I’d always envisioned the opening line to this story would be, “When I first met Robert Blackman …” but I never did because I didn’t need to.

Robert Blackman is with Solvent Realty Group, a flat-fee brokerage who charged me $495 to sell my home – flat. As you may recall, it was under contract in a week with the first couple who saw it. Last Tuesday, the transaction closed with nary a hitch.

Happy? Yes. Is it for everyone? No.

I decided to go with a flat-fee brokerage for many reasons. Of course, I wanted to save money on agent fees – and I did.  But I also had good personal knowledge of the market and the right product to sell.  Let’s walk through the steps.

Setting Price

Having 16 years of sales data for my building – that also cross-referenced unit condition – I was comfortable setting my own price.

I also knew that a studs-in renovation hadn’t really come to market in a long time in the Athena – and certainly not one with a more modern “transitional” décor. I’d also used top notch finishes that I’d hunted down at reasonable prices. So I didn’t over spend.

That’s not to say Blackman doesn’t help with market analysis and price-setting when needed – I just didn’t need it.

Repairs and Sprucing

Before listing, I’d also spent time freshening things up. Writing about real estate, I’m in homes a lot. I cast my very picky eye on my home to see what buyers’ would see with fresh eyes. It’s hard to work past the blindness that sets in when we see something every day. But I did. Because of that, the inspection turned up two minor fixes.

Write My Own

Being a writer, I wrote my own listing copy. Robert’s $995 mid-level package “Power List” includes this. I also had something most don’t – I was able to write a column about my coming listing a few days before it hit the MLS. This teed-up prospective buyers wanting to see.

Photos

Since I chose Blackman’s cheapest package, I also arranged and paid for my own photographs with Full Package Media (34 pics for $110).  All my pre-work made the unit easy to photograph (it never looked so clean) and it showed well.

MLS and CSS

Robert posted my listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is the key to getting other agents to show. He also set everything up with the Centralized Showing Service (CSS) who are the schedulers of showings. Just like with any other listing, I got texts and emails whenever someone wanted to show the property.

The only nag about CSS is that you can’t respond to an agent’s request with a note. You can reschedule but in a small time window. It would have been convenient to be able to reply with information. For example, I work from home. One agent wanted a showing 30 minutes before I had to be on a call. I was OK with the showing but wanted the agent to know I had a hard stop on the hour in case they wanted a longer tour.  As it was, I frequently looked up an agent’s email or cell to send that note. They probably thought I was unusual – and they’d be right.  This is nothing to do with Robert, it’s CSS.

My first showing was so close to the end of a call that I hadn’t had time to vacate. I answered the door with one shoe on.

From Listing to Closing

Any question I had was quickly answered by Blackman either via phone, text or email. Once we had an offer, he shepherded it through the back-and-forth of negotiations, signing and initialing. Before closing he helped deal with nit-picky HOA armchair Perry Masons, prepping for appraiser questions, and other minutiae that all seems so important at the time. I’d expected to see Blackman at the actual closing, but nope. And that was OK. Signing and dating documents isn’t tough.

Summary

Yes, instead of paying 3 percent of the selling price, I spent $605 in total, wrote my own listing copy, arranged photos, and did my own repairs and staging. If that added work isn’t for you, or you need more hand-holding, you’ll need a higher-priced package or a full-priced agent. Would I use Blackman again? Definitely. Would I use him for every transaction? Maybe.

I think (rightly or wrongly) that the fixed-price customer is still below $1 million.  With a list price of $530,000, I was in the zone. But I might still use a full-service agent on a transaction over $1 million where there’s a slightly different set of players, rules, and buyers. Over $1 million is less commodity and places a much greater expectation on personalized service.

On the buying side, I feel similarly. Blackman will rebate 1.5 percent of the typical 3 percent seller’s commission if a buyer wants to do the work required on the buyer’s side, this is a good avenue. But again, over $1 million and I think there’s that personalized and more demanding expectation that may not be in the fixed-price broker’s wheelhouse. That will change over time as we get used to the service.

For my next purchase, I used a full-service agent because it’s turning out to be a very complicated deal. But you’ll have to wait for that story until later. 

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Remember:  High-rises, HOAs and renovation are my beat. But I also appreciate modern and historical architecture balanced against the YIMBY movement. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the National Association of Real Estate Editors recognized my writing with three Bronze (2016, 2017, 2018) and two Silver (2016, 2017) awards.  Have a story to tell or a marriage proposal to make?  Shoot me an email [email protected]. Be sure to look for me on Facebook and Twitter. You won’t find me, but you’re welcome to look.