How to Avoid Realtor and MLS Fees in North Carolina

3 days ago

4 min read

If you're paying dues every year but closing only a deal or two, it's worth learning how to avoid Realtor and MLS fees in North Carolina. Once you add up local, state, and national dues, the MLS, and an electronic key, most agents are spending $1,500 or more a year.

The good news is that you have options, and none of them require giving up your license. Here's how to avoid Realtor and MLS fees in North Carolina, what each option costs you, and which one keeps referral income coming in.

How to Avoid Realtor and MLS Fees in North Carolina get the information

How to Avoid Realtor and MLS Fees in North Carolina Without Losing Income

The North Carolina Real Estate Commission licenses you, not a Realtor association, so membership is a choice your firm makes, not a state requirement. You can avoid the fees by affiliating with a firm that doesn't require membership, using an MLS-only subscription where your MLS offers one, or activating with a referral company.

Going inactive stops the fees too, but it also stops your ability to earn. That trade-off is covered below.

Most agents pay these fees because their broker-in-charge (BIC) belongs to the Realtor association, and that firm's agents have to join as well. If you want the full answer on whether membership is required, see our post on whether you have to be a Realtor to be a real estate agent in North Carolina.

What Realtor and MLS Membership Costs in NC

Most North Carolina agents spend $1,500 or more a year on membership once everything is added in. Our rule of thumb: if you're selling $500,000 or more a year, membership usually pays for itself.

That total usually includes:

Local Realtor association dues
State and national Realtor dues
Your MLS subscription
An electronic key for lockbox access

Below $500,000 a year, it's worth sitting down with the numbers. Many part-time agents are paying full-time overhead for a business that brings in a few referrals.

Can You Get MLS Access Without Being a Realtor in NC?

Sometimes, but it depends on your MLS and your BIC. The Thompson ruling that opened MLS access to non-members came from the Eleventh Circuit, and North Carolina sits in the Fourth Circuit, so each MLS here sets its own rules.

Doorify MLS, the MLS for the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham) area, now offers a nonmember subscription for licensed agents who aren't Realtors. It costs $260 a quarter plus a $35 quarterly service center fee, compared to $195 a quarter for Realtor subscribers. That works out to about $1,180 a year for MLS access alone.

There are two catches. If your BIC is a Realtor, Doorify requires everyone in that office to subscribe as a Realtor. Nonmembers also lose the NC Realtors forms and the legal hotline, which many residential agents rely on daily. If you're with a different MLS, such as Canopy in the Charlotte area, ask what it offers non-members and what it charges before you drop your membership.

Going Inactive vs. Staying Active With a Referral Company

Going inactive stops your fees, but NCREC doesn't allow an inactive licensee to be paid a referral fee. Staying active with a referral company also stops Realtor and MLS fees, and you can still earn on every referral you send.

Here's how the three options compare:

Inactive: No dues, but no income. A broker who accepts your referral can't legally pay you while your license is inactive.
Active without a BIC: Available only to full brokers, not provisional brokers. You can collect referral fees, but you can't advertise, solicit business, or market yourself in any way.
Active with a referral company: You stay under a BIC, you can refer business openly, and you skip Realtor and MLS dues.

Each of these limits comes from NCREC rules. We cover the details in our posts on collecting commission with an inactive North Carolina license and keeping your license active without a BIC.

Who Should Drop Realtor and MLS Membership?

Membership makes the most sense for full-time residential agents who list and show homes every week. It makes the least sense for agents who are about to go inactive, or Realtors selling under $500,000 a year.

If you're thinking about going inactive to save money, look at a referral company first. You keep the same savings without giving up your ability to get paid.

If you're still a Realtor but your volume has dropped, run the math on what your dues cost against what you closed last year. For many agents, a few referrals a year earn more than the membership does.

Keep Your License Active With Park Place

Park Place Realty Network lets North Carolina provisional brokers and brokers stay active with no Realtor or MLS fees. You send referrals through the members section of our website, and when a referral closes, you earn 22.5% of the total gross commission.

The only cost is a $125 annual admin fee, and you get 40% off continuing education and post licensing courses through The CE Shop. Activate your North Carolina license with Park Place.