Last Updated on November 27, 2022 by Hammad Hassan
Overview of Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate is one of the service providers that have come up in the real estate sector in the last few years. The company describes itself as a real estate service provider. The company advertises connecting home sellers and buyers with many local agents for real estate at a discounted commission rate.
Clients can expect a 1 percent listing commission from the company on homes that are priced above $350,000. The commission is 3,000 USD if it is priced under that. Clever Real Estate provides commission discounts to home purchasers of 1,000 USD or a maximum of 1 percent on houses more than 500,000 USD. So, is it smart to list your real estate with Clever?
Know how the real estate service provider works
The service provider is not quite explicit about how they provide their services. Clever Real Estate matches a real estate broker with you from one of the agencies or organizations they are associated with. So, how much do discount real estate brokers earn?
These real estate agents will offer services at a discounted rate and payment is due upon closing the deal. You pay about 3,000 USD for houses that are priced up to 350,000 USD. It means you might still pay a minimum of 1 percent commission if your house is sold for 1,00,000 USD or less.
Remember that an agent is not going to show a house to clients if they do not get a competitive commission. The commission is typically in the range of 2.5 to 3 percent based on the market rate. If homes are priced at a lower rate, particularly below 250,000 USD, you could be paying about 6 percent.
It is also important to note that the commission of a real estate agent is split in half between brokers who represent the seller and buyer. It also means that out of the gross commission of 6 percent, your broker would usually get about 3 percent gross.
Now that is not all as the broker has to again split this commission of 3 percent with their office folks. Thus, on average, the actual commission an agent gets is just 1.5 percent out of that 6 percent commission.
At the same time, there is nothing that cannot be negotiated in the real estate space. Do not discount a real estate service simply because you feel you need to pay a commission in the range of 6 to 10 percent. An agent may agree to a lower commission rate based on the kind of service needed, the frequency of business, and the transaction type.
How does a flat fee multiple listing service function?
An alternative to selling a house through a traditional broker is to use a flat fee multiple listing service, such as the one offered by Clever. If you wish to sell your house without any assistance from anyone, it is referred to as for sale by owner or FSBO. In such a scenario, a flat fee for multiple services may assist you to sell your house by listing the same on the local MLS or Multiple Listing Service.
Incidentally, the Multiple Listing Service is the main online resource for any real estate broker. A real estate broker lists houses on the MLS and syndicates the listing to several other real estate websites. Thus, they assist their clients to find or sell a house. You will come across many local Multiple Listing Service databases all over the nation handling property listings for a specific area.
A majority of the prominent real estate websites extract their data from the Multiple Listing Services. In case your house is yet to be listed on the local MLS, most real estate agents and buyers may not see your house available for sale.
You may wonder how to list on MLS, it is imperative to note that only realtors can post and access listings on the MLS. It signifies if you decide to sell without the support of a real estate broker, you cannot have access. Also, if your home is not listed on your local MLS, you are restricting the visibility of your listing. The chance that a buyer or an agent will find your house for sale is also restricted.
This is where a flat fee MLS listing service can help. You must be aware that a traditional real estate broker provides “full service”. These include everything ranging from attaching a value to your house to negotiating, and closing. On the other hand, flat fee multiple listing services leave most of the house selling process to you.
At the same time, with a few flat fee for multiple listing services, companies do offer more assistance at an extra charge. For instance, you can go to the “a la carte” menu to get more guidance about the selling process. How to determine whether you want to opt for a traditional Real estate broker or a listing service will mostly depend on how much money, energy, and time you wish to spend. If you want to learn more about it, read Clever Real Estate Reviews.
What is Houzeo?
Another excellent choice is to opt for Houzeo, a tech-centric real estate platform and website, which offers you access to robust tools that are only enjoyed by real estate brokers. It has various interesting features to make your buying and selling process thoroughly enjoyable. You can learn more on Houzeo Reviews or check out some of its top features below:
1. Houzeo Showings
It is a newly launched feature that enables you to easily handle showing requests from the agents of buyers and buyers themselves.
2. Houzeo Offers
The feature enables you to compare and review offers online. It is also possible to call for the best and highest offers or counter an offer.
3. IntelliList Listing Management System
It is a feature that makes the process of listing your house simple and changes fast and online.
