Frequently Asked Questions

 Listen up, HOME SELLERS! There's a storm brewing in the world of real estate, and it goes by the name of the NAR Settlement. Imagine this: you're on the verge of sealing the deal on your dream home when suddenly, the curtain is pulled back to reveal a tangled web of sky-high commissions. But fear not! It's time to rewrite this script. We're rallying for change! Let's ditch those commissions and make home ownership a breeze.  

Buyer’s agents cannot continue to be compensated by the seller. The seller does not have to pay both commissions anymore. If the seller wanted to pay the Buyer Agent you can  whether through the listing agreement which would directly outline the compensation offered or through a credit as negotiated as part of the purchase agreement.

 Sellers are not required to offer compensation to the buyer’s agent. So if a particular seller chooses to offer 0% commission to the buyer’s agent, as is their right, the buyer may have to find an alternative way to compensate their agent if they wish to purchase that property.

 MLS, Multiple Listing Service, is an independent service to find real estate MLS listings for sale by Realtors® and other realty professionals that are members of the local Board of Realtors. This includes homes for sale - new homes and resale homes, new construction; rental and lease properties; acreage, lots, and land; commercial properties and investment properties.  .

The MLS database holds one of the largest inventories of homes that are ready for sale or rent. That is why it is a vital tool to increase exposure for your property. MLS listings have all the specifics a buyer is looking for in their new home such as square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, age of the property, etc. Buyers will also find photos of the home. In addition, through MLS the home can be listed on every major real estate buying and selling Internet platform; thus, decreasing transaction time by increasing visibility. .

 Yes! Besides the MLS, your home will appear on REALTOR.com, Zillow, Trulia, Homes.com, RealEstate.com, Aol Real Estate, local real estate brokerage websites that display MLS listings, and all of the major brokerages that feed directly from MLS. Please Note: We cannot guarantee that your listing will show up on each and every site as the Internet is constantly changing and some websites will be slow, stop syndicating, or have occasional technical issues. 

 We recommend that you never be present during a showing unless you have to be – even if the property is owner-occupied. It makes things awkward for everyone. Instead, put a key to the property in a lockbox and leave the house during the showing. When you return home, remove the lockbox for safety reasons. Of course, if the showing is with a buyer who is not represented by a licensed agent, you’ll want to be there. 

 You can estimate a good list price by taking into account what other similar homes in your neighborhood or surrounding areas are selling for and then comparing things such as price per square foot, condition, location, improvements and upgrades, and other factors such as the current market. An experienced Realtor can help counsel you on this as well as supply you with a CMA (comparative market analysis) to help you make the best decision. 

 Pricing your home with a little buffer room is quite common but simply pricing it higher than it should be (in hopes of getting higher offers) can actually backfire. Overpricing your home could result in fewer home showings and extended days on the market. More days on the market (especially in a seller's market) could cause buyers to question if there is something wrong with your home. Another problem with overpricing your home is that you may go over the max threshold for some buyers that would have shown interest had you been priced correctly. Our opinion is that you will likely receive a better price when you price it reasonably from the very beginning and then allow the market (buyers) to drive the price up. There is a strategy to this that shouldn't be taken lightly. 

 Sellers are legally obligated to share vital information about their property. This includes known issues, past repairs, or structural concerns. Transparency in disclosure builds trust and helps avoid legal complications during the transaction. Such disclosures are crucial for buyers to make informed decisions about their purchases. 

Openly sharing pertinent details about the property empowers buyers and fosters positive relationships. Thorough disclosure ensures that buyers have a clear understanding of the property's condition and history, reducing the risk of disputes or misunderstandings later on. Providing comprehensive knowledge benefits both sellers and buyers by facilitating a transparent and fair real estate transaction.

 At OZ Realty, we use a tool called ShowingTime to notify you of showings. No third party software is required but you can download their mobile app if you want to stay up to date on showings and activity.

When agents want to show your home to their clients, you will receive a text alert that will allow you to approve or decline the showing request. Generally, you can expect showings to occur between 10 AM and 8 PM, with a higher volume in the afternoons, evenings, and weekends. We know life happens but we can't stress enough how important it is to accommodate showings when possible. We will also get the showing alerts and follow up with the agents for feedback.

If your home is vacant, we will default to approve all showing requests. You will receive a courtesy alert so you can monitor activity.

 Agents, with their clients, will enter your home via the Lockbox which allows us to see when an agent visited and how long they were in the home. We will compile feedback from these agents throughout the week and send you a summary of feedback via email on Mondays. If anyone indicates serious interest, or if we get an offer, we’ll let you know ASAP.

You can rest assured the moment an agent or buyer expresses any interest in your home, we will immediately follow up.

  Doing whatever you can to put your house’s best face forward is very important if you want to get close to your asking price or sell as quickly as possible. Short of spending a lot of money, here are several ideas for making your home show better:
* Sweep the sidewalk, mow the lawn, prune the bushes, weed the garden and clean debris from the yard.
* Clean the windows (both inside and out) and make sure the paint is not chipped or flaking. And speaking of paint, if your home was built before 1978, new federal law gives a buyer the right to request a lead inspection. If you think you might have some problems, do the inspection yourself beforehand and make any fixes you can.
* Be sure that the doorbell works.
* Clean and spruce up all rooms, furnishings, floors, walls and ceilings. It’s especially important that the bathroom and kitchen are spotless.
* Organize closets.
* Make sure the basic appliances and fixtures work. Get rid of leaky faucets and frayed cords.
* Make sure the house smells good: from an apple pie, cookies baking or spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove. Hide the kitty litter.
* Put vases of fresh flowers throughout the house.
* Having pleasant background music playing in the background also will help set your stage. 

  Also referred to as a Seller’s Property Disclosure Form, this document must be completed in full prior to sale closing. The seller is legally obligated to disclose all known material defects about the home, otherwise, the sale can be voided and the seller may be subject to litigation from the buyer.  

 If your home was constructed prior to January 1978, according to HUD regulations you must complete a Lead Paint disclosure form before signing a sales contract. Failure to do so can result in stiff federal penalties and liability issues.

 The home selling process actually starts some time before your house hits the market. You'll want to first de-clutter your house, perhaps include a bit of staging, and basically just try to view your home through the buyer's eyes. You'll also want to make any crucial repairs to the home; things like structural or safety issues will be sure to come up in the buyer's inspection, so it's better to just fix those items now rather than later. Then, once you're ready to put your house on the market, your agent will prepare a myriad of marketing materials for your home. Then comes the tough part -- showings. Your agent will notify you when prospective buyers want to look at your house. You'll then have to plan to be away from the house so that the buyers (along with their agent) will look at the house. This can be a frustrating part of selling, as sometimes others' schedules don't coincide with yours, and you'll have to weigh the choice of re-arranging your schedule, or declining a potential buyer access to the home. Once you have a buyer wanting to submit an offer on your house, you'll choose to either accept, counter, or reject the offer. After reaching an agreed contract, you'll proceed into the contingency phase of the contract. The buyer may indicate in their offer to include an inspection and/or appraisal of the home; and if outcomes of those contingencies are not satisfactory to the buyer, you may re-negotiate or terminate the contract. Assuming all goes well, the buyer may have a few other contingencies, such as obtaining a suitable loan, homeowner's insurance, and more, and then you will proceed to closing. 

  There are a variety of costs to expect when selling your house. Firstly, if you hire a real estate agent for the transaction, you can expect to pay a commission fee. Commissions will vary, but are usually a minimal percentage of the purchase price. You can also expect to pay certain costs at the closing. Things like filing fees, recording fees, the title company's fees, any overdue utility or HOA payments, will all be due upon closing. You can talk to you agent, preparing a Sellers Net Proceeds Worksheet, to estimate fees you will have to pay, and how much you will take home from the sale.