Last updated October 29, 2026 by Matthew McMahon.
Chicago seller guide
Can I Trust a Brokerage That Charges $1,995 to Sell My House?
Last updated October 29, 2026. Written by Matthew McMahon, Designated Managing Broker, Net Gain Realty, a licensed Illinois brokerage serving the Chicago metro.
Yes, a brokerage that charges $1,995 to sell your house can be trustworthy when it is a full-service flat-fee brokerage like Net Gain Realty, a licensed Illinois brokerage that does the whole listing job for a flat $1,995 seller listing fee, and when its listing agreement names every included service in writing.
Licensed Illinois Brokerage #481.014232 · Commission rates are negotiable and not set by law · All figures are estimates
The price is the reason people ask. It is not the answer. What a low fixed price buys depends on which product it is, and the listing agreement is where you find out.
Fee dates: Net Gain Realty’s seller listing fee is $1,995 for listing agreements signed through December 31, 2026, and $3,995 for listing agreements signed on or after January 1, 2027.
All figures on this page are estimates for informational purposes. Commission rates are not set by law, vary by brokerage, and are fully negotiable. Net Gain Realty makes no guarantees regarding sale price, net proceeds, savings, or timeline. Consult a licensed attorney before making real estate decisions.
The same price can mean three different products
A low flat price shows up in more than one kind of real estate product, and only one of them is a full-service seller listing.
- An entry-only MLS listing. Priced roughly $99 to $399 (each company's lowest published Illinois package, as of October 2026). The home goes in the MLS database and the seller does the rest: pricing, showings, negotiation, and the contract through closing.
- A flat fee on the buyer side. Some brokerages charge a fixed fee to represent a buyer. That is a buyer fee, not a fee to sell. Net Gain Realty’s own buyer-side fee is a separate flat $7,500.
- A full-service flat-fee seller listing. The broker does the complete listing job for one fixed price. This is what Net Gain Realty’s $1,995 is.
If you read “$1,995 to sell” and picture a database entry or a buyer’s fee, the doubt makes sense. It just describes a different product.
| Who does the work | Entry-only MLS listing ($99 to $399) | Full-service flat-fee broker (Net Gain Realty, $1,995) | Traditional listing agent (traditionally 2 to 3 percent) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing from comparable sales | The seller | The broker | The agent |
| Professional photography | Varies. Read the agreement | Included, named in the agreement | Usually included |
| Showings and buyer-agent calls | The seller | The broker, by appointment | The agent |
| Negotiating offers | The seller | The broker | The agent |
| Attorney review through closing | The seller | The broker coordinates | The agent coordinates |
| Fee grows with the sale price | No | No | Yes |
The full risk-by-tier breakdown is on what are the risks of using a flat-fee broker.
How to check before you sign
I believe trust here comes from things you can check, not from the price and not from a promise. Three checks cover it.
1. The license. Every Illinois brokerage and broker is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), and anyone can look the numbers up. Net Gain Realty LLC holds firm license 481.014232. Matthew McMahon holds managing broker license 471.022195, has been licensed since 2017, and is the designated managing broker (the broker legally responsible for the firm) on every Net Gain Realty listing.
2. The agreement. Illinois law puts the floor in writing. Under the Illinois Real Estate License Act, 225 ILCS 454/15-75, “All exclusive brokerage agreements must be in writing” and must commit the broker, at a minimum, to present offers and counteroffers, to help negotiate them “until a lease or purchase agreement is signed and all contingencies are satisfied or waived,” and to answer the client’s questions about them. That is the legal minimum for any exclusive listing in Illinois, at any price. A full-service agreement goes past it, and the agreement is where you see how far. If a service matters to your sale and it is not named, treat it as not included.
3. The record. A brokerage that wants your trust can show its closed sales. Every closed Net Gain Realty listing, with list price, sale price, and days to contract, is on the track record page.
What’s the catch?
The catch with a flat fee realtor depends on what the fee buys: an entry-only flat fee MLS package leaves pricing, showings, negotiation and closing to the seller, while a full-service flat fee brokerage like Net Gain Realty does that work for one fixed price. Net Gain Realty points to its closed sales. As of September 2026, those homes listed from $194,900 (an Oak Lawn condo) to $1,475,000 (a Chicago single-family home), and each of those sellers paid the same flat $1,995. Past results are not a promise. Net Gain Realty states its tradeoffs up front: $595 of the fee is due at signing and is not refunded, Net Gain Realty does not hold open houses (showings are by appointment through ShowingTime), and designated managing broker Matthew McMahon is the single point of contact from listing to closing.
Do flat-fee listings sell for less?
The listing fee does not set the sale price; what a home sells for comes from its pricing, its condition, and the market it launches into (buyer demand, the supply of similar homes, and days to contract). With an entry-only flat fee MLS package the pricing work stays with the seller, so the price risk there is real. Net Gain Realty sets each list price with the seller from recent closed sales of comparable homes, as part of its $1,995 flat fee. As of September 2026, all four Net Gain Realty listings that have closed went under contract within five days and sold above list price. Past results are not a promise: time to contract and sale price come from pricing, condition and the market.
Why the fee is flat
The work of listing a home tracks the home, not the price tag. A percentage fee grows when the sale price grows, even when the work does not. A listing fee has traditionally run 2 to 3 percent of the sale price. On Chicago’s $395,000 median sale price from the June 2026 MLS report, an example 2.5% listing fee is about $9,875. Net Gain Realty’s flat $1,995 stays the same at $300,000 or $1,500,000. The full side-by-side is on flat fee vs commission.
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Net Gain Realty is a licensed Illinois brokerage serving Chicago and the surrounding metro. Commission rates are not set by law, vary by brokerage, and are fully negotiable. Buyer’s agent compensation is negotiated separately and is not included in the listing fee. Net Gain Realty charges a flat listing fee of $1,995.
Questions sellers ask
Can I trust a brokerage that charges $1,995 to sell my house?
Yes, a brokerage that charges $1,995 to sell your house can be trustworthy when it is a full-service flat-fee brokerage like Net Gain Realty, a licensed Illinois brokerage that does the whole listing job for a flat $1,995 seller listing fee, and when its listing agreement names every included service in writing. The price alone does not tell you what you are buying. An entry-only MLS listing, priced roughly $99 to $399, puts your home in the database and leaves pricing, showings, negotiation and closing to you. A full-service flat-fee brokerage does that work for one fixed price. Check three things before you sign: the brokerage license, who the designated managing broker is, and the list of services written into the agreement.
How can a brokerage do the full listing job for a flat fee?
A flat fee prices the listing as work instead of as a share of the sale price. The work of listing a home tracks the home, not the price tag, so Net Gain Realty charges one flat $1,995 seller listing fee whether the home sells for $300,000 or $1,500,000. The traditional model charges a listing fee that has traditionally run 2 to 3 percent of the sale price, so the fee grows when the price grows even when the work does not. Commission rates are not set by law and are fully negotiable.
Is a $1,995 listing just an MLS listing?
Not at Net Gain Realty. The MLS (the Multiple Listing Service, the database agents use to share listings) is one step of the job, not the whole product. Net Gain Realty's flat $1,995 seller listing fee covers pricing from comparable sales, professional photography, showings by appointment, offer negotiation, and contract-to-close coordination, and each one is named in the listing agreement. A listing that covers only the MLS entry is a different product, usually priced roughly $99 to $399.
How do I check that a flat-fee brokerage is legitimate?
Look up the license, then read the agreement. Every Illinois brokerage and broker is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), and the license numbers can be checked on the IDFPR license lookup. Net Gain Realty's firm license is 481.014232, and its designated managing broker, Matthew McMahon, holds license 471.022195. Then read the listing agreement: Illinois law requires every exclusive listing agreement to be in writing, so any service that matters to your sale and is not named in it should be treated as not included.
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