Introducing the
BuyHomes.com MLS Portal
A Simple Example for a
Confusing Real Estate Topic
What is the "MLS"
Besides a Confusing Acronym?
What are IDX (Broker-Reciprocity) web sites?
Wisconsin's
Largest Consumer Advisory!
Benefits of the BuyHomes MLS PORTAL
Sign Up for the Free
BuyHomes MLS Portal
Interested
in a home that is listed with BuyHomes.com ?
Introducing the BuyHomes.com MLS Portal
Corey Scholtka, the founder of BuyHomes.com provides this service for you absolutely FREE - Contact me with your
info and let me know what type of home you are Looking to Buy.
This Free Service is guaranteed to save you
time and avoid frustration while searching for homes.
There is no obligation to hire me as your agent, but if you choose to
get me involved before you see the home, then I will work for your
interests (to save you money). I will also get you the best home possible. Simply
sign up using the
Contact Form.
I promise not to share your private information with 3rd parties, I will
not call you unless you need me to call you, I check my email Frequently.
Also... I may need to clarify your search criteria (or lay down some ground rules
since
this is a new service for Milwaukee Homebuyers). I will do my best to
help you find the best property for you.
Corey Scholtka
Buyer Agent & Flat Fee Marketing Specialist
Founder, BuyHomes.com LLC
PS - I also have a database of for-sale-by-owner homes. I can provide
you with e-mail updates of these homes which are not listed on the MLS
when you hire me to represent you. My representation usually saves
you more money than if you deal with the owner directly, and opens
your options up to even more homes on the market.
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A Simple Example for a Confusing Real Estate Topic
What if you were shopping for a PIE instead of a Property - would you be happy
going home and opening the box and finding this inside? No, Probably
Not.
Buying a home in today's marketplace is a lot like the above
visual metaphor. Unlike buying a pie, buying a property is usually one of the biggest
investments that you can make in your lifetime. Doing a little
homework before deciding how to go about looking for your next home
should be time well spent. This can be pretty complicated to explain, but I will attempt to make
this information as simple as possible.
So, you may ask yourself "what in the world" does this PIE
analogy have exactly to do with searching for a home in the Milwaukee
area? "Property Internet Exposure"
could be the official Acronym that will help me explain this to you...
please keep reading my guide below.
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What is the "MLS" Besides a Confusing Acronym?
When you search for a home you will often hear the acronym
"MLS" or "MLS Listings". (I hear this mixed up as
"MSL" all the time). This is a topic where it is safe to say consumers are utterly confused. Home Buyers
especially should make an effort in advance to understand the definition
and function of the MLS so they are not short-changed by the established
process that is set-up for Home Buying.
MLS stands for the ‘Multiple Listing Service’. which is akin to a
'private club for Realtors' in which they share property information and
more importantly offer a commission to other Realtors. MLS organizations
are usually owned or operated by Realtor members. Just a few years ago
the range of services offered by Realtors was usually "one size fits
all" and there were no 'for sale by owners' or 'Limited Service'
Realtors on the Internet.
There happens to be a few hundred different
organizations that
call themselves an “MLS”. For example, Southeastern Wisconsin Realtors mostly
belong to the Metro MLS headquartered in Wauwatosa. The 2nd largest MLS in
Wisconsin is the South Central MLS out of Madison. These are operated
locally, there is no "national" MLS.
Many brokerage websites appear to have MLS listings - but did you know -
the only way to actually get the “true” and "complete" slice of the MLS
PIE is to
become a member? To be a member one must be a broker and also join the
Local, State and National Association of Realtors. Member brokers and
their agents have a user name and password and we login to our local MLS
for Milwaukee at www.MlsWis.com to access this secure database of homes.
This is the real MLS and it is NOT publically accessible for real estate
consumers! *
* I'll discuss how buyers can get limited access to the whole MLS
for a specific property search so you do not miss out on any homes and additional information as this
article / guide continues below.
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What are IDX (Broker-Reciprocity) web sites?
"IDX". When you go to a site like WiHomes.com these scaled-down listings
are called “IDX”
listings. (Just when you
thought we might be done with the Bad Acronyms). To ensure you do
not miss a piece of the PIE with your dream home you should understand
"what you DO get" VS. "what you DO NOT get" with IDX.
Home Buyers are often confused, mistaken, and go about their home
search online thinking "I can search the MLS"... sure you can check the Metro MLS’s
public site that is set-up for consumers, but there you will find
scaled-down versions of each property data sheet. Don't get me wrong -
WiHomes.com is a great site and keeps us Realtors playing "more fair"
with each other instead of one company taking over the entire market, but the properties here are still just
scaled-down versions of the real thing.
IDX or ‘Internet Data Exchange’ is a group agreement
between Realtors in order to share our listings with each other. There
are lots of rules and restrictions that are recommended by the NAR
(National Association of Realtors). These rules are new and sometimes
controversial as brokers often have opposing interests in the
marketplace. IDX websites that
you may search (including BuyHomes.com) do not contain the entire MLS, but
they usually contain the majority. Some brokers may have chosen to opt-out of the
program (that means they don’t want to share their listings). Some individual
sellers tell their Listing Broker that they do not want to be on the
Internet.
Broker-Reciprocity (IDX) sites are just like WiHomes.com - they
have limited
information - so you may get a ‘smaller piece of the pie’ than the 100% ‘pie’ that MLS
Realtors enjoy. Most of these sites have been limited to 6 photos for
the other brokers. Buyers can check local broker's websites but
those broker sites are still not
the real “MLS”... Got that straight now, real estate consumers?
Realtor.com has IDX agreements with most of the MLS organizations
across the USA, so it is the closest thing to a "National MLS" that is
out there on the Internet, but it is by no means complete. There may be
more photos on Realtor.com than you will find with the local IDX sites
because Realtor.com charges additional for advertising to individual
agents & brokers (just 4 photos are free to all agents).
Realtor.com also has some complaints from home sellers and buyers
searching in certain areas by town name when the Zip Code does not match
the town name, this has lead to some confusion by buyers and is a way
that one could miss out on a slice of the PIE if one does not search
carefully.
Have you ever searched Realtor.com or another IDX website and found the perfect home, only to
call the listing Broker and find out that it was already sold?
Unfortunately most IDX websites are not allowed to display the "Accepted
Offer" status that Realtors save time by seeing on the real MLS.
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Wisconsin's Largest Consumer Advisory!
In Milwaukee we have a pretty high number of MLS listings included in
the IDX database, but you could be missing that critical 1% that
contains your dream home. This still gets more complicated. I am
aware of just one area broker who removes certain types of listings including
"Limited Service" and "For Sale By Owners" from their IDX
website. Without naming names, this is a significant web site so 'Buyer
Beware'.
I believe in the free-market's ability to change
consumer patterns, and I also believe in honest consumer disclosure
(fair play): According to the Metro MLS the one company with this
policy has sold over 25% of our Limited Service listings sold thru BuyHomes.com in 2009.
I am
thrilled that many of the agents of that company are willing to show & sell my listings
(even though most of my listings do not appear on their IDX website). This
demonstrates that the
Cooperating Broker's Commission is a critical element to an effective
MLS Listing. Pricing is the only more-important consideration.
Lessons for consumers:
Buyers: Double-check your sources so you are not missing the slice of the PIE that contains the best
home for you.
Sellers: You need to be on the MLS and focus on paying the buyer's
side (co-brokerage) commission in this market.
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Benefits of the BuyHomes MLS PORTAL
So how does a web savvy real estate consumer make sure they get all the
MLS listings in Milwaukee? Thru my membership in the Metro MLS and new
technology options, I can set up a customized website Portal for your
specific property search.
Using my company Portal Site, you can see Every MLS Listing for your
specific searches (Not Just IDX).
Save time choosing which homes to see or not to see in-person, because you can see
up to 24 photos and any Virtual Tour (Not just 6 limited photos like
most IDX sites).
Plus you will see extra Property Data and Public Tax
Records which often include Past Sales recorded by that city or town.
You are guaranteed to get All MLS Listings, including the
by-owner type and Limited Service listings listed on the MLS.
You will be able to modify your home search, and keep track of listings
you like and dislike across overlapping searches.
Imagine seeing which
homes have an Accepted Offer…
… See the “C” … this means “Accepted Offer”.
Plus you stay organized by rating each home with either the Happy,
‘Blah’, or Sad Yellow Faces (awwh, how cute!)
The BuyHomes.com MLS Portal is a Free Service and is guaranteed to save you
time and avoid frustration while searching for homes.
There is no obligation to hire me as your agent, but if you choose to
get me involved before you see the home then I will work for your
interests (to save you money) and get you the best home possible.
Homebuyers may
sign-up using the
Contact Form.
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Interested in a home that is listed with
BuyHomes.com ?
If you had personal contact with a Realtor MLS
agent who found one of our homes
with intention for you then please contact that agent for assistance.
If you are interested in one of our property
listings and found that home on your own
contact the seller at the number listed on our web site page for that
property.
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