yourself $15,000 in commissions. So you’re not really losing by selling at a discount. You’re actually gaining $5,000 in “take home pay.”

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(Source) You’ll be able to visit forums meant for sellers just like you who are using flat fee MLS to sell their homes.

I have long been a fan of real estate forums. I think it’s a great way to meet others with similar interests and make the kind of connections you need to buy and sell. The IHS Realty Forum is even better. You can actually meet people interested in using flat fee services and discuss the issues that home sellers and flat fee home buyers run into when using a flat fee broker. The feedback and discussion you get from other users of the forum is tremendously helpful as you seek a new home or attempt to sell on your own. If there was ever a better way to sell a house then I’d like to see it. Flat fee services are the new manna.

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When you order a flat fee MLS listing from IHS Realty, here’s what you’ll receive:

• Your home will be listed in the multiple listing service that buyer’s agents use when looking for properties to show their clients
• You’ll get listed on top real estate websites like Realtor.com and broker IDX websites
• An RSS (syndication) feed about your property
• A free website that’s focused only on selling your home
• Podcasts, audio tours and even talking house lines that will allow prospective buyers to hear more about the property
• Discounts on additional services that you may need to sell your home such as home valuation services and home warranty providers
• Access to lawn signs, marketing materials and tips and tools to make it possible to sell your own home with ease

I don’t know about you, but when I get ready to sell a house I look for the best broker in town. I also look for what is going to save me the most money. How does $400 flat fee versus thousands of dollars in commissions sound? It sounds pretty good to me. That’s why I don’t have a problem recommending flat fee service providers like this one and when it come to selling your house, who is better qualified than the person who has lived in it all these years?

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