For homeowners diving into the world of FSBO (For Sale By Owner) — those steering clear of Realtor commissions — List With Freedom offers an intriguing gateway. By charging a fixed price to showcase sellers’ homes on the local MLS — a platform usually reserved for licensed agents — this service amplifies exposure significantly. MLS listings often cascade across major consumer portals such as Zillow and Realtor.com, turbocharging the reach of any property placed within its database.
Pick Your Plan: Tailored Tiers for Every Seller
Choosing List With Freedom means selecting between three distinct service packages, each juggling price points and perks as they climb:
- Gold Package — $89: The entry-level deal lists your property on the MLS for half a year, allowing up to 25 photos. When your home finally sells, expect a 0.5% “compliance fee” on the sale price.
- Platinum Package — $195: Here, your listing stays live for six months with unlimited photos. The compliance fee shrinks to 0.25%, halving the seller’s closing costs in comparison to Gold.
- Platinum+ Package — $395: The premium offering doubles your listing’s life to a full year, maintains unlimited photo uploads, and tacks on the same 0.25% fee. Extras include complimentary yard signs, unrestricted open houses, and immersive virtual tours — features that come with extra bills in lower tiers.
After sealing your package deal, you’ll complete online forms and upload snapshots of your home. Once the necessary paperwork is inked, your listing goes live on your local MLS, opening the door for buyer’s agents to contact you directly with offers or questions.
Monetizing the Service: How Does List With Freedom Profit?
Your initial outlay covers flat fees between $89 and $395 depending on your chosen service level. However, optional extras—like yard signs, open houses, virtual tours, and forking out $395 for a personal transaction coordinator—can edge your expenses upward rapidly, especially for the more basic packages.
But the real kicker is the compliance fee, triggered at closing. Despite the “flat-fee” branding, sellers on the Gold plan fork over the steepest cut: 0.5% of the final sale. For instance, a $350,000 home sale would generate a compliance fee of $1,750. The Platinum and Platinum+ plans slice that figure in half (0.25%), equating to $875 on the same home price. While still a bargain compared to traditional agent commissions hovering around 2.5-3%, it’s a hidden cost that tempers the initial sticker shock.
Market Footprint: Where Does List With Freedom Operate?
Holding a licensed brokerage status, List With Freedom extends its services throughout most U.S. states plus Washington, D.C. The exceptions are Alaska, Colorado, and Hawaii, where the service remains unavailable for now.
Weighing the Options: Advantages and Drawbacks
What’s to Love?
- Budget-friendly alternative: Traditional agent commissions slurp up 2.5 to 3 percent of your sale price. List With Freedom’s capped fees—0.5% or a quarter percent depending on package—can deliver meaningful savings.
- Slick and speedy sign-up: Their platform enables sellers to wrap up listing details and upload photos in roughly half an hour, streamlining a normally cumbersome process.
- Seller remains in the driver’s seat: Without juggling an agent’s timetable, owners handle showings and negotiations directly with buyers, preserving full control over communication and decision-making.
What Could Trip You Up?
- Not as cheap as the sticker suggests: The $89 base price on the Gold package can balloon over $1,000 once the compliance and add-on fees are tallied. Simple necessities like yard signs aren’t free. Plus, remember the buyer’s agent typically requires their own commission.
- Absence of professional savvy: Agents bring expertise and nuanced market knowledge to the table. Diving into a solo sale sacrifices that seasoned insight and the marketing muscle agents traditionally provide.
- DIY workload explosion: Without an agent, the onus falls entirely on you to juggle tasks like pricing your home accurately and managing showings, paperwork, and negotiations.
Alternative Routes to Selling Your Home
- Conventional real estate agents: Well-established pros offering personalized service and market expertise.
- Flat-fee brokerages: Competitors like Beycome and Homecoin provide similar MLS listing services at a fixed cost.
- iBuyers and cash buyers: These outfits present instant cash offers and faster closings but often at prices below what an open-market sale would net.
Putting your house on the MLS without recruiting a full-service agent can cut costs and save you time. However, mark your calendar and budget carefully because the total expenses might surprise you. If you’re craving marketing help or seasoned counsel, sticking with a local real estate expert who knows your patch might be the wiser play.
Inquisitive Minds: Frequently Asked Questions
Is List With Freedom a Trusted Player?
Absolutely. Founded over a decade and a half ago in 2005 by Jim Tyminski—who still serves as CTO and EVP—the company is led by CEO Ralph Harvey. Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, it holds licenses across all U.S. states barring Alaska, Colorado, and Hawaii.
What Type of Service Does List With Freedom Offer?
They operate as a flat-fee MLS provider, designed to assist homeowners navigating FSBO sales by listing properties on the local Multiple Listing Service. Unlike agents, List With Freedom does not actively manage the listing after posting—it’s a DIY-friendly tool rather than a full-service brokerage.
Does the Company Actually List My Home on the MLS?
Yes, for a fee, your property gets listed on the local MLS network. Homes on the MLS are usually syndicated to big-name real estate consumer websites like Zillow and Realtor.com, enhancing your listing’s online visibility.
Quick Fact:
According to recent real estate data, roughly 8% of homes in the U.S. sell via FSBO each year — a niche market but one steadily growing as sellers seek alternatives to traditional agent fees.
