You Realtor for Greater Chicago & Northwest Indiana

The Flat Fee MLS program is designed for experienced sellers who prefer to manage their own sale while maximizing savings.

Instead of paying a percentage-based commission, sellers pay a flat fee to have their home professionally listed on the MLS. Realtors assist with essential aspects of the transaction, such as MLS listing, contracts, and closing, while sellers retain full control over the process. This allows homeowners to save significantly compared to traditional commission-based models.

Absolutely.

Some self-motivated sellers consider selling their homes on their own (For Sale By Owner, or FSBO) to save money. However, unless you’re an experienced investor, a licensed agent, or an attorney, selling FSBO can be extremely difficult and frustrating. In fact, market surveys show that only 11% of FSBO sellers successfully sell their homes.

In comparison, a Flat Fee MLS Listing is the smarter choice for several reasons:

✅ 1. Maximum Exposure

A Flat Fee MLS Listing ensures your property is marketed across all major real estate platforms, just like a traditional listing. In contrast, FSBO listings are typically limited to a few niche websites, missing out on thousands of potential buyers.

✅ 2. Professional Presentation & Buyer Interaction

Your listing will appear just like any other professionally marketed home on the MLS. Buyers won’t know the difference, and all inquiries go through our agents—protecting you from potential risks.
In contrast, FSBO listings often appear less professional, making buyers and agents skeptical. If you’re inexperienced, direct negotiations with buyers can be overwhelming and may lead to costly mistakes.

✅ 3. Essential Support & Services

FSBO websites offer little beyond posting your home. That means you’re on your own for showings, negotiations, contracts, inspections, and closing.
With Realex Realty’s Flat Fee MLS Listing, you still receive professional contract negotiation services, ensuring your interests are protected at key stages.

✅ 4. Cost-Effective & Smart Savings

Even in FSBO transactions, you’ll likely still need to pay a buyer’s agent commission. For virtually the same cost, a Flat Fee MLS Listing provides a more professional, effective, and secure way to sell your home—while still saving you thousands in listing commissions.

Bottom line: If you’re looking to maximize your exposure, maintain a professional presence, and receive expert support while keeping costs low, Flat Fee MLS is the clear winner over FSBO.

Your home will be professionally listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the gold standard in real estate. This ensures maximum exposure—not only will all real estate agents have access to your listing, but it will also appear on virtually all major real estate websites, reaching thousands of potential homebuyers, including but not limited to:

✅ Zillow
✅ Trulia
✅ Redfin
✅ Realtor.com
✅ RE/MAX
✅ Century 21
✅ Movoto
✅ Juwai
✅ HomeFinder
✅ HomeSnap
✅ RealtyTrac
✅ HousesForSale
✅ Coldwell Banker
✅ Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS)
✅ Keller Williams
✅ @properties
✅ ZipRealty

and more…

With this extensive online presence, your home will be marketed just like a traditional listing—without the high commission.

Before your listing goes live, we’ll need to collect all relevant information, sign the listing agreement, and receive the flat fee payment. Once that’s completed, we’ll submit your listing to the MLS within 24 hours or at your preferred time.

However, it’s important to note that different websites update at different speeds. While some will display your listing within an hour, others may take a few days to reflect the changes.

• Before the Listing Goes Live: If you cancel before your home is listed on the MLS, we’ll provide a full refund.
• After the Listing is Live: Since there are costs associated with activating a listing on the MLS, the prepaid fee is non-refundable once the listing is live.

Most listing changes are completely free, but a few specific requests require a small processing fee.

✅ Free Services:

• Changes to listing information, description, photos, or price
• Posting of owner-hosted open houses
• Listing cancellation

💲 Fees for Specific Services:

• Extension of listing period: $150 processing fee

Our goal is to keep your costs low while providing a seamless and professional listing experience!

Pricing your home correctly is one of the most crucial steps in the selling process.

Start by researching similar homes in your neighborhood that have recently sold—ideally within the last 3 to 6 months. Look for homes that closely match yours in terms of age, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, finishes, upgrades, lot size, and school district. Avoid using outdated sales data, as market conditions change frequently.

We recommend pricing your home around market value. Overpricing can significantly reduce buyer interest, leading to fewer showings and ultimately prolonging the sale. While every homeowner believes their home is special, it’s essential to take a buyer’s perspective—buyers have many options, and if your home is priced too high, it may be overlooked in favor of more competitively priced properties. An inflated price often leads to a longer time on the market and a lower final sale price.

If you plan to host an open house, notify us at least two days in advance so we can post it on the MLS and ensure maximum exposure.

Here are some key tips for a successful open house:

1️⃣ Prioritize Safety: Secure personal belongings, valuables, medicine and any sensitive documents. Require all visitors to sign in at the door.

2️⃣ Present Your Home at Its Best: Ensure the home is clean, decluttered, and well-maintained before welcoming potential buyers.

3️⃣ Give Visitors Space: Allow buyers to explore at their own pace. Avoid following them around or constantly trying to “sell” the home, as this can be a turnoff.

4️⃣ Gather Feedback: At the end of their visit, politely ask for feedback—it can provide valuable insight into how buyers perceive your home.

A well-organized open house can generate strong interest and help you sell your home faster!

Yes.

However, it’s important to clarify what “finding a buyer yourself” means—it applies only if your buyer has no realtor representation whatsoever and reaches out to you directly. If a buyer’s agent is involved in any way, this does not apply.

If you secure a buyer without any realtor involvement and sign a contract, you must notify us within 24 hours. This is because MLS rules require that listing statuses be updated promptly. Failure to update the status in time may result in a $250 fine imposed by the MLS, which would be the seller’s responsibility.

Additionally, before closing, you will receive a notification of the closing date along with a Closing Disclosure or HUD-1 settlement statement. Please forward this information to us before closing to ensure compliance with MLS regulations.