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Flat fee MLS listing in Dearborn, Michigan

A Dearborn listing on the MLS, priced as a flat package fee instead of a percentage of everything you built.

What selling in Dearborn is like

Dearborn is built around Ford Motor Company, whose world headquarters and several of its plants are in the city, and it splits into a west side centered on the historic district and an east side closer to Detroit.

Before selling a home in Dearborn

Dearborn requires a city inspection and a Certificate of Occupancy before a home sale can close.

The inspection is the seller’s to arrangeThe owner, their listing agent or someone holding power of attorney submits the residential inspection request with payment. It runs about 45 minutes and somebody 18 or over has to be there for it.
It is a property maintenance inspection, not a home inspectionThe city is checking compliance with minimum housing standards and safety codes. It is separate from, and does not replace, the inspection a buyer arranges.
Violations mean a re-inspectionAnything the inspector writes up has to be corrected and re-inspected before the certificate is issued. The city allows a year to complete the work identified.
The certificate is issued in the buyer’s nameOnce the property passes, the seller sends the purchaser’s name to the city and the certificate is issued to the buyer, not to the seller.
A property can still be sold with violations outstandingWhere the work has not been done, the purchase agreement can make the buyer responsible for clearing the violations and obtaining the certificate. That has to be agreed in the contract rather than assumed.
This one is worth knowing about: the city ordinance does not only oblige the seller. It makes it unlawful for anyone helping to consummate the transfer — the owner, the title company, the brokerage, the agent — to do so without the certificate having been presented to the buyer. Everyone at the table is on the hook for it, which is why it is not a detail to leave until the week of closing.

Schedule it well ahead of closing. The certificate has to be in hand before the sale closes, and a failed first inspection plus the repairs and a re-inspection is not a one-week process. The inspection request goes to the Economic Development Department on 313-943-2150, and the purchaser's name goes to DbnSales@dearborn.gov once the property passes.

Straight from the city: City of Dearborn, selling a home

What this is based on, from the city’s own pages:

Summarized from the city’s own published guidance. Requirements change, so confirm anything that affects your closing date with the city directly.

We cover all of Wayne County, Dearborn included, at the same flat package fee.

Which school district is this property in?

School district boundaries do not follow city boundaries, so an address in Dearborn is not necessarily in the district the city is named after. Enter the address and we will tell you which district the parcel sits in, and link you to that district directly.

School districts in Dearborn

All of Dearborn is in Dearborn City School District.

Boundaries near a city line can still surprise you, so check the address above. Boundaries from the U.S. Census Bureau.

What you save on a Dearborn sale

Four example prices, using our MLS Listing package at $599. Your own number is the one that matters, and the calculator will do it.

Sale priceAssumed 3% listing sideOffer SupportYou save
$200,000$6,000$1,799$4,201
$300,000$9,000$2,299$6,701
$400,000$12,000$2,799$9,201
$550,000$16,500$3,549$12,951

The comparison column assumes a listing side charge of 3% of the sale price. It is an illustration for comparison, not a rate any brokerage is required to charge; real estate compensation is negotiable and another brokerage may quote you more or less.

Add-ons such as photography, signage and a lockbox are separate and are listed on the add-ons page.

Want it with your mortgage payoff included? Use the proceeds calculator.

What you get for the fee in Dearborn

Most people who search for a flat fee listing are trying to do one thing: stop paying a percentage of their own equity to the listing side. The usual way to do that is an entry-only service, where your home goes on the MLS and everything after that is yours to handle.

That is not this. The fee is flat, and how much of the transaction we handle is the package you choose. In Dearborn that also means the municipal requirements above are handled as part of the transaction rather than left to you to discover.

How it works, step by step, or the side-by-side comparison.

Common questions

Does Dearborn require an inspection before I sell?
Yes. The city carries out a pre-sale inspection of the property and a Certificate of Occupancy has to be obtained before the sale closes. The seller or their agent requests the inspection.
What happens if the inspector finds violations?
They have to be corrected and the property re-inspected before the certificate is issued. The city allows a year to complete the items identified, which is longer than most closings, so the practical question is whether the work can be done before your closing date rather than whether you have time at all.
Can I sell a Dearborn house as-is?
You can. Where violations have not been cleared, the purchase agreement can put the responsibility on the buyer to complete them and obtain the certificate. It has to be written into the contract, and it affects what a buyer will pay, so it is a negotiation rather than a formality.
Who ends up holding the Certificate of Occupancy?
The buyer. The seller requests it and supplies the purchaser’s name, and the city issues the certificate in the buyer’s name.
Do you handle the Dearborn inspection for me?
A listing agent can request the inspection on the owner’s behalf. On Full Service that is part of what we do: the request goes in early, the report gets read, and the repair list is worked through before it becomes a closing problem rather than after. On the other packages the request is yours to make, and the timing still matters just as much.
Can we limit when showings happen?
Yes. You set the notice period and the windows, and requests outside them are declined.
Do I owe anything if the house does not sell?
No. Anything due at closing is charged on a closing and nowhere else. A listing that expires without a sale costs you the package fee and nothing further.
What is the turnaround from signing to live listing?
As soon as 48 hours in the ordinary case. The two things that hold it up are missing signatures and photography, so having both ready is what makes it fast. If we are shooting the property, allow time for that.

Ready to list your Dearborn home? Give us the address and we will tell you what it should list at and what it will cost you to sell.

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Takes about two minutes. We verify your address is in our service area, recommend a package and send the listing agreement before anything is paid.

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