On 23 June The Mercury printed a article that detailed the “pitfalls” of listing your home “Off MLS”; the column was written by the CEO of MLS Listings (Multiple Listing Services). President and CEO James Harrison reminds home sellers that the most important thing is to make sure to understand the “Off Market” system and the things to try and avoid.
We here at the Dawn Thomas Team agree with Mr. Harrison’s reminder below: Please make sure to vet your Realtor® and make sure that they have YOUR best interest at the top of the list, NOT theirs! Please read the following Mercury article “Avoiding the pitfalls of off-MLS listings and ‘For Sale by Owner’ listings with these options” and find out as much as you can!
In the article Mr. Harrison explains that there are FIVE things to be aware of in participating in an “Off-MLS” Listing:
- MLS Rules Protection- MLS Services that Realtors® use follows strict standard business practices that “ensure the timeliness and accuracy of listing information. These include requirements about updates to price, documents and photos as well as govern the information an agent is and is not allowed to provide about his client.”
- C.A.R. Requirements- CAR stands for the California Association of Realtors® and gives rules and guidelines that Realtors® agree to follow in good faith of their license. “…that members faithfully place their listings on the MLS as part of the fiduciary responsibility to clients.”
- Expanding your Exposure- Having your listing on MLS Services gives you more attention in the market as many third party sites pull from the MLS to give information on your property.
- Double Ending the Deal- Know that in the state of California it IS LEGAL for an Realtor® to represent both the buyer and the seller BUT both parties must consent to this, in writing. Trust your agent to do what is best for YOU and not their pocketbook
- Legal Recourse- Mr. Harrison reminds readers “Brokers who list properties on the MLS are legally responsible for adhering to specific business obligations, and also are held accountable for certain of their agents’ obligations.” Make sure that the agent you choose is forthcoming with the Listing Contract- this protects both the Seller and the Realtor® as it has everything spelled out that will be transpiring during the transaction,”Off Market” or “On”.
The Dawn Thomas Team Inc. of Intero Real Estate is an award-winning real estate company specializing in the best of Silicon Valley property. A REALTOR® with over twenty years of experience in sales and negotiations, Dawn Thomas, Broker Associate, is a true Silicon Valley real estate expert.
This blog is courtesy of The Dawn Thomas Team who is an award-winning Real Estate Agent team at Intero Real Estate Services in Los Altos 650-701-7822. We help nice people with selling and buying homes from Palo Alto to West San Jose!
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