Discount! Flat rate! Sounds like a good thing, right? Well, maybe not when it comes to selling your house. Yes, a discount real estate agent can save you money, but will your house sell? There are many reasons why you may want to avoid going the discount route.

First of all, a discount rep’s sales tactics can be…somewhat lacking. Not always, but often you will have to do your own marketing and advertising. A flat fee broker will charge you a fee up front. For this, you can list your house on an MLS site, which can only be seen by a limited audience, due to listing regulations. That may be the scope of marketing. Some companies deliberately omit MLS sites from marketing, because if another agent gets involved, the commission must be shared. This eliminates a large number of potential buyers for your home. Other businesses may put up a yard sign, advertise in newspapers and magazines, and work on contract negotiations. Because companies vary so much in the services they offer, you really have to do your homework to make sure you get what you need. Some discount stores offer a price list for the services they offer.

Now, if you hire a traditional real estate agent, you pay nothing upfront. Yes, you will sign a contract with him, but he doesn’t make any money until you sell his house or, for some reason, you breach the contract (which does have an expiration date). And, this is a good motivation to sell his house. Traditional agents and firms offer a variety of marketing tools for the seller. They will advertise the house in local trade magazines, hold open houses, print MLS flyers, put the house online on local and national sites, and some areas will even have local TV shows. Many will even come and prepare your house for you or at least give you a list of things to do to help sell the house. You get all of this and you haven’t paid a dime for it.

Hmm. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Do you really want to do it yourself? Yes, a traditional representative earns around 6% commission which he usually splits with the purchasing agent. That’s a lot of money, especially in making the most expensive houses. But what if you’re having a hard time selling the house yourself or through a discount company? Every month you don’t sell, it costs you money anyway. Traditional agents will often set a time frame within which they must sell your home. If they don’t, you are free to find a different broker and you won’t lose any money trying.

Now, there are ways to save money and still use the traditional method of selling. There are many ways to negotiate the commission rate. For example, if your agent brings you a buyer, he or she will usually take a percent or two off the commission. However, if you agree to sell and buy with him, he will reduce the fees for repeat business. Talk to him and see what he is willing to do for you.

This is not to say that all discount stores are the same and that you won’t get great service from them, just a warning of what to expect. If you still decide to go the discount route, make sure you get everything in writing: fees, services, etc. However, your best bet is to hire someone who actually wants to sell your house. Discount stores are concerned with the number of customers to offset the discounts. Traditional realtors focus on quality and getting a sold sign on your yard. Don’t sacrifice quality work for savings. The old adage is true: sometimes you get what you pay for. And that’s not necessarily a good thing!