Smell a little fishy?
Since America's Choice® cannot legally offer you access to the Realtor® MLS (because they are not a LISCENSED BROKERAGE!) they started a brokerage company called 2.5% Direct.
So how does it work?
Well, for those who don't quite get the concept of the Realtor MLS, America's Choice, will for $900.00, give sellers a sign and brochures and space on a marketing website that buyers don't access or even know about! (Most recently they are promoting their services for $400) (set up fee with NO REALTOR MLS!) and sellers can then pay an extra $95 each month to remain on their websitesite.) If, suprisingly enough, sellers realize that they are under exposed, America's Choice will upsell to their new program ... 2.5% Direct. This is where it gets interesting.
- After spending time languishing on a marketing website and discovering that the Realtor MLS ... IS ... important, America's Choice saves the day by flipping you to the new program. Great - now sellers have spent anywhere between $400.00 to $1000.00 and for what? To sign up with a broker who will now list their home on the Realtor MLS (where it should have been all along!) for 2.5% of the selling gross! That is a 1/2 percant of savings! Sellers can offer buyer's agents 2% but the selling agent, 2.5% Direct, gets 2.5%! Why list your home for more than you are willing to pay a buyer's agent when the buyer's agent is the one bringing in the buyer?! And why pay 2.5% when there are a handful of companies who will list your home for a fraction of that price?!
- Why would America's Choice try to flip their clients to 2.5% Direct?
- They are owned by the same company! Hmmmmmm ....
Do the math.
- A $150.000 home under the 2.5% Direct plan equals $3750.00 to list.
- Add 2% or $3,000.00 for buyer's agency.
- Add say, 3 months that the home sat on the market without MLS with America's Choice for an additional $685.00.
- Total list = $7435.00. (Total 6% = $9000.00. ) Savings = $1565.00! Not much to write home about!
- A better Solution!
List2Move.com Listing: (with Realtor MLS, brochures, professional sign and install and free licensed broker support) $399.00
- Add 2.% buyer's agency or $3000.00.
- Total list = $3,399.00. (Total 6% = $9000.00.) Total savings = $5601.00. Wow! And that is at 2% buyer's agency. Our service allows sellers to offer any commisson that they want! 48% of our sellers in 2006 sold without any commission at all!! Total savings = $8601.00!! Now that is something to write home about! Don't be fooled! Do the math!
Other Discount Brokers
Other discount Brokers in our area are not automated, which means that they have higher overhead (that sellers pay for). List2Move.com is technology driven, meaning that sellers can list online, order services and change anything from price to status at the click of a button. Even better, sellers can electronically sign paperwork - no more faxing paperwork and documents! Your listing and everything about it is at your convenience and within your time frames! We are on the cutting edge and sellers can be too!
Also - keep in mind that when a Discount Broker sells your house for less commission -
- Your buyers become as precious to him as they are to YOU! Discount brokers must make up the difference somewhere and capturing your buyer is the easiest way!
- We see that as a conflict of interest but they get away with it because sellers don't know the game! Don't fall prey - ask if your Broker practices Buyer Pass Thru™! We invented it because we don’t want our sellers' buyers! We only work with sellers! We never compete with our clients for buyers - ever!
No games. No conflicts of interest. No profits at your expense. That is our promise to you!
( Remember: At List2Move.com we allow our sellers to offer any commission they deem appropriate to buyer's agents. 37% of our clients so far this past year sold their homes without any commissions at all!!! (That is a total grand savings of 6% minus $399!!)
It is your money - your selling strategy! We never dictate to our sellers how much in commissions that they should pay an agent!
