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Written by Steve Nicastro
What is Savvy Lane?
Savvy Lane is a flat fee MLS listing service that offers plans to FSBO sellers in Oregon and Washington. Plans start at $195 for basic services and work their way up to $3,000 for assistance with a licensed agent. The most basic plan will put you on the MLS, Zillow, Trulia, and other listing sites.
Key takeaways
- We rate it 4.5/5
- $195 to $395 for MLS listing
- Photos, unlimited changes, and CMA included
Bottom line: Is Savvy Lane worth it?
Yes, Savvy Lane’s packages are reasonably priced and loaded with essential services. The company offers different packages that can suit FSBO sellers of all levels of expertise. (Learn more about our methodology.)
Quality of service
The company will list you on your local MLS and syndicate the listing across every major real estate site. The number of allowable photos is reasonable, and more advanced packages come with unlimited changes to your listing.
Marketing
Savvy Lane’s main market strategy is to list your property on the most popular sites (such as Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com) and your local MLS. The company, however, doesn’t offer advanced marketing strategies or tactics (such as social media marketing) for its FSBO plans.
Cost
The basic plan ($195) is affordable without sacrificing essential services. Both “Essential” ($395) and Premium ($995) are priced fairly high, but their services add enough value to justify the cost. “Full” ($595) and Hybrid ($3,000), on the other hand, are a bit too pricey for the services provided.
Customer experience
The majority of third-party reviews are positive and praise highly Savvy Lane’s customer service team. Those that complained were mostly disappointed with the company’s pricing strategy and comparative market analysis (CMA).
User friendliness
Listing your property is as simple as completing a few “to dos” and signing necessary forms. The seller dashboard has a clean interface and highlights clearly all the things that will be important for you.
Savvy Lane vs. top competitors
| FFMLS company | Locations | Avg. customer review | Listing fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beycome | AL, CA, CT, FL, GA, MN, NC, SC | 4.4 | $99-499 + 1% |
| Fizber | Nationwide | 3.9 | $295 |
| Homecoin | CA, FL, GA, MI, MO, NY, NC, SC, TN, VA, WI | 4.9 | $95+ |
| Houzeo | Nationwide | 4.9 | $399-999 + .50-1% at closing |
Quality of service
| What we like: | Possible drawbacks: |
|---|---|
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All in all, Savvy Lane’s packages contain a variety of essential services that most FSBO sellers will need to effectively sell their homes. Here’s what you can expect to get from each of Savvy Lane’s FSBO and agent plans:
| Basic $195 MLS listing + Zillow + 8 photos | Extended $395 6 month listing + 16 photos + unlimited changes |
| Full $595 12 month listing + unlimited photos | Premium $995 List until sold + professional photography + virtual tour |
| Hybrid $3,000 Dedicated agent + negotiating and closing assistance | Full Service 1% of final sale price Full service listing |
Savvy Lane sprinkles in several nonessential services that won’t necessarily help you sell your home without a realtor. Here are a few things you might want to take note of:
❌ Add-ons are costly. We don’t recommend most of Savvy Lane’s “extra” services, such as the flyer box ($50), professional photography ($350), expedite a change to your listing ($100 per editing session). You can likely find a better price for each of these elsewhere.
❌ Signs are expensive and poorly made. You can buy “for sale” and “open house” signs from Savvy Lane. But the signs aren’t the best quality: they emphasize Savvy Lane’s name and brand more than yours and hide your phone number near the bottom.
❌ Third-party affiliates are touted as benefits. Savvy Lane will recommend title and escrow companies to help you close, whether or not they’re the best deal for you.
Marketing (how it works)
| What we like: | Possible drawbacks: |
|---|---|
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Savvy Lane’s main marketing tactic is to list you on your local MLS and syndicate the listing across hundreds of listing sites, such as Zillow, Trulia, RE/MAX, and Realtor.com. That will give you maximum exposure, which is what you want from a flat-fee MLS listing service.
The company offers advanced marketing plans, but only when you connect with one of its dedicated agents. This would involve paying $3,000 for the Hybrid service or 1% of your final sale price. Unlike other FSBO websites, Savvy Lane doesn’t have marketing plans (like advertising on Facebook or Google) for its FSBO packages, not even as an add-on.
Cost
| What we like: | Possible drawbacks: |
|---|---|
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Savvy Lane has six plans that range from $195 to over $3,000. Most of these plans offer good value for the up-front fee, but two (Full and Hybrid) are a bit overpriced.
The Basic ($195), Extended ($395), and Premium ($995) plans are fairly priced, on par with what we’d expect an MLS listing service to charge for similar tiers of services.
The plans least likely to add value for the price are Full ($595) and Hybrid ($3,000). The services they offer are essential, but you can find the same ones for less elsewhere. Hybrid is especially expensive for a FSBO plan — you’re better off selling your home with an agent at that price.
| Savvy Lane plan | Price | Good value? |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $195 | Yes |
| Extended | $395 | Yes |
| Full | $595 | No |
| Premium | $995 | Yes |
| Hybrid | $3,000 | No |
| Full Service | 1% paid at closing | Yes |
Warning: No refunds
If your home doesn’t sell within the allotted time, Savvy Lane will not refund the up-front cost. Likewise, you won’t get a refund if you cancel before your home sells.
Customer experience
| What we like: | Possible drawbacks: |
|---|---|
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Most public reviews on third party sites are four or five stars. On Google, the company enjoys a 4.6 rating, which puts Savvy Lane higher than most flat-fee MLS services regarding customer satisfaction. One complaint on Better Business Bureau accuses Savvy Lane of initially mishandling their listing, then charging extra to expedite changes. Regardless of the complaints, Savvy Lane has an A+ on BBB.
Most reviewers praised the customer service team or their agent for helping them get through the FSBO selling process. Others were highly critical of the company’s CMA report, which they claimed priced their homes incorrectly. Many of these complaints, however, were from old reviews (a year or older) and may not reflect Savvy Lane’s current practices.
User friendliness
| What we like: | Possible drawbacks: |
|---|---|
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We found no major problems with the listing site and the seller dashboard. All in all, it was easy to create an account and get a listing going. Once inside the dashboard, the to-do list will help you prepare your listing for the MLS.
The only thing lacking is extra assistance with these steps. The dashboard doesn’t have many how-to videos that break down the FSBO process, nor does the website have an extensive library of FSBO articles. Though this isn’t strictly necessary, we have reviewed other FSBO websites that offer far more free content.
Next steps
Savvy Lane could be a good option if you’re committed to selling your home by yourself. If you have experience handling home sales without an agent, the Basic or Essential plan might suffice. Nonetheless, evaluating Savvy Lane against other leading flat fee MLS listing services in Oregon and flat fee companies in Washington is crucial.
If you’re looking to work with a licensed real estate agent through Savvy Lane, it’s advisable to interview two to three agents from various low commission real estate brokers to ensure you find the right fit.
Related reading
How to Sell a House Without a Realtor: If you’re well-informed about the process, you can eliminate the need for a seller’s agent and list your property as For Sale By Owner (FSBO). Discover how now.
Top Low Commission Real Estate Agents + Companies. Explore some of the leading low commission real estate services, from Clever Real Estate to Redfin, and learn how to save on fees when selling your home.
11 Best for Sale by Owner Websites: Learn the pros and cons of the top sites that help you sell FSBO.
Read This Before You List FSBO on Zillow: Zillow ranks among the top platforms for selling homes online, but listing FSBO can be tricky. This guide offers strategic advice to optimize your listing.
Methodology
We evaluated the value and quality of FFMLS and FSBO listing services based on five core criteria.
Quality of service
FFMLS companies should provide basic services, including:
- Listing to your local MLS
- Pushing listings to sites like Zillow and Trulia
- Maximum allowable photos
- Unlimited free listing changes
- Keeping a listing active until you cancel or close on your home
We noted add-on services that actually help you sell and manage your sale, like professional photography or an online dashboard. We didn’t give credit for fluffy offerings, such as video tours that are just photo montages or listings on Craigslist.
Marketing
We assessed how each company’s services actually makes your listing visible to buyers, compared with the MLS, which is the baseline. Additional marketing services (via social media, digital ads, etc.) count to higher visibility, as does the company’s website traffic.
Cost
We compared pricing tiers for services with baseline national averages and other brands.
Customer experience
Our evaluation…
- Aggregated customer reviews from across the web and created a weighted average rating
- Ran reviews through a sentiment analysis program to identify key themes
- Checked for complaints with the Better Business Bureau
User friendliness
We checked how easy the company app or portal was to use, and how easy it was to upload and manage the listing.
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