One fee for the whole transaction, not a percentage of your sale price. FSBOTransact charges $6,000 flat for contract, disclosures, escrow, and closing when you already have your buyer. Licensed California broker, standard forms, no surprises.
A licensed broker who charges one agreed price for the transaction, not a percentage of your sale. The service includes contract, disclosure preparation, escrow coordination, and closing. Third-party costs like title insurance and escrow fees are billed separately by escrow at closing.
FSBOTransact charges $6,000 flat, paid out of escrow at closing (not out of pocket). Compared to a 5% commission on a $1.5 million home ($75,000), the savings are roughly $69,000 for the same professional transaction management.
No. Flat-fee MLS and discount brokerage both help you find a buyer: they list, market, and show the property. FSBOTransact assumes you already have your buyer, which is why the fixed fee is lower. The work is transactional coordination, not buyer search.
When you already have your buyer. Family sales, tenant purchases, friend or neighbor sales, off-market discoveries. Any transaction where the listing side of a commission would pay for services you don't need.
The flat-fee model only makes sense if the fee covers everything the transaction actually requires. FSBOTransact's $6,000 fee is all-inclusive and covers the four things every California home sale needs to close cleanly:
Bennett Mason is a licensed California real estate broker (DRE #01874337) with over 16 years of experience. Working with FSBOTransact means working with a licensed broker, not a document-preparation service. That distinction matters when the transaction hits an unexpected question.
The percentage-based commission model was built for a specific reason: listing agents needed compensation for the marketing, showings, and buyer search required to find a buyer. When those services are actually performed, the percentage arguably reflects real work.
But the percentage structure has a strange property: it charges the same rate whether or not those services are needed. A $1.5 million home sale to your daughter costs the same 5% commission as a $1.5 million home sale to a stranger who took six months and eleven showings to find. The work is completely different; the fee is identical.
Flat fees exist because the transaction management portion of a home sale is a fixed amount of work. Preparing the contract takes the same effort whether the sale price is $800,000 or $2.4 million. Coordinating escrow follows the same sequence regardless of who the buyer is. Reviewing closing documents involves the same review process on any transaction. A flat fee prices this reality directly.
The percentage model prices what the agent might have to do. A flat fee prices what actually gets done.
When the buyer is already identified, the flat-fee model isn't a discount; it's an accurate price. The percentage would be paying for services the transaction never required.
"Flat fee real estate" covers several different service models, and the differences matter. Here's how the main options compare:
| Model | What You Pay | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Flat-fee MLS | $100–$800 | Property listed on the MLS. You handle everything else: showings, negotiation, contracts, disclosures, escrow. |
| Discount brokerage | 1–2% commission | Reduced-percentage full service. Still a percentage, still tied to sale price. |
| Flat-fee transactional | $5,000–$10,000 | Full transaction management for a buyer-identified sale. Contract, disclosures, escrow, closing. What FSBOTransact does. |
The right model depends on what you actually need. Flat-fee MLS makes sense if you want to list a property publicly and manage the transaction yourself. Discount brokerage may fit if you still need buyer search but want lower commissions. Flat-fee transactional is the fit when you already have your buyer and want professional handling without paying for services you don't need.
On a typical $1.5 million San Francisco home, here's how the numbers work:
Listing, marketing, showings, buyer search, plus the transaction. Percentage rate applies regardless of whether those services are needed.
The full transaction handled by a licensed broker on standard forms. Same professional handling, priced to what actually gets done.
$350–$500/hr with no cap. Non-standard contracts can slow escrow and confuse lenders.
Even a more conservative comparison holds up. If you paid only the listing side of a traditional commission split (the buyer's agent typically takes the other half), 2.5% on a $1.5 million home is $37,500. Against $6,000 flat, that's still $31,500 in savings for the same set of tasks.
Most flat-fee transactional sales in San Francisco run 45 to 60 days from purchase agreement to recorded deed:
A 20-minute call to understand your situation and confirm the flat-fee transactional model is the right fit.
The buyer and seller reach mutual agreement on the sale price. In flat-fee transactional situations this is usually already settled. A genuine meeting of the minds is the foundation of the transaction, which we then document in writing.
We prepare the purchase agreement on standard forms along with all required local and state disclosures. Both parties review, sign, and open escrow.
We coordinate with title, escrow, and any lender through inspections, appraisal, contingency removal, and clear-to-close.
Final document review, signing, funding, and deed recording. You receive a full electronic copy of all signed documents for your records.
A free 20-minute call is the fastest way to know whether flat-fee transactional is right for your sale.
Book Your Free Consultation →The flat-fee transactional model is a fit for any sale where the buyer is already identified. The specific situation varies; the transaction pattern does not.
Parent to child, sibling buyout, grandparent to grandchild, trust to beneficiary. See our family sale service page for specifics.
The tenant renting from you wants to buy. See our tenant sale service page for rent-control and financing considerations.
A friend, neighbor, or long-time contact has agreed to buy. The negotiation is done; the transaction needs to close cleanly.
You surfaced a buyer through your own network without listing the property publicly. The transaction remains.
Selling to a business partner, LLC member, or long-term investor you already work with.
You started as for-sale-by-owner, a buyer emerged, and now you need a licensed professional to run the transaction properly.
Flat-fee transactional agency covers the transaction. Some sales carry additional structural or tax complexity where other professionals should also be involved:
A flat-fee transactional broker only makes sense when both sides have already found each other. If you're at the earlier stage, knowing you want to sell but haven't identified a buyer, you need a different approach.
Our sister platform OpenKnocks matches San Francisco homeowners with buyers privately and off-market. It's built for exactly this stage of the journey. Once you have a buyer, come back here and we'll run the transaction.
A free 20-minute call is the best way to find out whether a flat-fee broker is the right fit. No obligation, no sales pitch, just an honest read of your situation.
Book Your Free Consultation →Prefer email? bennett@fsbotransact.com