For Sale By Owners in MLS

  MLS stands for multiple listing service. Every home for sale listed by a real estate agent, unless it is specifically exempted from MLS, will be listed in MLS. However, only real estate agents and other professional affiliates can access MLS, but that doesn’t mean a home buyer or home seller can’t get the same information — just not directly.

While there is no separate category for a For Sale by Owner (or FSBO) listing, the MLS can contain listings from sellers who are unrepresented.

• The way FSBOs circumvent some MLS restrictions is to pay a flat fee to a discount real estate broker to enter the information, but the seller is not really represented.

• Instructions to present all offers directly to the seller is often frowned upon or prohibited by MLS authorities.

• Sometimes the selling commission is less than the fee agents are offered by traditional brokers — which does not motivate agents to show these listings, even though they cannot legally refuse to do so.

This post was found on FSBO.FizBer.com
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