Tampa Home Owners Save on Average 65% in Real Estate Commissions when using our Flat fee MLS Listing Service

Flat Fee MLS listings are selling faster than new ones are being listed in Tampa

The Florida real estate market has changed over the past 5 months as buyers and sellers expectations of value are narrowing. I am Keith Gordon, broker and co-owner of a Tampa flat fee MLS listing and full-service discount real estate firm, ADDvanatge®.

Our inventory of available homes in Florida dropped 21% from March-May 2010, in part, due to the expiring tax credits and the overall narrowing of sellers and buyers expectations of value.

We have 2 levels of service at ADDvantage® for the cost conscience home seller. One plan is a traditional flat fee MLS listing where the seller represents themselves and the other is our full-service discount plan called ADDvantage Success where I represent the seller just like a traditional full-service agent would. The cost of ADDvantage Success is $699 up-front and 1/3 of 1% at close.

We do save Tampa, Florida home sellers an average 65% of commissions and have a reputation as being the most reliable discount real estate service in Florida.

We offers many helpful tools on our website for our flat fee MLS sellers to guide them through the process of selling a home without an traditional agent. We have spent the past 6 years building the most advanced and intuitive MLS discount listing platform enabling sellers to list, manage and sell a home without paying 6%.

One might think that this type of service is a “no-frills do-it-yourself and good luck” way of selling a home. To the contrary, ADDvantage® is actually a serviced based discount real estate company similar to a Charles Schwab. To us, it’s all about offering the best technology and service to our customers with our emphasis on cost savings and transparency.

Our concept of selling real estate in Florida is to present the seller with a marketing system backed by heavy customer service. We remain the only Florida flat fee MLS listing service or full-service real estate company that prides itself on never missing a showing opportunity as we are open for business at 8:00am each day and close at 8:00pm, 7 DAYS a WEEK! . All calls are answered live by professional MLS assistants and I am always available to assist as well.

Our customers are by owners, sellers who want full-service but are still interested in saving about 50% in commissions, builders, out-of-state Realtors that are selling property in Florida, in-state Realtors hat need to sell a property outside their MLS board coverage area and other professionals such as home inspectors, appraisers and others that are “in-the-know.” When a professional reads about what we do at ADDvantage®, they are impressed and they truly should be because what we do everyday is nothing short of an extraordinary effort to exceed our sellers expectations. We have hundreds of very satisfied Tampa flat fee MLS home sellers.

If you compare what ADDvantage® offers with our 100% electronic website (no faxing or emails), to our advanced Internet marketing and reliable customer service, you will agree we are hands down the best value of any Florida based flat fee MLS listing service.

Call us anytime, 1-877-232-9695 or 727-942-2929. Please read my latest helpful selling tips on appraisals and other relevant tips on selling real estate in Florida.

Nothing could be more important that pricing your Tampa Home accurately. Price it wrong and the buyers and Realtors will just ignore your listing or show it only as a comparison to buy another property.

I offer my clients free professional price coaching to help establish the right price for your Tampa home…That is, of course, if you need pricing help. Some sellers know where to price their property.

I am Keith Gordon and broker for Tampa Bay based ADDvantage® Real Estate Services. I am a flat fee MLS listing broker, a full-service broker and a member of GTAR and Mid-Florida Regional MLS as well as another 25 Florida boards.

I am passing my pricing expertise to all my flat fee MLS Tampa clients on a daily basis. I have developed a technique that is working to well in Tampa to sell our homes faster. I believe my pricing strategies will result in the maximum price for your home or condo. I recommend using my hybrid flat fee MLS listing plan called ADDvantage Success™ to accomplish this. This plan is like full-service but you pay only $699 upfront and $699 at close instead of a 3% listing commission.

Here’s how ADDvantage Success™ works. First, I (we) establish an MLS list price or just consult with you on the price that you have already determined. Once we list your home in the MLS, I assist you in fine tuning your price so we can achieve the maximum amount of Realtor showings.

Once the Realtors are showing your property on a regular basis, our feedback system collects valuable feedback information from Realtors after each showing. We use the feedback to adjust the price within range of buyers’ expectations. When unacceptable offers come, we use this price data as reference points. Our goal to find the sales price where buyers and Realtors want to make an offer. This strategy works because Realtors love to sell well-priced homes and earn the offered commission. Because appraisals are coming in low, you need a sale at a price that is within reach of an appraisal as well.

In a buyers market, I parallel leaving too much room to negotiate in your listing price to fishing for grouper in a lake. What a waste of time! My pricing methodology works well because once the sales price is refined to a point where we are confident we can get a buyer, I coach the buyer’s agents to bring their offers in at full-price. This works for them too because it gives them a defined mission.

My experience with Realtors (I am one too) and pricing homes in Florida runs deep as I have worked along side many sellers, buyers and Realtors in many different Florida cities for 27 years. When sellers use our concierge flat fee MLS listing plan ADDvantage Success™, it allows me negotiate for the sellers right through closing.

It also helps the buyer’s agents because they can close the deal faster. I also save the Realtor from wasting their time writing up low ball offers.

Part of my approach is to make the buyer’s agents trust me. They want to trust me because I help them bring their buyer to a price that my seller is willing to accept. It’s just a matter of time until some Realtor convinces some buyer that this home is a good value at the “listed price.” The Realtor doesn’t want to miss the deal either.

His technique saves time on the market and gets the job done faster. In the past five years, not one seller that I have worked with has made a mistake selling. Prices have been lower every month since 2005. Sellers want to sell and buyers want to buy but deals only get done at or near market values.

The flat fee MLS listing plan that I recommend to achieve this goal is ADDvantage Success™. It allows me to engage the Realtors and help the seller at a “full-service” level. I handle all Realtor calls, appointment setting, contract negotiations, inspections, issues and close the deal at your title company of choice.

ADDvantage Success™ is our most aggressive and success flat fee MLS plan in Florida. The cost is $699 upfront and $699 at close. Because our agents help sell the home as well, if we find the buyer, we waive the $699 at close fee.

Our program called “Agent Activate®” also helps you sell faster because we have the best qualified local agents working with us. The seller only pays one commission with ADDvantage Success usually 3%.

Call any time for questions or visit our ADDvantage Success™ website. ADDvantage Success™ is the way real estate should be…One commission for the buyer’s agent, great Internet marketing and hands on coaching.

1-877-232-9695    1-727 942 2929

Ps…we also have flat fee MLS listing plans starting at $179.

The past 5 years, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week our company has answered our phone “live” servicing Tampa Realtors ®that have called ADDvantage® seeking showing instructions on our flat fee MLS listed properties.　

Our business approach has earned ADDvantage® of Florida a reputation with Realtors® that is impeccable. When they see our name in the MLS as the listing agent they remember us as the company that is always available.　

Our reputation adds value to all those Tampa by owners that choose to list flat fee with us. The reputation of the flat fee MLS service dictates how many Realtor® showings you will receive.　

Most flat fee MLS listing services in Florida answer their phone haphazardly and as a result have a bad reputation with full-service buyer’s agents. If they see a listing from a company that has dis-serviced them, they will most likely pass over it.　

Truth is full-service Realtors® don’t love discount MLS brokers because they see us as competition for listing. We don’t charge a listing commission which saves the by owner seller at least 50%. If Realtors® don’t love us, than we better do a good job making friends by servicing them. We have done that from 8:00am-8:00pm 7 days a week for 5 years in a row. We also blend in as a full-service real estate company as well because we do more than just “traditional” self-represented flat fee MLS listings at ADDvantage®.　

About 50% of our listing at ADDvantage® are hybrid-flat-fee-MLS listings where we represent the seller. We offer 2 such plans, one called ADDvantage Plus™ and the other ADDvantage Success™. The only difference between these 2 plans is with “Plus” the seller keeps all unrepresented buyer leads in an effort to sell the home themselves and pay no commission and with “Success” our local agents work all unrepresented buyers in an attempt to sell the home. With either plan, the seller only pays one buyer’s agent commission. With “Sucess”, the only question is who will be representing the buyer, our agent or an outside agent.　

Another consideration is ADDvantage Plus™ and ADDvantage Success™ listing are imputed into the MLS as “Exclusive Right of Sale Listings” which are the same as any full-service listing. Not Exclusive Agency” which is the listing type of our basic flat fee MLS plan MLS ADDvantage® which costs $349 and all other flat fee or limited service listings.　

“Plus” and “Success” listing improve our overall image in the real estate community because these listing mimic full-service listings in that we take all calls, schedule all showings and negotiate all offers right through closing. This saves 50% in commissions or teh seller possibly pays none with “Plus.”　

List your Tampa home with the company that has earned the trust of Tampa Bay Realtors, ADDvantage®.

727-942-2929

Is selling a home using flat fee MLS just a matter of finding the cheapest flat fee MLS website and off you go?

Did you know that 90% of the websites that you see are NOT even members of GTAR (Greater Tampa Association of Realtors) or MFR (Mid-Florida Regional MLS).

Do you know that 99% of all flat fee MLS services in Florida do not offer live 8:00am-8:00pm phone support? You might say, who needs this type of service anyway because all calls come to me!

I am Keith Gordon, broker for flat fee MLS Tampa firm ADDvantage®. There’s a reason why we are the most respected and trusted flat fee MLS listing firm in Tampa and it starts with three things we do better than anyone else.　

1) Buyer leads and how they are handled is one area that Tampa sellers do not fully understand. Our policy with regard to buyer leads from Realtor.com and other sites has been effective since we started ADDvantage® in 2005. Once a buyer lead finds its way to ADDvantage®, it is promptly forwarded to our sellers in real time 7 days a week from 8:00am-8:00pm. Over a typical week, we handle over 300 calls from buyers and Realtors®. On a typical weekend, we handle over 40 calls. This level of service is unheard of in the real estate industry. Between these hours, all calls and emails are handled “live” by one of our ADDvantage® staff members. Each email or call is transcribes into an email and forwarded to you. Our relentless attention to this and other important details has earned ADDvantage® the best reputation in all Florida for delivering the most reliable and trusted flat fee MLS service.

2) The next often misunderstood part of listing flat fee in the MLS is Realtor.com and IDX. Most Tampa by owners do not fully understand Realtor.com and IDX feeds and why should they. The fact is Realtor.com does not allow any seller contact information or the word “FSBO” to be published. Only the listing broker’s phone number and name can appear. Every Realtor® website such as c21, ColdwellBanker.com and remax.com receive their MLS listing data directly from Realtor.com through the IDX feed. Sellers, therefore, must implicitly trust their flat fee MLS broker to professionally handle buyer leads and calls that come to the broker.

3) Another area that concerns many sellers is “Offers.” Sellers would prefer their offers from Realtors® to going directly to them and not through the flat fee broker. At ADDvantage®, we facilitate all offers by forwarding them directly to our sellers from 8:00am-8:00pm 7 days. We then call and notify each seller when an offer has been forwarded by email. In our 5 years of being in business we have never mishandled an offer or lost a deal because of our incompetence. Most offers do come through ADDvantage® as Realtors® often stand by industry protocol and prefer that the “listing broker” initially receive the offer and then forward the offer to the “self-represented” seller. Once the seller has the offer, the buyer’s agent and seller negotiate the offer to its conclusion. By the way, it is clearly stated in the MLS to call seller directly for all showings and the seller’s phone number is published.

Trust remains an issue when money is involved. Tampa home owners that do choose ADDvantage® to sell using flat fee MLS will soon believe it is possible to trust a flat rate MLS service, receive excellent service and still save 50% on the cost of selling a home vs. a traditional listing. Many of our sellers (27%) pay no commission at all because they have sold without a Realtor®. ADDvantage® has earned our reputation as Tampa’s most trusted and hardest working flat fee MLS broker because we consistently deliver more offers, more buyer leads and Realtor® feedback on each showings. We offer this level of service 7 days a week from 8:00am-8:00pm for 5 years in a row.

We offer 5 flat fee MLS plans. This blog was focused on our standard “self-representation” flat fee MLS plan called MLS ADDvantage®. But, we also offer 2 flat fee plans that are very similar to full-service in that we handle all calls and negotiate all offers right through closing. These 2 plans are called ADDvantage Success™ and ADDvantage Plus™. The only difference between them is with ADDvantage Success™, our local agents have the right to sell your home using the buyer leads that come our way while ADDvantage Plus™ is “contract-to-close representation” while the seller retains all buyer leads. If you have questions about which flat rate plan is best suited for you, call us anytime 1-877-232-9695 or visit our website at getmoreoffers.com.

ADDvantage® is a Tampa’s By Owner, Flat Fee MLS, semi full-service and full-service real estate brokerage firm.

We have always pioneered the way to innovation in discount real estate. Our newest plan is called ADDvantage Success™.

ADDvantage Success™ is a unique blend of all our best features we have ever offered into one simple, yet effective, flat fee listing plan…And, you pay a low upfront flat rate price of $499.

Our Internet marketing package and service commitment is second to none…And, you only offer a commission to the buyer’s agent…NO LISTING COMMISSION!

ADDvantage Success™ brings the best of flat fee MLS and full service together. We offer powerful Internet marketing and we will post your listing on important sites such as Homes.com, Realtor.com, Zillow, MSN, Yahoo, Craigslist, Vast, Zillow, AOL, RSS feeds, IDX feeds and Oodle…Plus 100′s more sites that will you get more exposure and sell faster.

Highlights of ADDvantage Success™

• 9 month MLS listing in the Mid Florida Regional MLS or Greater Tampa Association of Realtors. You can cancel anytime with no fee, complications or strings attached.
• Agent Assure®…Because we answer our phone at ADDvantage® 7 days a week from 8:00am-8:00pm, you’ll never miss a Realtor® showing request. Agent Assure® is our concierge showing service where we schedule and confirm all showings for you so there is no need to speak with a Realtor®. Your customized showing instructions will be given to Realtors® and an email will be sent for your records. Agent Assure® is more professional than the seller scheduling the appointment. ($199 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)
• Feedback. Everyone wants to receive feedback from Realtors®. Our system automatically sends an email to each Realtor® 2 hours after they show requesting feedback and you’ll receive a copy by email. ($99 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)
• Agent Activate®…Local knowledge helps you sell faster and at a higher price. Our local Tampa agents know your home. They will act quickly to show and sell your home. If one of our agents is successful, we will REFUND the ADDvantage Success™ $499 up front fee at closing. Our Agent Activate® service ensures our best Tampa agents or local affiliates will work diligently with each buyer prospect. You pay only the offered buyer’s agent commission which is the same commission you are offering any agent (which is typically 3%). There is no listing commission. If our agent sells your home, they’ll work out all the details from contract to closing. We will pre-qualify buyers, show your home, write the offer as transaction brokers, negotiate the offer, work through and handle the inspection and inspection related negotiating, if any. As well…Assist with financing, work with your title company of choice or real estate attorney and complete the closing in a fast professional manor. Having an agent assist with negotiations often results in a higher sales price for you and less hassles.
• Broker Assist… Advice 7 days a week. Most offers will come from outside buyer’s agents, not from an ADDvantage® agent. If this occurs, our broker will consult, advise, review the contract, check for missing documents and assist in closing the transaction. Realtors® prefer our “broker Assist” over dealing directly with the seller because this facilitates their offer and enhances their changes of getting a deal done. There will be a transaction fee of $395 at close if this occurs. (A $799 value)
• Street Smart ADDvantage®…The most effective Realtor® eblast in Florida. Since 2005, ADDvantage® has been emailing Tampa Realtors® our high commission properties. The Street Smart ADDvantage® eblast is now the best read Realtor-to-Realtor email in Florida. It is reserved for those sellers offering a 4% or greater buyer’s agent commission. Every two weeks, our system sends most Tampa Realtors® that work or live within 35 miles of your property a copy of the Street Smart ADDvantage® report. (A $599 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)
• An Exclusive Right of Sale Listing in MLS…Better than Exclusive Agency. At times, limited service listing (a.k.a “flat fee MLS”) are not shown because Realtors® possibly consider them more work as compared with full-service. While illegal to do so, this does happen. But, the cost savings to sellers from listing flat fee far outweighs any possible lost showings. But, with ADDvantage Success™, we have solved this dilemma by using an Exclusive Right of Sale Listing, NOT an Exclusive Agency (limited service).
• Realtor.com Showcase…25 Pictures on Realtor.com. The best listing in Realtor.com is a “showcase” listing.” This upgrade will allow for a 2400 character property description and 25 pictures. If you have a Virtual Tour, it will be posted there as well…And, on getmoreoffers.com and Homes.com. ($49 value, free with ADDvantage Success™)

ADDvantage® flat fee MLS metal sign with your phone # and MLS # professionally vinyled onto it. It costs just $39.98. (includes shipping)

Selling a Tampa home in today’s competitive buyer’s market places extra demands on packaging your listing as perfectly as possible. Realtors in in Greater Tampa Bay sell 70% of ADDvantage listed properties. Using an ADDvantage yard sign will improve your changes of selling Buy Owner or through a licensed Realtor.
We offer our metal sign to you at OUR COST… $24.99 (plus $14.99 shipping & handling).�
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Why it is important to use an ADDvantage® Sign?

• Realtors® recognize our yard sign as professional.
• FSBO sign is not professional and raise red flags for Tampa Realtors.
• FSBO signs are a dead give-away that you listed your Tampa property using flat rate MLS. Realtors aren’t thrilled that you didn’t list full-service. So why advertise with a bright red and white FSBO yard sign that you listed flat fee…FSBO (For Sale By Owner) give that exact message.
• FSBO signs create calls to ADDvantage like the one we received a few Sundays ago from a Tampa Realtor who wondered whether he was at the right house. He said,

“I think I’m at the right house…it looks a bit different than the picture…but, there is no ADDvantage sign…there is a FSBO sign, though…I don’t know what kind of deal Keith has with this seller, maybe he did some kind of FLAT FEE LISTING WITH THEM…”

Not the kind of message you want to send! Yet we get calls like this frequently from agents who come across one of our Tampa flat fee listings with a FSBO sign.

FSBO yard signs are not synonymous with being listed in the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors (GTAR) MLS. A regular real estate signs promotes the fact that the seller is offering a commission.

Had the seller used an ADDvantage yard sign, this Realtor would never have called Sunday. He would
ADDvantage Flat Fee MLS Yard Signnever have questioned the listing as being “flat fee” or “full-service.” We gave him the lock code and he was happy right up to the point of seeing that FSBO sign. Why identify your property as a flat rate listing and inform the Realtor in advance that you are a self-represented seller before he even steps inside your home with his buyer?

Unless your are deed restricted and can’t use a yard sign, please consider ordering a metal ADDvantage yard sign. It will help your sale

looks professional

The answer is no. There are hundreds of flat fee websites in Florida and only 2 or 3 of these services are Tampa based. 80% of them are not even licensed in Florida to offer flat fee MLS…the just refer you to a Tampa flat fee MLS service such as ADDvantage. Some of the Florida based For Sale By Owner (FSBO) MLS companies are not genuine flat fee MLS services. They are hanging the shingle “flat fee” on their websites to garner attention from the public but what they are offering is NOT flat fee MLS.

The definition of a genuine flat fee MLS service would be one that allows their client seller to cancel their flat fee listing at anytime for “free” and the flat fee broker would comply and “unconditionally” withdraw the listing from GTAR (MLS) allowing another broker immediate access to re-list the property. A genuine flat fee listing also sends all buyer leads from Realtor.com and other Internet sources directly to the seller…not to the flat fee MLS broker. A genuine flat fee listing service pubishes their listing agreemnet online so the public can review it before paying for a listings. And lastly, a genuine flat rate service offers great phone support.

Without going into great detail about all the crappy flat fee MLS tricks, ploys and schemes…remember “caveat emptor” when listing in the MLS.

Only list flat fee with a local Tampa MLS broker and make sure they offer a genuine flat fee product and not some look-a-like website that benefits the flat fee broker and not the flat fee seller.

Have a question about listing flat fee MLS in Tampa? Call us 727-942-2929.