Archive for the 'Tampa FSBOs' Category

Why Would Someone Sign A No Brokerage Relationship?

February 19th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Keller Williams, Tampa Florida Real Estate, Tampa FSBOs, Tips for Sellers

One of the great things about web marketing is that you can see what search phrases your visitors use to find your site. The title of this post was an actual search phrase that someone used on a search engine. They then found this site because I had previously mentioned the “no brokerage relationship” agreement. So I figured I’d answer the question for them and anyone else who may someday get here via the same query.

As Realtors we have a fiduciary responsibility to those whom we represent. Florida law allows for Realtors to represent their clients in one of two ways. In a “single agency” representation, the buyer’s or seller’s real estate brokerage represents the interests of their client alone. The brokerage cannot represent the seller and buyer of a property in a single agency form of representation. In single agency, the agent is looking out for the client’s interest alone and has no fiduciary responsibility to the other party in the transaction.

But what if you as a buyer want to use the agent who represents the seller to write an offer for you and assist you through the process? You must then agree to the second type of representation, a “transaction brokerage” relationship. This means that you agree to let one agent/broker assist both the seller and buyer in facilitating the transaction. You’ll have to give up the right to undivided loyalty from any agent. The agent has to become the middle-man and just assist with the transaction instead of singularly representing either side.

The “No Brokerage Relationship” form is simply a disclosure that says “We don’t represent you, but here are our duties to you nevertheless.” As Florida Realtors, we have to provide this disclosure to buyers and sellers whom we do not represent before dicussing certain things with them.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say that you are a buyer of residential real estate and you drive-by a home for sale that sparks some interest. You call the number on the sign in the yard and the agent who represents the seller agrees to come over quickly and show you the home. That agent should provide the disclosure before showing you the home. This lets you know that the agent does not represent your interests in any way. That agent is representing the seller of the home. And if you verbally go ga-ga over the home in front of the agent, that agent may now have an advantage in any negotiations with you and/or the agent you may eventually bring in.

If you are provided the “No Brokerage Relationship” disclosure by an agent, just realize that that agent is saying “I don’t represent you and your interests”. Whether you are a buyer or seller of Florida real estate, be careful of what you say to an agent who does not represent you. You may be giving up valuable information that could give that agent and his/her client a distinct advantage over you in any negotiations. Better yet, get your own agent and have them represent you as a single agent. Why not have someone on your side?

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 2 Comments »

“Flat Fee” Or “Limited Service” Listings Should Be Identified As Such

February 13th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Condos, Tampa MLS, Tampa Florida Real Estate, Tampa FSBOs, Tips for Sellers

A “flat fee” listing is usually a limited service listing agreement in which the listing brokerage’s only service is to post a home for sale on the MLS, the database that Realtors use to find homes for their buyer clients. The owner fields the calls, shows the home, negotiates on his/her behalf, handles all the tasks of selling the home, and basically has no representation from the listing brokerage. In other words, this type of listing is a “For Sale by Owner” or “FSBO” for short.

Our MLS has rules in place which require the listing brokerage to identify this type of listing in the MLS database. Why? Because agents who represent the buyers need to know that the homeowners are representing themselves and that they do not have professional representation. Brokers can be fined for not disclosing this information.

“(N) Type of Listing/Special Listing Type: For failing to disclose a Limited Service, MLS Only or Exclusive Agency Listing, or a Variable Rate or Dual Rate commission arrangement (see Article 4, Section 21). Amount determined by the Progressive fine schedule.”

But why would a buyer’s agent care as long as the owner is offering competitive compensation to the buyer’s agent? Because the buyer’s agent has no idea of the owners’ ability to represent themselves. I remember the first time I realized I was in the middle of a transaction in which the seller was representing herself. The listing on the MLS had no indication that this was a “limited service” arrangement. The listing agent had posted the listing as an “Exclusive Right to Sell” agreement, and did not disclose that she was not going to help her client through the transaction.

It wasn’t until after we had an agreement that the listing agent told me that her client “is a friend and I just listed it for her as a favor. I’m not really representing her.” WTF? So I quickly found out that this seller had no idea what she was doing! I had to have her sign a disclosure so that she understood that I did not represent her, but I basically had to do her side of all of the work! “Can I have your Seller’s Disclosures?”, I asked. “What’s that”, she replied. That’s when I realized I was in trouble. “Who is holding escrow?, I inquiried. “What’s that now?”, she again replied.

So on it went from there. I did double the work for the same fee! The seller actually showed up at the closing without the keys to the condo! “Condo docs?” “I have to get those for you?” Had I known the workload that I would have in that transaction, I would have certainly renegotiated my fee. So buyers’ agents beware. Make sure you understand what you are getting into if you decide to work with a “limited service” listing. That’s if you’re lucky enough to have it disclosed upfront!

Disclaimer: While it really did (and does) happen, some of the story above was embellished to make a point.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 2 Comments »

Do You Offer Flat Fee MLS Listings?

January 30th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Florida Real Estate, Tampa FSBOs, Tips for Sellers

I get this question quite often.

Answer: No

What is a flat fee listing?

A flat fee real estate listing is a listing in which a flat fee is charged as opposed to a fee calculated as a percentage of the sales price of a property. But flat fee listings are most commonly associated with “limited service” or “no service” listings.

Generally, a home seller will pay a real estate brokerage firm a fee to get their home posted to the local MLS so that it will be visible to Realtors who use the MLS database to search for homes for their buyer clients. The seller offers compensation through the MLS to any real estate broker that produces and represents a ready, willing and able buyer for the property.

But that’s usually where the listing brokerage’s service stops. Property inquiries are directed to the homeowner. The seller also handles showing the property to any prospective buyers. Offers are presented directly to the seller and the listing firm usually does not provide any assistance other than listing the property on the MLS.

This is basically a “for sale by owner” listing in which the seller represents his own interests but offers to cooperate with real estate agents who may represent a prospective buyer. The going rate for this service in Florida is anywhere from $199 and up depending on the term of the listing, and what extra services a seller may want such as signage, flyers, lock box, etc. For the seller who wants to handle the sale on their own, this is an inexpensive way to get on the MLS. You get what you pay for.

So why don’t I do them?

I’m a full-service Realtor and I want the buyers’ agents who see my listings on the MLS to know that they can have confidence knowing that my seller clients are well represented. As Realtors, we all know that when we see a listing brokered by one of the flat-fee companies, that this is basically a “FSBO”.

This may scare away many buyers’ agents because of the lack of knowledge about how the seller will represent him/herself. “FSBOs” scare off many agents. The agents feel more comfortable working through a transaction with a professionally represented seller. Granted there are some agents who offer pretty awful service as well.

But as a Realtor who represents sellers, you want to develop a reputation as someone who is easy to work with, is fair and honest, returns phone calls and e-mails, and keeps the stress level to a minimum. I have worked with self-represented sellers who were a pleasure to work with and knew the routine well.

Conversely, I have worked with self-represented sellers who did not know a thing about the sales process and assumed that I would handle all tasks for them, even after having them sign a “no brokerage relationship disclosure” and making sure that they understood it.

So, no, I do not participate in “flat-fee” or “limited service” real estate listings. Flat fee listings are a niche market and best left to those who specialize in them. We specialize in offering full-service to our clients and want other area Realtors to recognize when a seller is professionally, and well represented.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 2 Comments »

Historic South Tampa Bungalow Home For Sale Near Bayshore

January 23rd, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, South Tampa, Homes For Sale in Tampa, Tampa FSBOs

Very well maintained 1917 bungalow within steps of The Bayshore. This home features 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths situated on a nice deep lot in the Roosevelt/Coleman/Plant school district, all grade “A” schools. Updated, but with period fixtures and amenities. $575K. Please call us for more information on this home 813-205-1802 or e-Mail us.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 3 Comments »

Yet Another New Listing System Makes Its Debut

January 4th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Homes, Tampa MLS, Tampa FSBOs

Marketing a listing on the web continues to become more complex as new listing systems are debuted and begin competing for home buyers’ eyes. The latest to debut is the “Point 2 NLS“, or national listing service. Point2 is company that specializes in websites for real estate agents. The company offers a free standard website for agents and listings entered on the Point2 sites are shared across a number of other home search sites.

My brokerage firm, Keller Williams Realty, recently debuted the new “KWLS” or Keller Williams Listing Service for Keller Williams agents. KW plans to use this listing data in partnering with other third party sites to provide maximum web exposure for our listings. The common mission with both of these services is to “put control back in the hands of real estate professionals”.

Blame it on the MLSs. They have the data but refuse to let it freely wander the web. You can only protect the data so much. Now that agents and homeowners can list properties all over the web, the value of the MLSs is in a freefall.

Add these new listing databases to Google Base, Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo! Classifieds, Oodle, Craig’s List, etc., and now listing a property is a lot more involved than a 1/2 hour or so on the MLS. Need to make a price change? Make sure you visit all of your listing sites to make the changes.

Since the web is so fragmented at this point in time and buyers eyes are on many different sites, we have to make the effort to market listings wherever we can. Maximum exposure is key. The last thing we want our clients asking us is “why can’t I find my listing on…..?”

But as the cream rises to the top and certain sites begin to grab and keep the majority of home search traffic, we may only have to enter listing data in one database once again.

So the question is, who’ll win the race to be the site to search for homes? My bet is Google. As Joel Burslem at The Future of Real Estate Marketing mentions, Google is targeting real estate professionals with a new page documenting its suite of services. Google is already claiming that it “has more real estate searches than all real estate specific web sites.”

But in the meantime, we as Realtors should prepared to spend some additional time entering and maintaining our listings on the web. Get used to it.

Related post:

My Home Search Solution

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 2 Comments »

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