Scenario: You are moving on to greener pastures and it is time to put your current home on the market. You’ve decided against using a traditional realtor to sell your home. Why? Because the thought of paying a percent commission on the sale of your home makes you feel queasy. You don’t want to lose 6 percent of your sale price just to pay the realtor commission.

So you are going to utilize a flat fee listing service, but which one? How do you determine which listing service is best for you? No two companies are identical. Flat fee Mutiple Listing Service (MLS) companies can vary greatly in pricing, services and capabilities.

Fear not, campers! FlatFeeMLSReviews.com is here to help. We’re going to show you the 10 things we look for when we research a flat fee listing service.

1. Pervasive Exposure

You’ll catch more fish if you put more lines in the water. You want your listing service to utilize every possible channel to sell your home. With a listing service, you’ll of course be paying for inclusion in the MLS for your area, but you’ll also want to see your property listed on Realtor.com and a score of public websites such as Zillow, Yahoo!, Trulia, Google and Craigslist.

Hopefully, your flat fee MLS provider also has a consistent presence on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, etc.). If they actively use their social media accounts to list properties, it is an added bonus.

2. Reviews

Every flat fee listing service will tell you they are the best. Don’t take their word for it. Find out what their prior customers have to say.

If a listing company posts its listings on Zillow, you might find reviews there. Yelp and Google Locations are also great resources for reviews.

Be advised: you may not find a ton of reviews for flat fee companies. Your lone source for third-party commentary might be the testimonials you find on the flat fee company’s site. Take these with a grain of salt, however. No one posts poor reviews on their own site.

3. Contact Information, Hours of Operation and Availability

IMPORTANT TIP: Before you select a flat fee MLS company, call them. A live human answering your call during their hours of operation is a good sign. A tedious trip through an automated phone system that lands you in an automated voicemail box is a cause for concern. This little test will determine the responsiveness you can expect from them.

Think about it. If they’re not answering your call, they’re not answering a prospective buyer’s call, either. An immediate, or at least timely response could be the decisive  factor in selling your home quickly.

4. Location

Some listing services have licenses in multiple states, while some may only work in one state or market. Obviously, you’ll need to work with a company licensed to represent you in your local MLS.

5. Services and Pricing

Flat fee MLS companies typically offer packages for varying levels of service. A few even offer a la carte services so you can tailor the perfect service bundle to fit your needs. Pricing information should be easy to find and understand.

A quick word on pricing: Package prices vary and so does the service. Some lower priced packages may offer only bare bones service. We recommend these minimal service levels to owners who are experienced in selling flat fee. Most sellers will need the additional support provided by a more robust offering. A seller usually sells quicker with these added bells and whistles (key box, CSS, professional yard sign, good pictures, etc.).

For first-time flat fee sellers, we highly recommend selecting a flat fee broker who offers a “full representation” option. For an additional flat fee, the broker will provide additional services to expedite the final sale of your home, including negotiations and contract amendments. If this is the best route for you, you’ll want to know how much you’ll pay prior to listing. In some cases, these services might cost you as much as 1.5 percent.

Be sure to purchase the appropriate level of support for your situation. You should be looking for value, as opposed to a low pricing.

6. Agent Information

Wouldn’t you like to know who is behind the listing service? Is the listing service operated by one licensed agent or several? Better listing services sites give background on all their agents including experience, current listings and prior sales.

Also, there is no definitive answer on whether a smaller shop is better than a larger one. A smaller shop may provide “white glove” services, assuming they have a manageable client base. Then again, a bigger shop may be more capable of responding to your needs 24/7, although you might find them to be less flexible.

7. Number of Active Listings and Prior Sales

Listings volume is an indicator of both the level of service you’ll receive and your likelihood of success in dealing with a listing service. Compare the number of agents with the company to the number of listings to gauge their activity level. A multiple agent shop with few listings is a red flag, unless they specialize in listing higher-end properties.

8. Directories/Better Business Bureau Rating

If you can’t find a particular listing service on a variety of online directories ( Yahoo!, Yelp,etc.), proceed with caution. Membership with the Better Business Bureau is a great qualifier in that it validates the listing service’s commitment to ethics and it offers third party resolution for any disputes.

9. Tools/resources

The service you receive online is every bit as important as the service you receive offline. That’s why we like to see listing services who offer tools and resources to help you more effectively list and sell your home. These include:

• Search functionality within the site: To help you find specific information quickly.
• Q&A via email response and live chat: A great indicator your listing service values responsiveness. This proves that your listing service will communicate with you whenever and however you want.
• Estimating tools and calculators: To help you estimate net proceeds from the sale of your home.
• Contracts/legal documents: Standard documentation for your state is extremely helpful in giving you a starting point for your own documents, should you decide to prepare them yourself.
• Shopping cart: This might seem like an unusual thing to expect from a listing service, but this will allow you to purchase service bundles, yard signs, key boxes, etc. whenever you want.

10. Buyer Support

A listing service that represents buyers is more likely to understand your marketplace by having a full perspective of both the buyers and sellers. This can be especially helpful if your flat fee MLS provider is negotiating the sale price of your home for you.

There is No Panacea

Once you have fully researched prospective flat fee MLS companies, it is time to select the optimum company for you. The choice will likely hinge on a combination of services and price. It is important to understand your needs and know what kind of seller you are. If you are unclear, look at our post on the “Four Categories of Home Sellers.”

Every element of the sale of your home will be unique, which is why it is imperative that you find a flat fee MLS company whose expertise aligns with your situation.

Good luck with the sale of your home!