What is the biggest difference in listing my home with Congress Realty versus other MLS listing services?

The first difference is that we actually input all of our listngs ourselves. We are the licensed brokerage and actual members of each MLS we represent. 90% of our competitors simply take the sellers money and then try to send the client to the “local” broker who actually inputs the listing. The problem with this is that the “national” company isn’t held accountable for the services they promise. Essentially, they can promise whatever they like to try and secure the listing. After they secure the listing, they shop around looking for anyone who is willing to input the listing, hoping they will also provide the services the national company promised. As a result, most services promised by national companies are never actually provided.

How do I avoid this problem as a client?
Simple, ask for the name of the broker and brokerage who inputs the listing. If the name of the brokerage doesn’t match the URL or company name of the company you have called, they are a referral service. If they won’t tell you who is inputting the listing, take your business elsewhere.

The newest online scam from these referral companies involves the use of the word “direct”. Sellers have caught on to the terms, “we are the direct source, we list your home directly on the local MLS”, etc.. these national companies use the word “direct” over and over again to try and confuse the seller into not knowing who is actually inputting the listing. These companies do a marvelous job of masking the fact that they don’t actually do any of the work. They simply try and find someone else who will. The problem with this is again the national company has no accountability to the client.

Lastly, other small local brokers who participate in the Flat Fee MLS market are many times simply agents who failed at the 6% model, then the 5% model, and so forth…… and eventually they will fail with the flat fee model. The turnover in this business is quite high, thus, brokerages you see online today many times are gone by the end of the week. Congress Realty has been offering flat fee listing for nearly 7 years. We continue to grow and have every intention of continuing to take on new states. Be leery of any brokerage that does not publish their own listings on their website for you to review. They do this for one reason, they simply don’t have any listings to display.

How do I avoid this problem as a potential client?
Ask for a direct link from Realtor.com showing each and every listing from the brokerage you have called. If they won’t provide this, take your business elsewhere.

J. Andrew English

I read an interesting article published by another broker concerning how he acquires listings through Craigslist. I always think it is important to convey to a seller exactly what tricks they can expect to see from agents trying to mislead them. This particular post caught my eye because other agents were asking for advice based upon his past success…….. basically, what is your secret?

First, Craigslist has now broken Real Estate Advertising up into two sections, by owner and by broker. This allows brokers to skip all other brokerage listings and focus in on converting unrepresented sellers into listings. The basic strategy of this gentleman is to not focus on misleading statistics or any other typical Realtor sales pitches…… instead, he simply tells the seller that he has interested buyers in the property. He then asks to show the property to these buyers. Over the course of the next few days, he will bring different individuals posing as buyers to the property. A week later, he will come back and ask for the listing.  The seller, convinced that the agent does in fact have legitimate buyers, agrees to a 6 month listing.

So how does a seller avoid this pitfall? Simple, if you hear the term “I’ve got buyers”, offer to pay a buyer broker commission to the broker bringing a buyer who closes escrow, do not sign a listing agreement with anyone who claims to have buyers. I promise you, if they have a legitimate buyer, they will bring this buyer to you in exchange for buyer broker compensation. You do not need to sign a listing agreement for this.

In addition to having access to your state specific forms, the private client area acts as a portal for the seller to manage their listing. From this interface, the seller can change their price, add photos, add remarks, even add Realtor.com enhancements. Furthermore, the seller has the ability to submit specific questions through our customer service tab. Open houses can be added, including tag lines, refreshments being served, etc… The private client area serves as a one stop resource for the seller to fully manage their listing from activation to close of escrow.

When a seller lists a property with Congress Realty, they receive an email entitled “Listing is Active”. This email will have the seller’s MLS #, as well as the seller’s login and password to the private client area.

The Congress Realty Private Client area gives our sellers access to the forms they need to complete their transaction. These forms are available for download anytime of day, any day of the year. This service is included with our basic listing package. Let’s say a buyer walks up to your door Saturday night wanting to make an offer. You simply log into our account and print off the docs you need from your home computer. Any form you could need will be uploaded to the private client area for your benefit. Purchase contracts, disclosures, counter offers, etc… it’s all right there for you. The wonderful thing about the private client area is that it is accessible at anytime for your convenience. If you ever have any questions concerning how to download or print these documents, just let us know and we will walk you through it.

The forms in the private client area are state specific to you and your property. Thus, if you are an Arizona seller, your account will automatically have the AZ docs uploaded to your login area, on the other hand, TX sellers will automatically have the TX docs uploaded to their login area….. and so on for all sellers in various states.

On the list now page, we list the MLS’s we cover by the more populous cities. The thing to keep in mind is that the MLS is area specific, not city specific. This means that that while we list Seattle on the List Now drop down menu, this MLS actually covers almost all of the NW portion of WA. This is an enormous MLS system, however, Seattle just happens to have the highest population within this MLS. Many other cities fall into this same MLS. The reason we do not list each MLS by its name is that most people will not recognize their system. For example, the North Texas system is actually called NTREIS, however, we list this in the List Now area under DFW, despite that it actually covers a much larger territory than just DFW. If at anytime you would like to clarify which MLS your property falls into, give us a call at 800 657 6579.

The bottom line is that you want to deal with your local broker directly. Only the local broker can tell you what they do and don’t provide. National companies have a history of telling clients anything they want to hear. They do this because the local broker they refer the business to is the one who will end up dealing with the unhappy customer. When you are browsing for a flat fee broker, ask the company if they are the company that is physically going to provide all of the services they promise and not refer you to anyone else. If they avoid the question, move on to a different company. You will save yourself great time and peace of mind by working with the individual who actually provides the services they promise. The most frustrating thing to me is the number of calls we get from clients who have been deceived by national companies. Unfortunately, the only way to avoid this is to do business with the companies who are responsible for providing the services they have contracted for.

Many sellers value the importance of Electronic Lockboxes and want to know if we provide these boxes in their area. Currently, we offer boxes in the following areas:

• Las Vegas/Henderson/Boulder City
• Phoenix/Scottsdale/Mesa – including all surrounding cities
• Tucson
• Austin
• Dallas – all surrounding cities – Fort Worth, etc..
• Houston
• San Diego
• Boise/Meridian/Eagle – all surrounding cities
• Albq, NM
• Prescott, Arizona
• San Antonio

On occasion, we can get boxes in areas not listed above. E boxes are programmed to work by the local association of Realtors®. The box will only work in that area, thus, a Las Vegas box will not work in Austin. The reason we can not offer these boxes in all areas is that some associations simply will not ship the boxes to any member(s). (such as Congress Realty) Instead, they require that the member physically walk into the office and pick up the box. As a result, this makes acquiring electronic lockboxes in some areas difficult for us. However, we have employees in different areas and we frequently are visiting areas for various reasons. (such as continuing ed, working with buyers, etc..) Thus, if you ever want a box in an area that we do not have listed, let us know. Many times we can get the box you need within a short time frame.

If you visit the “our listings” tab of the Congress Realty website, you will find somewhere in the ballpark of 4,000 to 5,000 listings. These are only properties listed by Congress Realty. We do not pull other brokerage listings. This does not represent our listing history, but only the most recent. (meaning, most properties that we have listed prior to 2006 will not show up on the site any longer)

We publish these listings for a number of reasons: The first being that many sellers like to print off the ad and use it for a flyer or handout, etc.. Secondly, our website does generate a large amount of traffic. (additional online advertising for your property can’t hurt) In addition to this, it is important for prospective sellers to know that we have a strong reputation. By providing these listings through our website, prospective sellers know right away that many other value conscious sellers are listing their properties with Congress Realty.

Competing companies like to claim that they have a history of success. However, they won’t show you any proof. The reality is that most companies offering the Flat Fee Model generally have a small handful of listings. They don’t want new potential clients to be aware of this, thus, they just don’t display the listings they do have, or they simply use broad language to describe their listing history. It’s easy for a discount brokerage to make broad claims about the large # of clients they have assisted in selling their home/property. It is much more difficult to provide factual data to back up this claim.