Flat Fee MLS Realty Reviews: Pros, Cons, Alternatives

What is Flat Fee MLS Realty?

Stephen Hachey’s Flat Fee MLS Realty is a real estate platform that offers an MLS listing service for homeowners in Florida, Illinois, and Indiana. If you want to list your home on the MLS without paying a hefty agent commission, this is an option for you.

While Flat Fee MLS Realty offers cheap listing packages, this is not an ideal option for FSBO home sellers wanting more hands-on support or à-la-carte services. As a FSBO seller, you will be left to handle the showings and negotiations on your own, which can be daunting.

🤔 What is Flat Fee MLS?




Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is an online database of houses for sale that can be accessed ONLY by licensed agents authorized to list homes and procure data. Going to these agents to sell a house means paying a high commission.

A Flat Fee MLS listing service is an MLS ENTRY-ONLY service to list your home on your local MLS through an agent for a flat fee. Here, you sell your home as an For Sale by Owner (FSBO) and save thousands on commission.


💰 Flat Fee MLS: Learn everything you need to know about Flat Fee MLS

How Does Flat Fee MLS Realty Work?

⭐ STEP 1- Select a flat-fee MLS listing package

Select one of the three listing packages that Flat Fee MLS Realty offers on their website.

⭐ STEP 2- Sign up

After choosing the package, sign up by entering your payment details. Fill out an online form with personal and property details.

⭐ STEP 3- Upload photos on MLS

Add the photos of your property to create an MLS listing.

⭐ STEP 4- List your home

Flat Fee MLS Realty will return the listing to you for review within 24 hours of receiving the completed listing forms. This time excludes holidays. Once you give the go-ahead, you can expect to have your home listed within 48 hours.

Let’s take a look at other features of Houzeo and Flat Fee MLS Realty

Feature Comparison	Houzeo	Flat Fee MLS Realty
MLS Listing for a Flat Fee	✅	✅
Nationwide Coverage	✅	❌
100% Online	✅	✅
Mobile App For Customers	✅	❌
Fast Listing Changes	✅	✅
3D or 2D Virtual Tour	✅	❌

» List Now: Become a Houzeo seller today for hassle-free transaction!

What Does Flat Fee MLS Realty Offer?

Flat Fee MLS Realty offers three listing packages.

Silver Package – $129

In this package, you can post 25 photos on the MLS with your listing. You also get real estate documents, contracts, addendums, and disclosures, and an open house scheduling management tool.

If you want to avail Flat Fee Realty’s professional photography service in this package, you pay an extra $460.

Gold Package – $299

This package includes everything offered in the Silver package in addition to Showing Time service and a window to upload 50 photos on the MLS. The add-on professional photography service in this package costs an additional $300.

👉 NOTE: The Silver and Gold packages do not include a lockbox facility or any other agent-related assistance.

Platinum Package – $599

With this package, you get professional HD photos, Comparative Market Analysis, and a lockbox, in addition to an MLS listing.

All packages allow you to update your listing any number of times and cancel anytime without any additional charges, which is a feature that other Flat Fee MLS companies tend to charge for.

Flat Fee MLS Florida: Check out the rankings of the best Flat Fee MLS companies in Florida.

Add-on Services

Legal Services

Stephen Hachey also runs a real estate law firm in Florida. It offers services like foreclosure defense, short sales, loan modification, tenant evictions, and more to residential and commercial property owners.

Currently, the firm only serves Tampa Bay, including Hillsborough County, Orange County, Pinellas County, Manatee County, Pasco County, Sarasota County, Polk County, and Hardee County. The offices are located in North and South Tempa, Riverview, Clearwater, and Sarasota.

👉 NOTE: If wish to avail any of their services, you can request a free consultation. We advise you to ask the firm to send you free written information about their experiences and qualification before you choose them as your attorney.

“For Sale with Lawyer” Offer

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) process of selling a home requires a lot of legwork on the home owner’s side since he’s not represented by a realtor. Stephen K. Hachey provides legal services as mentioned above to such FSBO home sellers as well as unrepresented buyers.

Services under “For Sale with Lawyer” include preparing and reviewing a purchase agreement, estimating all closing costs, guiding the seller through the disclosure process, and closing coordination.

Title and Escrow Services

Stephen Hachey also launched his own title company, Excel Title in 2015. It provides title insurance and settlement, escrow, and closing services for home sellers, buyers, agents, house builders, commercial property professionals, and mortgage lenders to facilitate real estate purchases, construction, refinances, or equity loans.

» Title Insurance: Everything You Need to Know About Title Insurance in the USA

👉 NOTE: Stephen K Hachey’s legal and title services are only available in Florida. In addition, the cost for additional agent assistance is not mentioned or included in any of the packages. This could add unforeseen costs, especially at closing.

Flat Fee MLS Realty Coverage

Flat Fee MLS Realty mainly serves the state of Florida. They now have included Illinois and Indiana in their serviceable areas as well.

Flat Fee MLS Realty headquarters at Tampa, FL. Its Illinois office is located in Bloomington, and its Indiana office is in Noblesville.

What You Should Know Before Listing with Flat Fee MLS Realty

❌ Pay an extra $375 if you don’t use their title company

As these Flat Fee MLS Realty reviews as well as the Flat Fee MLS Realty website FAQs mention, the company charges you an additional $375 at closing, irrespective of your package, if you decide not to use their affiliated title company, Excel Title.

❌ Aerial photography restricted to some areas

Aerial photography is not available for the Silver and Gold packages, but if you opt for the Platinum package, the service is still subject to area restrictions. Since the restricted areas are not mentioned on their website, you will have to contact Flat Fee MLS Realty and specifically ask for this information.

🚩 You Should Know: Flat Fee MLS Realty’s overlooked charges include a buyer’s agent commission of 2% at closing and another $375 if you don’t use their title company.

❌ Only the Platinum package offers a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA)

Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) is one of the most important steps for FSBO home sellers, but Flat Fee MLS Realty only offer this service for its Platinum package priced at $599.

CMA is a calculation of a home’s value based on previously sold comparable homes in the neighbourhood. CMA reports are produced by real estate agents to assist home sellers in listing property prices.

Remember that listing price is NOT the same as a home’s selling price. If you price your home competitively, it will attract more buyers and give you an advantage in negotiations.

❌ Flat Fee MLS Realty does not cover commercial, rental, or vacant land

Flat Fee MLS Realty can be an options if you’re selling a single-family home, townhouse, or condo, but it does not provide coverage for other types of properties including commercial, rental or vacant land.

» Best Flat Fee MLS Companies in Florida: Find out our top ranking of Florida’s best flat fee MLS listing companies

❌ Flat Fee MLS Realty is not for inexperienced sellers

You’ll have to conduct tours and communicate with buyers on your own. Flat Fee MLS Realty may not be ideal for you if you are a first-time seller or lack time to manage your property sale.

Flat Fee MLS Realty Reviews

Flat Fee MLS Realty has 74 reviews on Google, averaging 4.2 out of 5 stars. On Yelp, Flat Fee MLS Realty has 5 reviews with a 4.5 average rating out of 5 while on BBB, it has 2 customer reviews with a 1-star rating out of 5.

Flat Fee MLS Realty Reviews: Praises

1. David was happy with the savings on the seller agent’s commission.

2. Champ raved about the ease of transaction and having saved a “nice chunk of money” on commissions.

Flat Fee MLS Realty Reviews: Complaints

1. Lazara highlighted Flat Fee MLS Realty’s unexpected additional fees that were mentioned only in “fine print”, including $350 at closing.

2. Houston highlighted many issues with the company, including their false promise of aerial photography (but not in his area), lack of signage, no response after listing, and an extra charge of $350 at closing if you don’t use their title company.

Flat Fee MLS Realty Reviews: Pros and Cons

Flat Fee MLS Realty Alternatives

1. Houzeo.com

Houzeo is one of the well-known FSBO websites in the US, and we offer Flat Fee MLS listing services. The entire procedure, from listing your home to closing, is simple and completely done online. Plus, there’s no charge aor ny hidden fees or a commission on listings.

2. Beycome Real Estate

Based in Miami, Florida, Beycome is a technologically-advanced real estate company that makes it easy for home sellers to list their home on the MLS Florida as an FSBO. Through their seller dashboard, you get to access advanced features like managing your listing, organizing offers, and showing schedules.

Why is Houzeo Better than Stephen Hachey’s Flat Fee MLS Realty?

Houzeo.com is available nationwide and significantly increases your exposure by listing your home on the MLS. You will get unmatched options for selling your house. Houzeo’s advanced technology makes the FSBO paperwork and listing management make process quick and efficient.

We offer the best combination of maximum savings, no hidden fees, and 5-star customer support. Houzeo.com offers you 4 listing packages to list your property on the MLS.

Bottomline: Should You List with Flat Fee MLS Realty?

From the Flat Fee MLS Realty reviews that we saw earlier, we do not recommend the company for listing because it has too many additional fees and no à la carte services.

Resources for Selling Your Home in Florida

Frequently Asked Questions

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