How to List on MLS For Sale By Owner Without a Realtor (2023 Updates!)
The U.S. real estate market is showing signs of cooling down. But even with rising interest, home prices have appreciated 20.2% so far in 2022, That means agent commissions touched record levels too.
In this hot market, if you follow some simple tips for selling your home, you don’t really need to pay the hefty agent commissions.
» In this guide, we’ll cover:
- What is MLS?
- Benefits of Listing on MLS
- List on MLS with a Realtor
- List on MLS By Owner Without a Realtor
- Flat Fee MLS Listing
- Cost To List On MLS
- America’s Best Flat Fee MLS Listing Service
- List On MLS For Free
- Save Money with Flat Fee MLS Listing
- List your Home on Houzeo
- Alternative to Listing on the MLS By Owner
- FAQs
What is MLS?
MLS or the Multiple Listing System is a local database that real estate agents use to list a property for sale. Only licensed real estate agents have access to the MLS.
There are 600+ local MLS’ in the US and many overlap in coverages. It is important that you list your property on the correct local MLS. Only then potential buyer agents and buyers will be able to view your listing.
⚡ Flat Fee MLS: Everything You Need to Know
What are the Benefits of Listing on the MLS?
There are 5 key benefits of being on the MLS.
⚡ All the Benefits of the MLS, But with No Listing Agent Commission: List on the Most Advanced MLS Platform Now!
How to List Your Home on MLS with a Full-service Realtor
Hiring a full-service agent is one of the most common ways to list on the MLS. A Realtor can get your home on the MLS and ensure that your listing gets a lot of attention from buyers and buyer agents in your area.
However, full-service agents charge a hefty commission of about 2.5% to 3%. In addition, you have to pay 3% of your sale price to the buyer’s agent upon selling a home.
We do not recommend you list with a full-service Realtor and pay a listing agent commission. High-tech home selling websites like Houzeo.com will help you sell your home for a small flat fee and save you thousands in commissions!
⚡ Houzeo Reviews: List your home on the MLS in less than 60 minutes with Houzeo
How to List on MLS By Owner Without a Realtor?
There is no way to list on the MLS without using an agent. But with a Flat Fee MLS listing, you only pay a small fee to get list your home on the MLS instead of paying a full listing agent commission. A Flat-Fee MLS listing is the fastest way to get listed on the MLS and hit the market.
With high-tech services like Houzeo, you are instantly assigned the right paperwork for selling a house. This way you can list way faster than even working with a traditional full-service realtor. And you pay no listing agent commission, saving you thousands!
What is a Flat Fee MLS Listing?
Flat Fee MLS listing is a type of listing service wherein the agent/broker/company lists your property on the local MLS for a small Flat Fee. They do not charge you a hefty commission of 3%.
These listings are typically called “entry-only” listings or Flat Fee MLS listings. The broker only helps the seller to list their property on the MLS for flat fee. You can avail additional services by paying extra charges.
Getting on the MLS is easy, and can be done in 4 steps.
How Much Does It Cost To List On MLS?
The cost depends on whether you’re working with a full-service agent or a flat-fee MLS service like Houzeo.
A full-service agent generally charges 2%-3% of the selling price as the listing agent commission.
On the other hand, you can potentially save a lot to list on MLS using a Flat Fee MLS listing service. There are 3 types of costs associated with a Flat Fee MLS listing:
- Upfront Flat Fee: This is what you’ll pay to get on the MLS. Typically the upfront fee is between $300 to $500.
- Fees at Closing: Most flat fee MLS services do not charge any additional fee. However, in minimum service states, you have to pay extra charges to a Flat Fee MLS provider.
- Hidden Charges: Many unscrupulous brokers will reel you in with a $99 listing. Buyer beware – that’s just the start! They will charge $500+ as hidden fees. A $50 yard sign will be sold you to for $135. Some brokers may even charge extra dollars at closing.
⚡ REMEMBER: Houzeo discloses all its fees upfront on the Flat Fee MLS Pricing page
What Is The Best Flat Fee MLS Listing Service
1. Houzeo
Houzeo More
🏆 BEST OVERALL
- Listing Fee: $299 to $999
- Available nationwide
- Listings Featured on Houzeo App
Why Houzeo is #1: Houzeo provides the best combination of maximum savings, maximum exposure, cutting-edge technology and 5-star customer service.
Packages: Houzeo offers 4 Flat Fee MLS packages.
- Bronze Package – $299: It is best for selling a lot. Your listing gets syndicated to Zillow, Trulia, Realtor, Redfin, and more.
- Silver Package – $349: This includes everything competitors like Fizber.com charge $399 for. In addition, you can make unlimited changes to your listing.
- Gold Package – $429: It is Houzeo’s signature package and includes all the technology Houzeo is known for: Houzeo Showings, Houzeo Offers, and Digital Transaction Management.
- Platinum Package – $999+: It includes the assistance of a licensed broker to help you with negotiations, disclosures, and closing.
👉 Our Recommendation : We recommend the GOLD plan. You’ll have access to Houzeo’s cutting-edge technology, making managing showings and offer negotiations easy!
» Houzeo Reviews: List Your Home in less than 60 minutes with Houzeo
- No hidden fees
- Maximum MLS exposure via the MLS – Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, Realtor.com, and 100s of other sites
- 100% automated process on the web and the new Houzeo mobile app
- Fast listing and listing changes
- Online Showings Management – via the web and the Houzeo mobile app
- Online offers Management- counter an offer or request highest & best yourself!
Houzeo has a 4.9 out of 5 rating (1,637 total reviews) on popular review sites like Google Reviews and Trustpilot
Houzeo is available nationwide.
2. beycome
beycome More
VIRTUAL FULL SERVICE
- Listing Fee: $99 - $599
- Available in 9 States
- 100% Online
beycome has the 2nd best technology, after Houzeo.com. It also has decent reviews, so you know that the ownership cares about their customers.
Packages: Beycome offers three Flat Fee MLS listing packages.
- Basic Package – $99: This package allows maximum pictures on the MLS and unlimited changes to your listing. You get free legal forms and disclosures, free open house scheduler and a tool to manage home visits.
- Enhanced Package – $399: With all the features of the Basic Package, this package includes a yard sign, a featured listing on Beycome’s website, flyers and brochures, and one key lockbox. Additionally, you also get the option to add a virtual tour video to your listing.
- Concierge Service – $599 + 1% Commission: This is essentially a virtual full-service package that includes assistance till closing. They charge 1% of the sale price at closing with this package.
👉 Our Recommendation: Beycome’s prices are reasonable, and their technology is useful. However, their reviews are only decent and they have limited coverage. You are better off with Houzeo since they have near-nationwide coverage and stellar customer reviews.
🚩 You Should Know: The $99 package requires a mandatory $25 cancelation fee. The virtual full-service package has a 1% commission, which according to us is very high.
» beycome Reviews: Read our in-depth review on beycome.
- You can set up a free web page along with listing your property on the MLS
- You can easily switch to a full service package
- Their packages are really expensive
- You will rely on what the agents to bring you, buyers. No “search homes” feature for buyers
- Only one flat fee MLS listing package; the other two are full-service options and are priced higher
- The MLS package allows only a few photos and a few changes to your property listing
beycome has a 4.3 out of 5 stars (338 total reviews) on popular review sites like Google.
Beycome offers MLS listings in Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia, California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, and Connecticut.
3. Fizber.com
Fizber.com More
EXPENSIVE PACKAGES
- Listing Fee: $95 - $395
- Nationwide Coverage
- No mobile app
Fizber is one of the most popular For Sale By Owner Websites that offers customizable solutions to a seller.
Packages: Fizber offers 4 packages.
- Free Package: This is a free package that offers only Fizber listing with maximum photos.
- Digital Boost Package – $95: This package offers Featured Listing, Open House Manage, Listing on Redfin.
- MLS Boost Package – $270: This package includes everything from the $95 package and additionally offers MLS Listing.
- Premium MLS Boost Package – $395: This package is the same as the $270 package with an option to add more photos.
🚩 You Should Know : For the $270 and $295 packages, a 0.5% success fee is charged at closing. (Applicable in CO, ND, SD, WY)
👉 Our Recommendation: We would recommend the $295 Premium MLS Boost Package as it gives your listing maximum exposure. However, Houzeo can be an excellent alternative to sell FSBO as it offers customizable packages at reasonable prices. » Fizber Reviews: Read our reviews of Fizber.com
» Fizber Reviews: Read our in depth reviews on Fizber
- Similar to Houzeo, Fizber.com also gives you access to the MLS
- You’ll be referred to a broker who covers your states. That broker may have additional options to help you upgrade
- Because Fizber.com brokers are not on the platform (everything is offline), you won’t have control over your selling experience
- You may be assigned a broker who doesn’t have good reviews
- There’s no mobile app, social media sharing, or any advanced features of any kind
- Listings can take 4 business days to go live. Additionally, since listing updates are manual, they take longer
- Final offers will be sent to your broker, who can’t really forward them instantly
Fizber.com is rated 4.2/5 (out of 95 reviews) on Yelp.
Nationwide Coverage
4. FSBO.com
FSBO.com More
OLDEST FSBO WEBSITE
- Listing Fee: $99.95 - $399.95
- Available in 80+ U.S. Markets
- No mobile app
FSBO.com is one of the oldest for sale by owner websites that offers nationwide coverage. It has been in business for over 20 years.
Packages: FSBO.com offers two packages.
- FSBO Package – $99.95: This package does not offer MLS Listing. You can upload unlimited photos and one video. Because there’s no MLS listing we do not recommend this package.
- MLS Package – $399.95: This package includes the MLS & FSBO.com listings. A few paid add-on options are available depending on the states.
👉 Our Recommendation: With far superior technology and significantly better reviews, Houzeo.com is a much better option than FSBO.com. If you do intend to list with FSBO.com, we recommend the $399.95 MLS package.
» FSBO.com Reviews: Read our in depth review of FSBO.com
- No mobile application
- Limited a la carte items
- You won’t know the additional fee till you read the listing agreement
- You don’t know who your listing agent is or about his past records
- Since listing updates are manual, they take longer
FSBO.com has an average rating 4/5 (out of 2 reviews) on Better Business Bureau.
Nationwide Coverage
5. Homecoin
Homecoin More
HIDDEN FEE ALERT
- Listing Fee: $95
- Limited Coverage
- Additional Fees
Homecoin is a tech-centric, Flat-Fee MLS platform that originated in California and now covers an additional 6 US states.
Package: Homecoin offers 1 Flat Fee MLS package.
- Basic Package – $95 + a la carte charges: This package includes a listing term of 12 months with 10 free listing changes. You get to upload maximum number of photos. Additionally, you get free call and email forwarding.
👉 Our Recommendation: Selling your home with Homecoin can be quite expensive as they charge a hefty amount for extra services like seller disclosures. Houzeo’s Gold package includes key state and federal disclosure from your licensed broker.
» Homecoin Reviews: Check out our in-depth review of Homecoin, its Pros, Cons, Reviews, and Alternatives
- FSBO listing
- Covers all Northern California Multiple Listing Services
- Extra charges for state disclosures
- Hidden fees
Homecoin has a 4.7 out of 5 stars (32 total reviews) on popular review sites like Google.
Homecoin serves in the following states:
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Missouri
- New York
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
How Can I List On MLS For Free?
Listing on MLS ensures maximum exposure for your property. But it can never be free.
You can list your house on for sale by owner websites like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for free. But they’ll be not as efficient as MLS Listings.
Houzeo’s MLS packages are cost-effective. Their basic package allows you to list on MLS with 6 photos and 3 month listing period. Whereas, their platinum package includes a max number of photos, virtual tours, pricing assistance, contract Review, and unlimited term and changes.
How Long Does It take to list a House On MLS?
With most Flat Fee MLS services, the order is forwarded to your local broker, the broker sends you the paperwork, and once you complete the paperwork it takes an additional 2 business days to make your listing live.
Houzeo instantly assigns you the right paperwork for your property. And it is all digital. Once you are done with the digital documents, your listing will be live typically within 1 business day – sometimes in just a few hours!
Your contact information will generally be in the “Private Remarks” section of the listing for the buyer’s agent to reach out to set up showings, negotiations or for any additional information.
How Does a Flat Fee MLS Listing Save You Money?
Compared to hiring a full-service real estate agent and paying 2.5% to 3% in listing agent commission, Flat Fee MLS is a lot less expensive. There is just a small flat fee for the MLS listing.
There will be a commission to pay only if a buyer is represented by an agent. If the buyer is unrepresented, you save more.
Keep in mind though that most buyers are represented by an agent, and to get top dollar for your property offering a competitive commission to a buyer’s agent is wise.
What are the Steps to List on MLS via Houzeo.com?
Houzeo’s cutting-edge technology simplifies your home-listing process. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to list your home on Houzeo!
Alternative to Listing on the MLS By Owner
If you want to list your property for sale by owner online, then you need to find a website that accepts FSBO listings and create an account.
Nowadays, listing on MLS is not the only way to gain exposure for your property. There are numerous websites that act as nationwide real estate portals that combine MLS and Non-MLS listings.
For Instance, Zillow, Redfin, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and more. These websites are popular in the United States and hold potential exposure for free.
More importantly, review the terms and generate your listing using the photos and description.
Frequently Asked Questions on How to List on MLS By Owner
Is Flat Fee MLS Legal?
Flat Fee MLS is legal all over the United States. In fact, the US Department of Justice just updated their bulletin highlighting the benefits of Flat Fee MLS for For Sale By Owner home sellers.
Are Flat Fee Realtors Good?
Some home sellers assume that since flat-fee realtors are working for lower fees they might not provide you with good services but there are thousands of home sellers who’ve already tried these flat-fee realtors and they have saved thousands of dollar with the best services!
Can I List on the MLS without an Agent?
Yes, you can list your home on the MLS with a Flat Fee MLS listing service like Houzeo, eliminating the listing agent, and their 3% commission right away!
How Much Money Can I Actually Save?
You can save up to 100% of the real estate commissions! With the Flat Fee MLS listing on Houzeo, you save the 3% listing agent commission. You’re obligated to pay the buyer’s agent the commission you offered if they’re represented by an agent, but if you procure a buyer with no agent involved, you can save even that!
What Things Does a Seller Have to Do to Sell Their Property?
You’ll essentially be serving as your own agent, so your responsibilities include setting up the yard sign, scheduling showings, filing paperwork, pricing your property, etc.
Do I Need to Sign a Contract to List My Home?
Yes, but these contracts for Flat Fee MLS listings are generally “entry-only”. That means they’re limited to the agent entering your listing into the MLS. And they can be canceled/terminated anytime with no penalty!
Why is a multiple listing service important when selling a house?
There are 600+ local MLS’ in the US and many overlap in coverages. It is important that you list your property on the correct local MLS so your listing can be in front of the right buyer agents and buyers.
How much is it to list my house on MLS?
The cost depends on whether you’re working with a full-service agent or a flat-fee MLS service like Houzeo. The cost depends on whether you’re working with a full-service agent or a flat-fee MLS service like Houzeo. A full-service agent generally charges 2%-3% of the selling price as the listing agent commission. On the other hand, you can potentially save a lot to list on MLS using a Flat Fee MLS listing service.
What is the best MLS listing site?
Undoubtedly, Houzeo is the best Flat Fee MLS listing service as they’re always transparent on their pricing page, provide maximum exposure, reach local agents, provide quick listings and changes and syndicate these listings to hundreds of other websites to reach potential buyers.
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