How much do you charge?
• Help-U-Sell charges a flat fee of $4,450 that is paid at closing and there are no upfront fees
Why the flat fee?
• It’s very simple. Help-U-Sell, as a real estate company, provides a service to our clients. Real estate is one of the few service industries that feel the need to charge a percentage of an overall value for their service. Most service companies do not work on a percentage of value basis. For example: an oil change is a service. Would you pay more for an oil change if you owned a Lincoln instead of a Hyundai? Of course not! The service is the same. Why should one client be charged $24,000 in real estate commission to sell a home when another client is charged $9000 for the same service? What warrants this huge discrepancy in real estate costs for service? Same costs for the same service.
What is included in the flat fee?
• Help-U-Sell is a full service real estate company. Expect the same high quality of representation, service and expertise as you would expect from any other full service real estate company that charge a percentage of the sales price.
Do you use the MLS?
• Help-U-Sell gives clients the option of being on the MLS. The MLS is actually a cooperative between real estate brokers that allows agents to show other agents listing and agrees to compensate them for selling their listings. That compensation is usually 2.7%. If our clients choose to be on the MLS, AND their property sells through the MLS (meaning another agent provides the buyer), our client is obligated to pay the buyers agent 2.7% of the sale price of the property as well.
Could the Help-U-Sell flat fee and the MLS fee add up to more than what a percentage-based company would charge?
• Broker total compensation is capped at 4.5% of the sale price of the property. The buyers agent is still paid their 2.7% of the sale price with Help-U-Sell retaining the balance.
What do you do different?
• First, a brief summary of how the commission based real estate industry works. Whether an agent is charging you 5% or 7%, their primary strategy is to put a sign in your yard, brochures in the box, put your home on the MLS… and wait for another agent to bring in a buyer. Then they split the real estate fee with the other agent. This is a very passive “selling” considering the monies being charged. Help-U-Sell varies from this model in 2 distinct ways: 1) Help-U-Sell charges a flat fee, and 2) Help-U-Sell actively tries to sell your home!!!
How does Help-U-Sell actively try to sell my home that is different than other companies?
• Help-U-Sell tries to sell your home through the obvious channels: Internet postings and adds, real estate signs, brochures… and most importantly, through open houses. This is where the seller cooperation is key. Help-U-Sell has sellers conduct their own open houses. All signage, direction, and advertisement are provided. Typically they are held on Sunday from noon until 3. This is optional. Our clients have the option of having an open house several times a week, occasionally, or never. Keep in mind; if Help-U-Sell is able to attract a buyer without the aid of a buyer’s agent, there is no other agent to pay! In reality, our client’s probability of saving the most money is directly related to their efforts.
Are open houses effective?
• Yes they are very effective. Selling a home is all about exposure. Obviously, the more buyers who see your home, the better chance of finding the right buyer. Most people do not contact an agent to start looking for a home. They usually start by looking on the Internet and visiting open houses. Also, who better to showcase your home than homeowner? The homeowner know the neighbors, how old their kids are, where the park is, where the bus stop is, when you replaced the furnace, how often it is maintained… all these intangibles that an agent would not know often serve as main qualifiers in a buyers decision.
In summary, Help-U-Sell clients pay for the service that actually sells their home. If Help-U-Sell is able to procure a buyer through its efforts, the client only pays Help-U-Sell (saving the buyers agent compensation). In this case, the fees to the seller are $4,450 If the buyer is shown the property by another agent, that agent must be compensated as well. In this case, the fees to the seller are $4,450 plus 2.7% of the sale price. The total compensation is not to exceed 4.5% of the sale price.
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