I have heard Houston has one of the better MLS feed sites (Har.com) and also hear Zillow is the number 1 real estate search engine. Just curious if the Houston market uses HAR.com or Zillow more often. Only reason I ask is I am a For Sale By Owner using Zillow only and didn't now if it was worth getting a flat fee listing for the MLS.

As an FYI, I was with a Realtor for 70+ days and had 0 showings so I was able to terminate that contract and went FSBO for 2 weeks now. I have had more interest in the 2 weeks of FSBO than the 70 days prior but didn't know if it is worth the $200-$400 to list on MLS if the same people are viewing Zillow.

I don't know the traffic counts of each. I think most buyers look at both though.

I think it would be worth it to list on the MLS just to get exposure to buyers agents. I know I don't check on Zillow very often so your listing wouldn't be on my radar.

Nm

It's a nice looking house. I don't work much in that area but will certainly keep it in mind.

As we have talked about in other posts on here, you would be well served to spend a couple hundred dollars and get some professional pictures taken. I like some of the shots (especially the wide view of the kitchen) but a good photographer could do wonders for the rest of the home.

Good luck!

not that I can think of

I have found only FSBO and "Make Me Move" properties listed on Zillow. I used the "Make Me Move" feature a couple of weeks before going with previous Realtor.

Is there copyright infringements involved if I use the professional photos the previous realtor used? I have them but didn't know if it would come back to bite me if they happen to see the listing.

Yeah, you would need to get permission from the agent to use their pics.

I get a weekly listing report from HAR showing the breakdown of number of views on my listings by source. Here's an example of what I see (typically HAR views are 2-3x Zillow views):

Oh, and if you want, I'll flat fee list it for you. PM me if you are interested.

that graphic is pretty telling. Thanks for the information.

Is there such a thing as flat fee buying? I've seen the house, can write the contract, schedule the inspections, etc. Rebate 3% - $300?

Next question is how long does it need to be off MLS to reset the days on market? I have seen where the "days on market" never really goes back to zero but the new MLS number will be at 0 days...

Currently I am around 20 days off the MLS...if it is 30 days, then I believe it is worth waiting the 10 days before getting listed, if it is 60 or 90, not sure it will be worth it...

I think it's if you terminate a listing, you "reset" the counter.

In any case, they'll be an asterisk next to anything that's been listed in the last year so you won't be fooling anyone.

It is really not worth anyone's time to go through the full process to represent a buyer for only $300. I'll rebate my friends 1% but that's because they are my friends. It's a lot of work, even if it doesn't look that way sometimes.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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Is there such a thing as flat fee buying? I've seen the house, can write the contract, schedule the inspections, etc. Rebate 3% - $300?

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If you look around there are realtors that rebate back 1.5% if they show you less than a certain number of houses, like 3 or so. When we bought new we found one to rebate us 2.5%. If you are getting a loan there are rules about how much of other people's money you are using or something. If paying cash then it doesn't matter.

26.2 said:

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It is really not worth anyone's time to go through the full process to represent a buyer for only $300. I'll rebate my friends 1% but that's because they are my friends. It's a lot of work, even if it doesn't look that way sometimes.

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I mean you would literally do no work. Not even show up to closing. Simply use your license on the last page of the contract for the 3%.

Diggity said:

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you would be better off just going directly to the listing agent and trying to negotiate the commission out of the offer rather than trying to pull an end around.

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I've done it a couple times. First time no problem, worked out well. Second time the realtor was clearly frustrated and didn't want to work with me.

So if I have one house in mind to buy - maybe 2-3 max... what's the best way to go about buying? What's the most "rebate" I can get back and does it involve the agent doing basic negotiation, paperwork.

MLS will help get eyeballs on the property, but doesn't mean that will translate into more showings.

That said, MLS cost is relative since you are going FSBO. I wouldn't think it would hurt.

Redfin to me is the best when looking at houses. Shows actual sold prices where HAR just gives a range.

Aggie09Derek said:

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Redfin to me is the best when looking at houses. Shows actual sold prices where HAR just gives a range.

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On some houses, not all. This has been discussed numerous times. They aren't comprehensive and are relying on cheap sell out Realtors they hire to provide accurate info on properties they didn't correspond on. The only place with full listing history and accurate data in Texas is the MLS.

Olag00 said:

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Is there copyright infringements involved if I use the professional photos the previous realtor used? I have them but didn't know if it would come back to bite me if they happen to see the listing.

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Yes, there are copyright issues, and permission to use the images must come from the photographer, not the realtor. Typically, agents purchase non-transferable limited licensed use of photos for the sole purchase of marketing the property, and that license expires as soon as the listing is no longer theirs. By default, the photographer retains final copyright of every image unless otherwise stated in the licensing agreement. Simply put, the images are not the agent's to give away. It's not uncommon for the images to be re-licensed (either at full price or a discount), but that's up to the photographer.

HAR. what is zillow? $400 is a pittance compared to what you are asking, correct?