Real Estate and Reston, VA: How Much of A Deal is a Discount Listing if You Are a Seller?

When you opt to list your home with a discount real estate broker, keep in mind that one of the ways that a discount Lister can keep down their commission is by spending less time and effort with you preparing your home for sale. Their business model is to  make their money on the volume of homes that they sell.

I had the opportunity to see 3 homes yesterday, all in the same neighborhood. One was listed by a full-service broker, one was listed by a broker who offered a discounted listing price right on his sign and one was listed by a disclosed discount broker.

It was very clear that the full service listing had been given advice about preparing the home for sale, both on a daily basis and to compete in the marketplace. It presented well, was easy to schedule a viewing and had a well presented brochure that helped me later to remember specifics about the property to summarize for a client.

The second listing was the worst of the bunch. It was listed by a brokerage who advertises a discounted listing right on their sign, but does not consider itself a Limited Service Brokerage (which must be disclosed in our MLS). When I scheduled the appointment, I worked around the seller's schedule--which, in this case, I was willing to do since I did not have a client with me. There was no lockbox on the house. The front walk was dirty and overgrown. There was rotted wood by the front door. The house smelled like cigarette smoke and there were no lights turned on, even though our appointment was scheduled.  These people could have used some guidance about how to prepare their home to be shown. In fairness, they may be resistant to advice, or maybe they are not receiving it. Either way, I would have a tough time convincing any of my clients to write a contract on their house. There was a brochure, but there wasn't too much to emphasize in that brochure.

The last house I saw was listed by a disclosed Limited Service Brokerage. It was not that difficult to set up an appointment, although the house is not on a regular lockbox. The listing indicated that there was not a lockbox at all, but it turns out that there is a combo box that the owner uses when they are not around.  The owner wanted me to remove my shoes to go upstairs, but unless he was standing there to tell me, there was no sign or other indication. He offered to show me around (which most clients--and agents--hate), I politely declined, and he remained available, but not hovering, for questions. The house is pretty and bright, but the only brochure was in the flyer-box on the front yard. Again, the brochure had some information, but not enough for me to really summarize to a client.

As you are reading this, you are probably thinking, 'none of these things are a big deal,' and you would be right. What I see as a buyer's agent however, is that it is often the smallest annoyance or little detail that will turn a potential buyer off of a house. When there is plenty of inventory and the sellers are willing to be competitive, you must have every advantage when you show your home.

There is a reason that successful listing agents are successful; they know how to help prepare homes for sale, they know how to market homes, they know how to price homes competitively and they know how other Realtor's expect to receive access and information about the house.

Keep in mind, too, that when you are using a discount lister, almost every offer you get will take that in to account.  If you are asking the same price as a comparable house, but using a discount listing broker, most Buyer Agents will discount the offer price to account for that reduced commission.  Beyond that, your offer may be lower to begin with since your house might not be as well presented and received by potential buyers.

Do yourself a favor and hire a specialist to sell your home; someone who specializes in real estate. There is a pretty good bet that while you are very good at what you do, what you do is NOT selling houses.