MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE Prepared by Gloria Brda A realtor brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the business of buying or selling a home. In fact, a licensed real estate professional provides much more than the service of helping you sell and buy your home. When you list your home in Northern Illinois with a realtor who participates in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), you are getting a lot of service for the sales fee charged. Depending upon the MLS service region, there may be hundreds of participating agents and members. This service gains maximum results. The agent who lists your home works diligently to get it sold. This is done by marketing directly to homebuyers, but an even more powerful tool is marketing your home to other agents who have buyers. Your realtor makes all the crucial information about your home available to all the members through the MLS system, such as location, size, square footage, personal property, special financing, showing instructions, and special needs that you may have with respect to the closing. It is a powerful tool for real estate matchmakers!! You and your agent will work as partners to ensure that the home sells as quickly as possible and for the highest amount of dollars. While you take the necessary steps to make your property look good inside and out, your realtor will go to work to make sure that your home is exposed to qualified buyers. Agents have access to pre-screened prospects that are really serious about purchasing a home. A realtor knows the value of real estate in your area and can intelligently determine the fair market price of your home. Realtors work with each seller to develop a written marketing plan. This enables you to know what your agent is doing to market your home and what you can expect to happen while your property is on the market. It will also include suggestions on how to make your home sell. There will be regular communication between you and your realtor from the day the listing agreement is signed until the closing takes place. The agent will give you progress reports as to the feedback from the showings. The marketing strategy is vital as well as the MLS networking! Realtors are not just sales agents. They are expert negotiators, seasoned financial advisors and specialists in your neighborhood. They are also members of the National Association of realtors (NAR) and must abide by a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice enforced by NAR. [ Back to Gloria's Library of Helpful Articles ] Gloria Brda, Realtor Associate® RE/MAX CENTER 100 N. Atkinson Road, Suite 106 Grayslake, Illinois 60030 Toll Free: 800.257.REMAX Office: 847.223.7878 x3021 Fax: 847.223.1703 www.gloriabrda.com Real Estate in Northern Illinois ©1999-2007 Gloria Brda