The first thing that you need to know is that the most important parameter in selling your home without a realtor is LOCATION. No other thing is more important than the location of your house. It should guide your house selling method and process, by all means.

Selling or even buying any home or property is all about location. Your house can be the most unattractive one but if it is in a fantastic locality, it is still a valuable property. Property always has an intrinsic value based on its location. 

Enough about location now. Wherever your house is located, you can’t change that but you can always decide how you want to sell it. The Multiple Listing System or MLS is the best place for your house if you want to sell it.

MLS is more than a big database of home listings; it is a suite of about 700 regional databases with their own listings. To access and post their property listings on relevant databases, realtors pay a fee. They can be members of multiple MLS databases as per their territories.

Why must your house be on MLS?

Best home websites and companies offer denser versions of MLS listings that can help buyers look for properties using filters like price, zip code, and home features. MLS is the numero uno place where brokers, agents, and buyers go to find for-sale homes. And that’s why to get your house found, you must place your property on MLS.

But unless you are a licensed broker or agent paying regular membership dues you can’t access or post the properties on MLS. You can’t use MLS to list your home because you aren’t an agent. But that is the story of the past. 

Nowadays, home sellers have many options apart from paying a realtor full commissions.

If you’re looking for a solution to “How to sell a house by owner?” then listing on MLS without a REALTOR is perfect for you. 

How to get an MLS listing without a realtor?

Now that you understand that your house has got to be on MLS and you don’t need a dedicated realtor to do so, let’s know how to get an MLS listing without a realtor.

More and more home sellers are choosing the route of For Sale by Owner as they are understanding how to get an MLS listing without a realtor. You too don’t have to pay the full real estate agent commission. It can go up to around 3% for your agent and you most probably also would have to pay another 3% to the buyer’s agent. The FSBO route can help you keep more of your own money. And coupled with the help of the MLS and best home websites, selling your house by yourself can be much more rewarding.

Whether you don’t want to pay a realtor so much or want to sell your home FSBO, you have options. You can hire discount brokers, flat fee agents, and even individual specialized firms who can get you the same MLS access a full-service agent enjoys. Using one of these options can help you keep more money with yourself.

What do flat fee MLS companies charge for their service?

Flat fee MLS companies have licensed real estate agents who offer their services like listing a property on the MLS, etc. at a flat rate instead of a commission. The flat fee is lower than the commission you need to pay on the final sale price of your home if you go with a full service agent. Generally, the packages of flat fee MLS companies range anywhere between USD 299 to USD 999. You can even choose to go with one of the best home websites to list your home but your exposure gets limited with it.

It gets easier for you to budget when you know exactly what to pay when selling a home. A transparent pay removes any surprises later on. However, all flat-fee brokerages may not readily disclose their exact charges. Even after you pay them an upfront flat fee, you would still be required to pay an additional fee to the buyer’s agent who finds the buyer for you. The percentage of the buyer’s commission can be negotiated, but it is in addition to the flat fee you pay to your flat fee MLS company.

How Houzeo helps you list on MLS by owner in a few easy steps

Houzeo is the best home website to list your house on MLS. Here are the easy steps you can follow to get an MLS listing without a realtor:

Step #1: Upon registering with Houzeo, you get access to a simple-to-use seller dashboard where you can update home information, upload your home’s photos, submit documents, and avail Houzeo Concierge support among other activities. Also, Houzeo helps you with filling your home’s information as its IntelliList Management System can automatically fill much of your listing information by taking data from public sources.

Step #2: After you fill in your property information, Houzeo lists your home on the MLS as per your place of residence within 60 minutes to 8 hours.

Step #3: Houzeo not just lists your home on to the MLS but also integrates your listing with 100s of best home websites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and Redfin to market your home the maximum. You can even share your house’s listing on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. right from your Houzeo dashboard.

Step #4: Once your property is listed and live on the MLS, you’ll start receiving offers on your home. You can manage offers and even make a counteroffer right from Houzeo’s effortless dashboard. You have complete control over your home sale just by logging into Houzeo.

Step #5: Also, Houzeo offers the facility of Open Houses and so you don’t need to fret of buyers. You can manage your house showings from within the platform without the need of any human intervention.

Step #6: You can close the deal on Houzeo with a few clicks after comparing all the offers you have received, and choosing the best one. The paperwork that is required for your real estate transaction is digitized in Houzeo. So, you can generate agreements with a few clicks of buttons. The closing can happen based on the decided schedule between you and the buyer.

How can you get the best out of MLS?

Getting your home on MLS without a realtor may be your end goal. But, you need to know a few tricks to get the best value of your home once you are on the MLS. Get the best out of MLS with the following tips: 

• Present your house well: Most of the fields on the MLS are standard like legal property description, address, number of baths and bedrooms, number of levels of property, etc. By adding all this information in a simple and attractive manner you can give the viewer a comprehensive view of your property, fence to fence.

• Highlight the best parts of your home: There is a general property description and then there is a description filled with the USPs of your home. Your house too would have some impressive features of it that are not found in every home. Make those USPs the hero of your property description. Write the words that get the buyers interested in your property. Remember that you don’t need to use flowery language; it is easy to distinguish from genuine language. You want to be as honest as possible in your description while painting your home in the best possible way. Get prospects in the door by highlighting the best of your property.

• Hire real estate photography professionals: First advice: do not use photos of your home taken using a mobile phone on MLS. Using a professional real estate photographer can be the best investment you would be making towards selling your home. A photographing pro would know the kind of lighting, position, and shoot that could make your home appear large and bright. The photos of your house would be one big thing your prospects would look at and you don’t want your home to look subpar as compared to other homes. You can ask your flat fee MLS service provider if they offer real estate photography services and if not you can look to take help from outside.

Final word

So, now you know how to get an MLS listing without a realtor. It is one of the best options to sell your home with ease while getting the best value for your home. You just need to hire the best MLS company that is perfect for you to have a wonderful and fruitful home selling experience. Happy house selling!