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

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.

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® has been offering discount real estate MLS listings, “flat fee MLS,” in Florida since 2005. We have consistently held over 250 flat fee MLS listings in various Florida MLS boards so we have an excellent pulse on the entire Florida real estate market.

The call volume this past 3 weeks has exceeded any other point in time by 200%. These callers are unrepresented buyers, Realtors® requesting showing instructions and sellers asking questions about our flat fee MLS listing services.

While this spike in interest does not mean we have seen the bottom of the real estate market, nor does it mean prices will rise, but rather it means the perception held buy buyers is that real estate in Florida is a bargain…And, they are correct!

If you don’t need to sell now, it would be better to wait until 2012 or 2013 as prices should be higher by then. But, of course, if you need to sell now, do it and re-buy later this year or next and catch the next wave up in prices.

If you have to sell now, try to sell by owner using flat fee MLS marketing. When you list in the MLS flat fee with ADDvantage®, you have a 23% chance of selling by owner and a 77% chance of being sold through a Tampa Bay Realtor®. The reason so many by owners sell with no Realtor® involved at ADDvantage® is because we give all buyer leads (ones with no Realtor® attached…Leads from sources such as Realtor.com, Homes.com and our site getmoreoffers.com) to you.

Buyer leads are very valuable. Not all flat fee MLS listing services in Florida do this. You MUST read their listing agreement carefully.

We offer 4 flat fee MLS listings plans that enable you to pay just the buyer’s agent commission (no listing commission). Our basic plan is $349…Your phone number will be published in the MLS, not in Realtor.com (no seller info allowed) and this is our most popular “self-represented” way to sell.

The next level up is Street Smart ADDvantage®. To use the plan, the buyer’s agent commission must be 4% or greater. This plan is based around offering a higher-than-average buyer agent commission. We get the message to the Realtors® through an eblast system we developed in 2005. It sends emails to all Tampa Realtors within 35 miles of your property twice per month. This Realtor® eblast marketing is very successful. Realtors® read it because it’s all about the money. When they click your link in the email, they are directed right to your flat fee MLS listing at getmoreoffers.com. Our website tracks all hits so you will see the results. Street Smart ADDvantage® is $599 and includes Realtor.com showcase and World Properties.

The top plan at ADDvantage® is ADDvantage Plus™. It is $799 and $500 at close. This is not your average bargain…It is truly the best value of any real estate service in Florida. It comes with 100% contract-to-close representation from me (26 years experience), Agent Assure® (where we answer all calls for you and schedule all showings), Street Smart ADDvantage® (if you offer 4% buyer’s agent commission), Realtor.com Showcase, World Properties, Homes.com premium and a metal custom yard sign. All you do is show the home or set a lock box.

ADDvantage’s slogan is “Real Estate By Your Rules®” for a reason…We are all about the seller…And, we are the only real estate company in Tampa that answers their phone 7 days a week 8:00am-8:00pm.

1-877-232-9695 or 727-942-2929

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.

Flat fee MLS is defined as receiving a bundle of specific real estate services for an advance payment. These services are further defined by the language contained in the listing agreement. This listing agreement will bind the seller and the listing broker to do certain things during the listing period and possibly afterwards.

The listing agreement is the single most important document to review and understand before listing your home with any broker. There are several reasons why flat fee MLS services in Tampa do not present their listing agreements to sellers before they request payment for such services.

Many flat fee MLS websites on the Internet are not licensed real estate brokers in Florida. Therefore, they have no listing agreement to offer.

Tampa sellers have a choice between listing with a local Tampa Flat Fee MLS broker or with a national flat fee MLS “website.” If the seller chooses the national flat fee MLS “website” to list their property, that “websites” sole function is to take your payment and refer you to a Florida broker. The number one reason why sellers choose a national flat fee “website” over a company such as ADDvantage is because they have not researched the differences between the flat fee services.

If you list with a national “website”, you are stuck with the “unknown” listing broker’s operation (hours that they answer the phone, professionalism, marketing) and his/her listing agreement that will soon be presented to you by the “unknown” Tampa flat fee broker.”

To avoid this situation, simply make sure you review the listing agreement before paying. A simple way to differentiate between a “national referrer” broker and a local broker would be to call them and ask. As well, if you do not see a listing agreement clearly published on their website then you can assume they don’t want you to see it.

Another indication of a “national website” is their reference to terminology such as “we are the largest national flat fee MLS website in America.” The word “referral website” would mean the same thing.

“The 4 greatest concerns when scrutinizing a flat fee MLS listing agreement are…Buyer Leads, Cancellation fee, the right to cancel at will and hours they answer their phone

One concern a seller would have with a flat fee service would be the right to cancel their listing and re-list with another broker. Some flat fee companies have cancellation fees written into their listing agreement or have language that traps the seller into listing with their “predetermined” full-service broker that is (of course) affiliated with the flat fee broker enabling a referral kickback commission. A convoluted scheme but it happens everyday. The language below would prevent this from happening…

“Seller can cancel their MLS anytime by providing broker with written request. Broker will “unconditionally” withdraw listing from MLS within 24 hours. There is no cancellation fee.”

The term “unconditional” is the language that gives the seller the right to cancel and re-list with another broker at any time.

Many full-service and flat fee companies have language in their listing agreement that references the word “conditional withdrawal.”

If the words “conditional withdrawal” are found anywhere in your listing agreement then presume your broker is trapping you to pay a fee. If these words are anywhere in your listing agreement, the listing broker will not remove the listing from the MLS as “unconditional” but rather “suspend it” until the remainder of the listing period expires. During this “suspended period”, no other broker can take your listing.

A closing fee is not as common as a “cancellation fee” but all the same it would be quite a surprise at closing if your HUD settlement statement had a 1% commission going to the flat fee broker.

Buyer leads from Realtor.com are another reason to have an articulate listing agreement.

The flat fee MLS listing agreement must clearly state if the seller receives all buyer leads from Realtor.com and other Internet sources.

Some flat fee services in Tampa actually say in their listing agreement (and proudly display it) that they TAKE all buyer leads. Other flat fee companies just don’t specify who gets these leads.

ADDvantage flat fee MLS (a Florida flat fee MLS broker) fielded just under 3,000 leads during the past 12 months from Realtors and buyers requesting showing instructions. 1000 of these calls were answered after-hours…that is the reason why Tampa flat fee MLS sellers need to know what hours their flat fee broker answers the phone.

Read more about listing flat fee in the MLS