Better Than The Traditional 6% Commission
Better Than For Sale By Owner
Better Than "Flat Fee"
- 1% Listing Agent commission (not 3%), paid at closing
- Full agent support, full-size yard sign, lock box, local/national MLS listing
- EVERYTHING needed to sell your home, without the big commissions
Serving Tennessee's Real Estate Needs
Nashville * Murfreesboro * Clarksville * Cookeville * Franklin * Brentwood * Knoxville * Chattanooga
HOME SENSE SNAPSHOT...
The traditional real estate commission model has a new neighbor, thanks to the internet, today’s savvy home buyers and sellers. Looking for a "flat fee" or MLS listing service but don't want to pay the risky, up-front, non-refundable fees? Want more agent involvement on your offers but don't want to pay the standard 6% commission? Not sure about the risky For Sale by Owner approach? Welcome to Home Sense, a real estate company serving Tennessee and combining the advantages of each scenario, but without the cost and risk. The result? Home Sense... today's real estate commission for today's technology.
What You Get with Home Sense
- Your house listed on the MLS and major websites, just like all other listings.
- 1% commission, paid at closing only if your home sells, plus 3% commission to agent representing buyer, if present.
- Sell your home for 1%, if buyer not represented, NOT 6%.
- Full Tennessee broker/agent involvement on offers.
- Lock box and full size yard sign.
- Access to all TN Association of REALTOR forms.
What You Don't Get
- NO 6% commission structure.
- NO complicated Flat Fee MLS listing plans from which to choose.
- NO up-front or non-refundable listing fees of any kind.
- NO cancellation fees, extra photo fees, yard sign fees, lock box fees, broker involvement fees, etc.
- NO impersonal, national brokerage service.
- NO requirement to use us when you buy your next home.
Get Your Home Sold Like All Other REALTORS, Just Don't Pay the 6% Commission
Calculate Your Savings
You Save: $6,000 to $15,000
LIST WITH HOME SENSE AND SAVE ON BROKER COMMISSIONS & FEES
Home Sense only charges 1% commission.
How can they do this? Why do others charge so much more?
For years, there have been only two options when selling your home:
For Sale by Owner (FSBO) or Traditional Agency.
You could take your chances with the FSBO approach, but your home won’t be listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and you won’t have access to all the tools and insider knowledge to help your home sell fast, for the maximum amount. Traditionally, the other option has been to hire a REALTOR. Real estate agents place your home on the MLS, provide yard signs & lock-boxes, show your home, and provide tips for staging and maintaining your home for showings. The downside is that you pay a lot for these services, usually 6% of the sale price.
A few years ago, “flat fee” brokers and “MLS listing only” services started the "discount" brokerage industry. These alternatives require the seller to pay an up-front fee, ranging from $99/mo to $950 to list your home on the MLS. Additional services are normally available for additional fees, such as a yard sign, lock box, listing renewal, listing changes, agent/broker involvement, offer review, etc. The problems with this approach: the fee is required up front and is not truly refundable (if it is "refundable" you must use the agent's referral network for an agent you don't know, plus the flat fee agent gets more compensation from a referral fee than from the initial flat fee from you that didn't work), the exact cost to sell your home is rarely known (too many extra fees), AND the seller may pay an additional commission at closing. This "discount" approach omits important agent services needed to quickly sell a home and for top dollar. So really, these folks are offering a discounted price AND a discounted service.
Isn’t there a simple, modern real estate model that combines the best parts of traditional agency, flat fee, and FSBO approaches?
It’s Home Sense — Tennessee's Only 1% Commission Agent
Home Sense vs. the Rest
| Home Sense | Full Fee | Flat Fee | FSBO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Listings appear on the local MLS and national sites (Realtor, Trulia, Zillow, etc.) | ||||
| Get a professional market analysis to price your home | ||||
| Get a full size, professional sign and lock box | ||||
| Have your agent/broker analyze and negotiate offers on your behalf | ||||
| Don't pay commission (usually 3%) for an unrepresented buyer (save $9k on $300k home) | varies | varies | ||
| Get $150 credit for staging and/or photographic services when your home sells | ||||
| Use proven, recognizable TN Association of REALTORS forms for transaction | varies | |||
| Pay only when you sell... at closing! | ||||
| Be assured that you are contributing to community efforts | ||||
| Pay up-front, $250 to $950 or more, with no guarantee, PLUS possible fee at closing | ||||
| Charge extra fees for listing cancellation, more MLS pictures, yard signs, lock box, etc. |
Message from the Principal Broker
When I first entered the real estate industry back in the 1990’s, my first questions were:
- Why does almost every transaction involve the seller paying 5.5 to 6% commission, regardless of sale price?
- Selling an average home really seems to benefit the agent/broker and not the seller. Isn’t there a way to make all parties happy?
- Why are there so many “secrets” and "insider information" in this industry? Why not be completely transparent?
- According to historical polls, why does a real estate agent have some of the lowest approval ratings of all industries?
We think Home Sense answers these questions, and in your favor. If you currently have an agent that will be selling your home and you anticipate being happy with the results, please keep him or her; there are plenty of great agents and brokers out there. If not, or if you are interested in real savings, you’re at the right place.
Thank you for considering Home Sense.
Mark Gardner, Founder and Principal Broker