Orlando Saves Over 50% in Real Estate Commissions

Our Orlando Flat Fee MLS listings are selling faster than we are getting new ones

Over the past 4 months, buyers and sellers in Orlando are coming closer together with their expectations of value. This narrowing of these “price-expectations” along with the added urgency of the expiring tax credit deadline has depleted our inventory of available MLS listings homes in Florida by 21%.

I see the real estate market in Florida completely differently now as we move into the second-half of 2010. I am Keith Gordon, broker and co-owner of a Florida flat fee MLS listing and full-service discount real estate firm, ADDvanatge®. We are a state-wide flat fee MLS listing service that specializes in being “available” for sellers, buyers and Realtor 7 days a week from 8:00am-8:00pm.

As a flat fee MLS broker, I primarily work with sellers so I have a unique and accurate view of how they are pricing their homes and I see a dramatic change in their expectations.

There remains a few “hold-outs” that bought right at the top in 2005 and possibly 2006 that remain 12-15% over-priced. But, unlike past years such as 2008 and 2009 where there were more over-priced MLS listings than well-priced ones, I see the reverse now.

It is not uncommon to to a new flat fee MLS listing at ADDvantage® sell during the first 2 weeks of being active in the MLS. This means that seller priced their Orlando home within a few percentage points of appraised  value. When a seller does this, every Realtor that has attempted to negotiate a home with their buyers and failed due to over-priced and inflexible sellers pounce of these well-priced listings.

Listing with one of ADDvantage’s® flat fee MLS listing plans helps the seller price their homes better because we don’t charge 6% to list but rather a flat fee starting at $349. This saves the Orlando home owner at least 50%.

Every poorly price home we have at ADDvantage is still active. I can recall about 10 homes out of our 147 we currently have listed in the MLS that are over-priced. They have been priced poorly from the start and continue to be priced behind the curve. The typical scenario of this type of listing is “we aren’t selling if we can’t get “x.” But “x” has nothing to do with current market value. I have yet to see one of these listing sell.

At ADDvantage®, we are the messenger, albeit a good one!. We list Orlando homes in the MLS, we market aggressively on the Internet and I represent many of the sellers ar ADDvantage® who use our full-service discount listing service ADDvantage Success.

There are two distinct advantages of listing flat fee in the MLS with ADDvantage®. The service and marketing are excellent and you save at least 50% in real estate commissions.

There are also two distinct advantages of using our full-service discounted flat fee plan ADDvantage Success. If you going to sell a home in today’s market, you must sell within what I refer to as the “appraisal envelop.” Every successful seller at ADDvantage® gets their deal done somewhere within this envelop. What I do for the sellers that I represent is get a deal done faster and at the high-end of this envelop. The extra cost to the seller over our traditional flat fee MLS “self-representation” plan is $350 up-front and a additional 1/3 of 1% at close or $330 per $100,000 in sales value. My value to home sellers is professionalism from start to finish. I do expect to get my sellers a sales price at the high-end of appraised value and I make sure no buyer’s agent takes advantage of one of my sellers or that no buyer is engaged that can’t close.

If, by chance, I push the buyer’s agent too far in value and we don’t appraise out, then the seller can always opt out of the contract, negotiate the difference by meeting in the middle, the buyer can agree to pay the original contract price or a combination of asking the buyer to take some or all of the seller’s closing costs such as documentary stamps on the deed or title policy.

My best advice to sell a home today is get the most for it and go buy another home at these bargain prices. 

Call anytime, 1-877-232-9695 or 727-942-2929. Might check out of smart home selling tips.

ADDvantage®, an Orlando, Florida “By Owner” and Flat Fee MLS listing Service, introduces a new innovation in discount real estate called ADDvantage Success™.

This unique MLS listing plan has all the features of a full-service listing but you pay a low price of $499.

This offer exceeds all other flat rate offers because you don’t sacrifice service and you only offer a commission to the buyer’s agent.

ADDvantage Success™ guarantees Orlando sellers the most powerful Internet marketing available on important websites such as Homes.com Realtor.com, MSN Craigslist, Vast, Yahoo, Zillow, AOL Oodle, RSS feeds, IDX feeds and many more features to help u sell faster.

Highlights of ADDvantage Success™

• 9 month MLS listing in the Mid Florida Regional MLS – Orlando’s MLS. You can cancel anytime with no fee or other complications.
• Agent Assure®…We guarantee you’ll never miss a Realtor® showing. Agent Assure® is our concierge showing service. We schedule and confirm all showings for so you only communicate with ADDvantage®, never a Realtor®. We are here 7 days a week…Even Saturday and Sunday. Your exact showing instructions will be given to Realtors® just they way you want. And, an email sent for your records. ($199 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)
• Feedback…Orlando home sellers need feedback from Realtor® showings. Our system will automatically send an email to each Realtor® that shows your home requesting feedback. ($99 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)
• Agent Activate®…Local expertise and knowledge helps you sell faster. Our local agent knows your home and you. They will never miss an opportunity to show and sell your home. If one of our agents is successful selling your property, we will REFUND the ADDvantage Success™ $499 fee at closing. Our Agent Activate® service engages our best Orlando agents or local affiliate to work with each buyer prospect. You pay only the offered buyer’s agent commission, the same commission you are offering any agent (which is typically 3%). If our agent sells, we take the deal from contract-to-close. Our agents will pre-qualify buyers, show your property, write the offer, negotiate the offer, inspection and inspection related negotiating, if any, assist with financing, work with your title company or real estate lawyer and complete the closing in a professional manor. Having an agent help with negotiatons often results in a higher sales price, a faster sale and less hassles.
• Broker Assist… Advice 7 days a week. If an offer comes from an outside buyer’s agent, other than ADDvantage®, our house broker will consult, advise, review the contract, check for missing disclosures and assist in the closing. There will be a transaction fee of $395 at closing if this occurs. (A $799 value)
• Street Smart ADDvantage®…Powerful and Effective Realtor® eblast. Since 2005, ADDvantage® has been promoting properties throughout Florida by email. This email, called the Street Smart ADDvantage® eblast, is reserved for sellers offering a 4% or greater buyer’s agent commission. Twice a month, most local Orlando Realtors® within 35 miles of your property will receive the eblast. Street Smart ADDvantage® is the best read Realtor-to-Realtor email in Orlando, Florida. (A $599 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)
• An Exclusive Right of Sale Listing in MLS, not an Exclusive Agency. At times, “by owner” listings are passed over because Orlando Realtors® perceive them as too much work. While there is only a slight chance of this occurring to your listing, the cost savings of listing flat fee in the MLS far outweigh any possible lost showings. But, why loose a Realtor® showing when there is a solution? List the property in the Orlando Mid-Florida MLS as an Exclusive Right of Sale Listing, NOT as an Exclusive Agency…Which is how all flat fee listing in Florida are inputted into the MLS. Because you will be represented by ADDvantage®, we will input ADDvantage Success™ listings into the MLS as Exclusive Right of Sale listings. It is a better way to get more showings, it is more professional and is exactly the same as a full-service listings.
• Realtor.com Showcase…25 Pictures on Realtor.com. We will upgrade your Realtor.com listing to “showcase” with a longer property description (2400 characters) and 25 pictures. Realtor.com is the world’s most important real estate website. ($49 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)

Call us anytime 1-877-232-9695 or vist our website for more details on ADDvantage Success™ flat fee MLS.