How to Set Up an MLS Listing by Owner

If you are currently contemplating putting your home on the market, you may be hesitant to turn over the sale of your home to a real estate professional due to the hefty commissions involved. The good news is homeowners also have the option of setting up their own MLS listing. While the MLS Listing process takes some work to complete, those in the real estate business want potential sellers to believe that their services require a lot of expertise. The truth is the average homeowner can set up an MLS listing by owner and may not have to pay a hefty real estate seller agent commission.

The MLS is a broadly available system of local listing databases that almost all homebuyers use to find their next home or investment property. To sell in a reasonable time, get viable offers and get the best price for your home, an MLS listing is the best investment you can make. While homeowners can do the work to fill out the information for their MLS listing, the MLS database itself is only licensed for use by member realtors. That doesn’t mean you need a realtor to do the selling for you, but you will need to use a realtor to get access to get your home listed on the MLS.  For a low flat MLS listing fee, you can work with a For Sale By Owner Flat Fee Discount Realtor, list and sell your home, and save thousands doing it.

How does MLS by Owner Work?

The first step in successfully listing your home on the MLS is to obtain a listing package and set up your account. If you’re fairly computer-literate, the rest of the process shouldn’t take you longer than a few hours. You will need basic information about your home to complete its profile online. Many online real estate sites already have information on homes from property records so you can make corrections and supply missing information.

Photographing Your Home for the MLS

After filling in the property details, you’ll be prompted to upload photographs of your home. These should be of the highest possible quality. Keep in mind that substandard visuals will leave many prospective purchasers with enough of a negative impression of your property that they’ll simply bypass it and move on to more visually attractive listings. In addition to staging the areas to be photographed for viewer appeal, photos you take should be clear and comprehensive enough so there is nothing important left out. Searchers want to get enough of a look to bother to take the next step and make an appointment. No individual photo should be larger than 2 MB. Many sellers take their own photographs, but those who aren’t skilled with using a camera often find it worth it to hire a professional to do the job.

Time to Launch Your MLS Listing

After you’ve successfully added your photographs, you are ready to finish, check over and sign your listing package. After you are satisfied and provide an electronic signature, save the documents on your computer until you are ready to send them to your FSBO realtor who will take your listing live for you. Always double-check your data to ensure that it’s accurate, and keep in mind that once you hit the SUBMIT button, you can no longer make changes and corrections until after the listing is up. Our service will activate your MLS listing within one or two business days, so wait to send it until you are ready to start marketing and showing your home. Along with your listing, you may want to fill out the forms associated with getting a lockbox, yard signs or any other services or items you need.

Successfully Completing your FSBO Home Sale

Congratulations, your MLS listing is now live. Now remember, you are acting as your own listing agent, which means you need to be available and accessible to interested buyers. It’s not really an ideal time to head out on vacation or agree to take on a heavier-than-usual workload. For a successful sale, you will need to commit to checking and responding to emails and telephone calls at least once a day. Also remember that, if you agree to sell to someone who is working with a real estate agent, you’ll still be liable for the buyer agent commission, usually 3%, so be sure to calculate that into your closing costs and price negotiations.

However or wherever you list, be sure to take the time to thoroughly read and understand instructions and properly fill out all the forms. The sale of a home is a legal transaction so taking care to be accurate and complete is important. Our website provides plenty of guidance for MLS listing by owner sellers, as well as buyers, with checklists, FAQ’s and how-to videos. Selling your home has never been easier or more economical.

Please feel free to contact Deb Kent, FSBO realtor providing FSBO MLS listing services for sellers in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. Explore our website, email or call 540-582-5777 for ALL areas in VA, MD and DC to learn more about how easy it is to set up your MLS listing by owner and sell your home for a fraction of the cost of a traditional agency.