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What
is the difference between a
"traditional" full service broker and
your flat fee listing service?
There’s hardly any difference because
Sellect Realty is full service and we
represent our sellers. We perform the
same duties as traditional brokers such
as determining your selling price,
listing your home on the MLS,
negotiating the contract on your behalf
and attending the closing. The biggest
difference is in the savings for you, if
you are willing to invest some of your
time and effort in marketing your home.
You will not be paying the full normal
commission (typically 6% of the sales
price) that a traditional broker would
charge. The only commission you will pay
is to the broker of a buyer’s agent
(typically 3% of the sales price), if an
agent brings you a buyer and sells your
home. Moreover, if you find a buyer not
working with an agent and sell your
home yourself or with Sellect Realty's
assistance, you pay absolutely no
commission.
What
is MLS?
Multiple Listing Service is a
computerized database of homes for
sale. It is used by real estate brokers
to market and promote their own listings
and to cooperate with other brokers in
selling each other’s listings for part
of the commission. By listing your home
in the MLS, it will be exposed to
thousands of agents. A large portion of
real estate transactions is a direct
result of having been listed in the
MLS. In Metro Atlanta, there are two
competing multiple listing services.
One is called First Multiple Listing
Service (FMLS) and the other is called
Georgia Multiple Listing Service
(Georgia MLS or GAMLS). Sellect Realty
will list your home in both because it
is hard to guess which multiple listing
service an agent will use to search for
homes for sale.
Will
my listing look the same as
"traditional" brokers' listings on the
MLS?
Absolutely. Your listing will be
identical. It will have the same
information as other sellers paying full
commission to their brokers. Agents will
not be able to tell that you paid only a
flat fee to get listed on the MLS.
How long will it take for my property to
be listed on the MLS, once I sign up?
We will place your property on the
MLS within 24 hours.
How
long will my home be listed on the MLS?
Your home will be listed on the MLS
until it is sold.
How
many photos will you put on my listing?
Sellect Realty will display up to
12
photos on your FMLS listing and up to 16
photos on your Georgia MLS listing, free
of charge to you. These are the maximum number of photos
allowed by the multiple listing
services. Photos of the exterior and interior of
your home will be taken by your Sellect
Realty agent during the listing
appointment. You may also submit your
own favorite photos to Sellect Realty
(all photos must be “horizontal” shots;
vertical shots will appear distorted on
the listing).
Can
I still sell my home "by owner" while it
is listed on the MLS?
Yes. Through our flat fee listing
service, you enter into a contract with
Sellect Realty called an Exclusive Right
to Sell with Open Listing which gives
you the right to sell your property
yourself while your home is listed on
the MLS. With “traditional” brokerage
agreements, you enter into an Exclusive
Right to Sell contract and the broker is
guaranteed to be paid the full
commission, even if you found a buyer.
You will pay no commission whatsoever if
you find and sell to a buyer with no
agent yourself under our flat fee
listing agreement.
Will
my listing appear on other real estate
company websites?
Yes. Through a broker reciprocity
system, Sellect Realty gives permission
to all other Georgia real estate brokers
and agents to display our listings on
their websites, “Courtesy of Sellect
Realty.” Buyers can search on any real
estate company website with online MLS
listings on the Internet and find your
home for sale.
Where are you located?
Sellect Realty is
a local company with its main office in
Marietta, Georgia. Our agents are
located all around Metro Atlanta and
they are
familiar with many different areas and
neighborhoods. (Note: Often,
other flat fee
brokers are national franchises and
located out-of-state so that you do not
receive real live agent support or you
are assigned a local agent that may be
an inexperienced or one that may give higher
priority to a full-commission paying
client).
How
do I list my home with Sellect Realty?
Just go to Listing Appointment on the
menu. Fill out the easy form and
submit. Or, you may call us at
770-509-0265 to set up an appointment or
send us an email to
info@sellectrealty.com
How
do I determine the listing price for my
home?
Your Sellect Realty listing agent
will assist you in determining a listing
price for your home. Your agent will
prepare a Comparative Market Analysis
(CMA) and suggest a price based on past
sales and current competition in your
neighborhood.
How
much commission should I pay the buyer's
agent?
It is totally up to you to decide on
the commission. Commission fees are not
fixed and it is against the law for
agents to demand a certain commission.
The vast majority of sellers, however,
are offering to pay 3%.
How
long should I expect my home to be on
the market before it sells?
If your home is priced right, shows
well, and in a good location, it should
sell quickly.
How
are showings arranged? Who will
call me to show my home?
Your MLS listing will give showing
instructions to agents. The most common
showing instruction is “Courtesy Call
Owner” and your phone number will be
printed on the listing. You will
receive calls directly from agents.
How
does a buyer with no agent contact me to
see my home?
Any requests for
home showings that we receive from
buyers not represented by agents will be
referred to you with their names and contact numbers.
Also, your flyers in the Brochure Box outside will have your phone number
printed for buyers to call you directly.
Will
Sellect Realty show my home to a buyer
with no agent, if I can't?
Yes, Sellect Realty will show your
home to a buyer not represented by an
agent on your behalf if you are not
available (for instance, when you are
away on vacation, on a business trip, or
you and the buyer are unable to schedule
a mutually convenient time).
Will
Sellect Realty show my home to your
buyers?
Yes. We are licensed agents that
represent buyers as well as sellers, so
if your home meets our buyers’ criteria,
we will show your home.
How can I make changes to my listing?
Just notify your Sellect Realty agent
of your changes at any time. Your agent
will make any listing changes, including
price change, revising the wording in
your public remarks, etc., free of
charge.
What
if my needs change and I want to
terminate my listing?
You may terminate your listing at any
time for any reason by communicating to
Sellect Realty in writing your
termination request (email or fax is
acceptable). FMLS and Georgia MLS will
charge you a withdrawal fee of $25 each.
Sellect Realty does not charge you
anything.
What
if I want to transfer my listing to a
traditional real estate broker?
You can transfer your listing at any
time but remember that your listing will
end up on the same MLS system when you
re-list with a “traditional” real estate
broker that charges the normal full
commission. Most of the time, it is the
buyers’ agents who bring buyers to show
and sell your home and not the realty
company that listed your property. It
is extremely rare for buyers or agents
not to go see or show a home based on
the name of the realty company that
listed a home.
May
I advertise my home for sale on various
real estate websites while
listed with the MLS?
Of course!
The more exposure the better! In
fact, Sellect Realty will automatically
list your property in many popular
consumer real estate websites for you, free of charge.


Will
my listing appear on Realtor.com?
Yes. It is
the largest consumers' real estate
website to search for homes on the
market although newer ones such as
Zillow.com are giving them competition.
Does
Sellect Realty provide a "For Sale" yard
sign?
Yes. It is a professional real
estate For Sale sign in a metal frame.

Whose
phone number is on the "For Sale" yard
sign?
Sellect Realty brokerage firm’s phone
number is on the For Sale sign. The
Georgia Real Estate Commission requires
that a licensed brokerage firm display
the name of its realty company and phone
number on the sign. Any calls we receive
from buyers not represented by agents from
the sign will be referred to you to give
you the opportunity to sell “by owner”
so that you will not have to pay any
commission.
Do you provide a Brochure Box for
flyers?
Yes. It is
an information box
with a lid.

Will
you provide flyers?
We will provide flyer templates, free
of charge, from our Publisher file for
you to make flyers yourself as well as a
sample flyer for you to follow as a
guide. You may also create your own
flyer with an original design. It will
be your responsibility keep the
information box filled with flyers. If
you would like Sellect Realty to make a
master flyer for you, it is an optional
marketing service for a fee.
Whose
phone number is on the flyer?
Your phone number will be the one
printed prominently on the flyer.
Potential buyers who drive by and pick
up your flyer will call you directly.
It will give you the opportunity to sell
“by owner” to a buyer not working with
an agent and you will not have any
commission to pay.
Do
you provide a street directional sign?
Yes. We provide the first one free
of charge to you.

Do
you provide a lockbox?
An agent-access electronic
lockbox that holds your door key
securely inside is available to you for
a one-time lease fee of $100. You may use the
lockbox for the entire time your home is
listed for sale. Sellect Realty will
monitor your lockbox regularly to check
dates, times, and names of agents who
entered to show your home and their
realty company names and contact
numbers. Feedback from agents also
obtained for you from lockbox showing
information. We highly recommend leasing a
lockbox -- the more accessible your
property is to agents, the better the
opportunity to sell your home.
Sometimes a homeowner may feel
apprehensive about the possibility of
an agent showing up without
notice with a buyer and enter the home
using the lockbox. This situation can
easily be avoided by keeping the lockbox
inside the home until the homeowner
receives a call from an agent and then
the homeowner can set the lockbox
outside next to the door in time for the
agent’s visit.

Can I show my home
by "Appointment Only?"
Yes. However, in general, agents do
not
like to show homes that are by
“Appointment Only” because it is
difficult to schedule it with the number
of other homes that they show in a day.
For this reason, there is a possibility
that if yours is by “Appointment Only,”
agents may pass up on showing your home.
A better way is to select “Courtesy
Call Owner” on your showing instructions
to agents on your MLS listing. Agents
will call you directly and let you know
the date and time frame of their visit.
They will usually give you a window of
two hours on when they will be arriving.
Can
I contact agents myself who have shown
my home to get "feedback?"
It will not be necessary for you to
contact agents yourself. If you lease an
agent-access electronic lockbox from
Sellect Realty, we will be able to
obtain feedback from agents for you
through our HomeFeedback system. We
will be monitoring your lockbox and
whenever your home has been shown by an
agent, we will request a feedback and
let you know the response. In general,
it is better for us to get feedback for
you because agents may not be as open
and honest to a homeowner as they would
be to us.
Do
you negotiate the contract?
Yes. Your Sellect
Realty agent who
represents you will negotiate an offer
directly with the buyer’s agent, on your
behalf. Usually, an offer is sent in by
fax or email to your listing agent and
then your agent will forward it to you
or meet with you. Your agent will review
and discuss with you the best counter
offer strategies and negotiate the
contract for you.
What
do I do if a buyer not working with an
agent wants to make an offer?
You may negotiate with the buyer but
do not sign anything until you have
contacted your Sellect Realty agent to
review the offer for you. As your
representative, your agent will assist
you with the negotiations as well as
provide all necessary contract forms,
free of charge. Your agent will
not represent or advise the buyer.
Will
you go to my closing?
Yes. Even though you list through
our flat fee service, we do not treat
you any different from our higher
commission paying clients. As your
representative, we will work with you
every step of the way through the entire
selling process. Occasionally, there may
be a conflict in scheduling and we may not be able to attend your
closing but it is rare. Other flat
fee companies do not attend closings or
charge between $150 - $300 for the
service.
How
can your Company charge so little and
make any money?
We make it on “volume.” Our agents
list a far greater number of homes than
other real estate company agents. Also,
our flat fee service approach is to
market your home in the most essential
advertising venues only and not waste
money on unnecessary advertising.
Do
you also represent buyers?
Yes. In fact, you can use your
listing agent to be your buyer’s agent
to help you find your next home and take
advantage of our popular 1% Cash Back
rebate program. We have many satisfied
clients who have saved thousands of
dollars both ways – selling and buying.
To learn more, please click on 1% Cash
Back on the menu. Currently, we are
offering a 1.5% Cash Back Special!
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