Article from a past real estate edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, all rights reserved.
Home Market
Photo/Jeffrey Phelps
Matt Towne and Wendy Durski, shown with Durski's daughters in front of her south side home, both recently sold their homes the unconventional way - by themselves - and saved money by avoiding standard commissions for agents.
Milwaukeean Matt Towne's duplex, on and off the market in a week, didn't exactly sell itself. He paid a $555 realty fee. That price - about $10,000 lower than he would have paid under the industry's standard commission - placed his 10-room, $170,000 east side home in the Multiple Listing Service databank.
For a flat fee, Towne bought MLS access from Corey Scholtka of BuyHomes.Com in Wauwatosa, one of several fast-growing Internet-based companies that cater to consumer rebellion against agent-based realty transactions and their standard 6% sales commission.
Realtors own and control MLS, a marketing base that covers an estimated 85% of all property listings. In the past, for-sale-by-owner sellers were denied access to the MLS. Now, for a fee, access is available. "The buyers saw my sign out front and called me up," said Towne, who accepted the offer July 17. "Because there were no addendums and no contingencies and the offer was standard form, I didn't even get an attorney."
Scholtka said that a $500,000 house takes about as much work to sell as one costing far less. "And if your home is only on the market one week, you may ask, 'Why pay a huge fee, the same fee paid by someone whose house was on the market six months?' " Scholtka said. "There are inequities in the traditional realty system. My service levels the playing field."
Home-seller Towne considers himself part of a new breed of FSBOs (pronounced fizz-bows), as for-sale-by-owner sellers are nicknamed. With no realty experience but considerable research and personal involvement with prospective buyers, Towne quickly and inexpensively sold two homes this summer.
"We sold my girlfriend's home in a day - three offers by 5 o'clock - and mine in a week," Towne said. Wendy Durski's five-room south side house fetched more than her $142,000 asking price, he said, and his duplex sold for less than his $170,000 asking price.
In return for the MLS listing, Durski and Towne agreed to pay 2.4% of the sales price to any MLS member except Scholtka who provided their buyer. That 2.4% represents metropolitan Milwaukee's standard commission to the agent who supplies a buyer; the agent who lists the home typically gets 3.6%.
These commissions, which vary around the country, are not mandatory but are advisable in today's busy market, Scholtka said. Scholtka (charges Zero commission as of 2011) if he supplies a listing customer's buyer. Though Durski wound up paying a 2.4% commission, Towne said there was (under $50) commission for his sale.
The beauty of this arrangement is that it bridges two longtime antagonists - Realtors and FSBOs, Scholtka said. "I'm a hybrid company. I'm bringing FSBOs into the system," said Scholtka, whose family has been in the realty business for three generations.
Contact Corey Scholtka at 414-940-5555 or sign-up online at: www.BuyHomes.com/SignUp