Is Zillow the Best Way to Sell a Home?
The entire process of buying or selling a home can be expensive, and one can encounter unexpected obstacles, not to mention have a stressful experience. There’s a good chance that someone who’s done it before would say they would never want to have to go through it again. And with sellers typically having to pay a 6% commission split between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent, most sellers choose to avoid those high fees and sell their home by themselves, as an FSBO or “for sale by owner,” without the help of a real estate agent. If you’re only looking to “sell my house fast” free as FSBO, there are some well-known for sale by owner websites that can help you, which include Zillow, Houzeo.com, FSBO.com, etc. Based on the customer reviews of Zillow, it is recommended to choose Zillow. It is one of the most popular sites for home sellers who want to list their homes as “FSBO” or “for sale by owner.”
Zillow vs Flat Fee MLS Companies
Zillow, a real estate business, aims to help homeowners and agents. The company was launched in 2006 at its Seattle main office, following which they’ve accumulated a database of 110 million U.S. properties—including homes for sale (FSBO). Zillow claims to allow home sellers to put up a listing on their site without the use of an agent. As Zillow doesn’t charge listing fees, you can post your home for free, even when you’re selling it yourself. That is one of the biggest advantages over other popular FSBO websites.
In addition, Zestimates, an option offered by Zillow, provides estimates of home values based on information made available publicly. The date and price of the last sale are taken into account in its estimate. In some areas, this information makes up a big part of that figure. But if this information is inaccurate, it can throw off the Zestimate. Also, on the flip side, when a home is listed on Zillow, you’ll see only a few agents associated with the listing. On the other hand, listing the property on MLS could give you more chances to sell it with fair market value. Real estate agents list homes and share properties with other agents on the MLS, helping their clients sell or find a home.
Zillow Reviews
According to Zillow reviews provided by earlier customers, it is “one the best websites to use as a resource to find a home.” The site is easy to use, making it user-friendly. It provides listing exposure to millions of consumers, and agents can advertise their skills to a broader audience. On the other hand, according to some customers, their Zestimate can “throw off pricing expectations for some properties.” This misleads buyers and sellers and often makes an agent’s job harder. Also, it does not provide a search by MLS. These reviews on Zillow are quite helpful.
Advantages of Flat Fee MLS
Working with low commission real estate companies, on the other hand, is one of the best ways to save money when you sell your home. They offer to sell your home for a commission that is a few percentage points lower than that charged by normal agents. Because you’re not working with a listing agent, you won’t have to pay their 3 percent commission. Rather, with a flat fee service, you’ll only pay a few hundred dollars. These companies aim to provide the traditional realtor experience for a fraction of the price, which gives you the best overall balance of savings and service while listing your property on the MLS.
A flat fee MLS listing service is an alternative to selling your home with a traditional real estate agent. Usually, a flat fee is charged by a flat fee MLS for listing your property on the MLS. This fee can be decided upon beforehand or charged after the deal is finalized. Houzeo’s MLS Listing is a good option for selling your house as FSBO. And according to reviews of earlier customers, Houzeo scores well on buyer and agent exposure, as well as buyer agent commission.
How Does a Flat Fee MLS Work?
A low flat fee commission is what a flat fee MLS service charges for providing certain tasks, instead of a percentage-based commission. The listing fee is not a percentage; it is a fixed amount agreed between the seller and the broker. This means that if the house sells for a higher price than expected, the difference in the amount will usually end up as the seller’s profit. The major service provided by a flat fee MLS is that your home is listed on the MLS. There are hundreds of local MLS databases handling listings for properties for their particular area. Major real estate sites such as Zillow and Houzeo gather data from the MLS, which is the main online resource for real estate agents. A flat fee MLS will charge you a flat fee for listing your property on the MLS, which is usually 2–3 percent of the sale proceeds. When you choose a flat fee MLS, you are in control of the sale of the property. And, you get to choose the price of your home and how you market it including description and photos.
In conclusion, on using a flat fee MLS, you’ll get the benefit of an agent’s expertise and support at a lower cost. To save the most possible money on commission, this is a viable option for FSBO sellers.