Welcome to the Seller Success Library
We’re here to help answer your questions, give you a look ahead at the selling process steps, offer helpful advice, downloads, and frequently used forms. We recommend bookmarking this page so you can come back to these resources as much as you need during the selling process.
Helpful Forms:
Fill Out Residential Property Disclosure and Lead-based Paint Disclosure (you may have already done this digitally with us)
Title Company Recommendations – Northern Ohio Central Ohio Eastern Ohio West/South Ohio
Contact Us at Support@OhioMLSFlatFee.com with any questions.
Your Complete Selling Overview:
Getting Live on the MLS:
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- Choose Your MLS – In certain areas you may qualify to enter more than one MLS. We can advise you on your primary MLS, and you can select to enter both applicable MLS’ with the “Secondary MLS Upgrade” for more exposure.
- Now that you’ve selected your listing package, you’ve likely also entered all relevant property information. If you haven’t filled out the listing form and uploaded your photos yet, do that here. Remember – the more information you fill out on your listing documents the more likely your home is going to get in front of the right buyers, so be thorough!
- You may be wondering exactly where to start when you’re getting ready to list, photograph, and eventually show your listing. Here are some resources to help:
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- Prepping/Repairs/Staging checklists and blog
- Setting A Price – Glen has a helpful post on this. Also, we offer a market price analysis as an add-on (this service is already included with the Platinum package). This data-rich report includes an analysis of comparables in your neighborhood and a recommended pricing strategy.
- Showings – Wondering how to handle showings? Our recommendation is to make sure you have My Home Showing Service, also known as ShowingTime. This service is included with our Gold & Platinum listings. This software is designed to make scheduling showings easier and more secure. It also collects feedback for you. More info on that is in this video:
- Selecting Title – There are tons of title companies in Ohio but they are not all created equal. Here is a helpful chart for you when you make your decision about title, select your region: West South Ohio, Northern Ohio, Eastern Ohio, Central Ohio
- Next up, we’re going to review your listing information so we can send you listing documents. There are some important questions we may need to ask during these steps so make sure to monitor your email. Before we send documents we may need to verify:
- List price
- Buyer Agent Commission
- Owner on title
- Seller’s legal name and correct email address.
- If you have an HOA Bylaws to include with the listing
- Your listing documents and property disclosures are going to arrive in your email inbox from DocuSign. This is an easy way to digitally sign paperwork. Here is a quick document breakdown:
- Residential Property Disclosure and Lead-Based Paint Disclosure: These are legally required to be presented to buyers before they make an offer.
- Consumer Guide to Agency: This state-required form explains the agency relationship. Look at this document as an outline for how our brokerage and agents represent you in a transaction.
- Waiver of Duties: This document goes hand-in-hand with limited service law, which is how we practice flat fee MLS-only real estate. This is a state-required form for all limited-service real estate transactions. The exception is our Platinum Packages do not sign this document.
- Exclusive Agency Agreement: The Listing Agreement is straightforward. By signing this, you are giving us permission to market your property in the MLS.
- Affiliated Business Agreement: Most real estate agents and brokers have partnered with title companies to make processing faster and more reliable. You are free to use any title company you’d like. This is just a disclosure of our title company partnership.
- Commission Addendum: The document spells out for the agent and title company that we are not due a commission at closing, and that you are paying the buyer’s agent at closing. You choose the commission amount that appears on this document.
- Now that you’ve signed your listing documents we begin processing your information and building your MLS listing! We may reach out to verify some information, but at this point you will be live within 48 hours unless you requested a later live date or paid for rush service.
- Worried about how the listing will appear live? Select the “I want to review a draft” option on your listing form and we’ll send you a preview before it goes live!
- We will email you every step of the way to keep you informed about where your listing is progressing and when it’s live. We will also supply you with an MLS Listing sheet that you can use as a flyer.
- As always, if you have any questions you can email us at Support@ohiomlsflatfee.com.
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On Market and Open for Offers:
- Now that you’re live in the MLS, have you thought about hosting an open house? Check out Glen’s blog on how to host an open house and then head to our update form to schedule your open house and capitalize on the new-to-the-market traffic. Don’t forget to download and print our Open House Sign In Sheet.
- Check your email often! We will send you tips on how to capitalize on buyer traffic and what to do for showings, offers, and more. Also, you will be receiving any buyer leads or agent inquiries directly if you listed with the Silver package. For our other packages, we will field these inquiries but we may still reach out to you with questions.
- Another reason to check your email: Offers! Offers almost always come in via email, so:
- If you’ve elected to handle your own offers, we will forward them to you there. You may also want to read this.
- If we are helping you with the negotiation, we will review your offer and then send you a breakdown of all the terms and conditions as well as a net sheet so you have an estimate of what you would profit from the sale. We will forward the full offer with all of our review and net sheet to you via email and text so you don’t miss it.
- So, you got an offer, what’s next? You can accept, reject, or counter your offer. For our Gold and Platinum packages, we’ll be there to guide you through these processes as well as offer advice on whether the offer is comparable to what we’re seeing in the current market.
- If you want offer assistance but you signed up Silver, you can always upgrade here.
- Here are a few important items to look out for in your offer decisions:
- Is Earnest Money Included? This is important, it gives buyers some “skin in the game” to show they’re serious about this.
- Who is the title company and what do they charge? There are tons of title companies in Ohio but they are not all created equal. There are tons of title companies out there, but we have a few that we recommend. Here are some helpful charts for when you make your decision about title:
Title Company Fees West South Ohio
Title Company Fees Northern Ohio
Title Company Fees Eastern Ohio
Title Company Fees Central Ohio
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- Are there inspections, how long do they have, and what kind will they conduct?
- Is there a set closing date?
- Does the commission match what you set in the MLS?
- Are there “additional terms” addendums?
- And more… If you have questions, you can reach us at support@ohiomlsflatfee.com but we will cover all the above points and more in our offer review. Offer review and negotiation comes with the Gold and Platinum packages.
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Congratulations, you’re closing!
- You accepted an offer! Congratulations! Unfortunately, we wish we could just say it’s done and we’ll see you at closing, but there are hurdles to jump through from here.
- First up, most offers include EMD, or Earnest Money Deposit. There is a specific timeline for when EMD is due and it’s important that it is collected on time.
- Next, if your offer included inspections, which most do, you’ll need to get through this period which often includes a second negotiation. Typically a buyer will schedule 1-3 types of inspections within the contractual time period. Afterwards they will deliver a document stating what repairs/remedies, if any, they are requesting to move forward with the sale.
- Remember – If you listed with the Platinum package we use our 20+ years of experience to expertly navigate these negotiations and are here to answer all your questions. If you’d like to upgrade to Platinum, you can still do so here.
- You made it through inspections! Congrats, that is a huge hurdle you just cleared! Over the rest of the closing process you will encounter:
- Waiting for the Title company to deliver a clear title, or remedying any issues that may arise during the title survey process.
- Passing the appraisal at value, or negotiating a low-value appraisal
- Other complex contingencies such as a Home Sale Contingency, HOA review, Financing Contingencies, and others that can lead to the closing coming apart.
- The truth is, every closing is different and there are a myriad of situations that can arise suddenly and threaten the deal, which is why it’s so important to know every detail of the contract, hold yourself and others to each deadline, and ensure you’re staying in consistent contact with all parties involved.
- Don’t fret – our platinum package means we are here to monitor all of these deadlines, follow up with the appropriate parties, answer your questions, and keep you informed on what the next steps are so you can sleep soundly at night. (If you’re tossing and turning, you can contact us or upgrade your package).
- The Good News: once all contingencies are cleared, you can close! We’ll set a date and time to sign the papers and you’ll collect your funds. Congratulations!
Other Helpful Information and Commonly Asked Questions:
Why Isn't My Home Selling?
As you may know, Glen’s favorite law of real estate is “The market never lies–not ever.” Often the reason a home isn’t moving is because it is not aligning with the value the market has assigned it – a.k.a it’s a pricing issue. This blog post details more about why your home may not be selling. Alternatively, if you’re worried about the ever-changing market Glen has written extensively about that here. If you’re worried about pricing, go here and select “Broker Market Analysis Report” to get your market price analysis.
Can I Upgrade From Silver to Gold or Platinum?
Absolutely, it’s on our upgrade form! You can choose to upgrade to Gold by selecting “Offer Review” or Platinum by selecting “Contract to Close”. Alternatively, you can upgrade and bundle both options together for a discount by choosing “Virtual Full Service Bundle”. Once you upgrade we will contact you for any additional information we need to get started with your new service options and keep your home sale moving toward the finish line.
Is My Contact Information Public?
This depends on the package you chose. If you listed with a Silver package then yes, we have instructed all agents and buyers to contact you directly and we will forward all leads and inquiries directly to your email. If you listed Gold or Platinum, we will be fielding all inquiries and offers for you so you aren’t being bombarded with messages and your contact information will remain private unless you choose otherwise.
Can I Call You?
You can text us at (419) 540-4393 or call our office anytime at (419)790-3106 and our answering service will take your message and we will reach out to you as soon as we can, often by text or email. We communicate mainly in writing for a few reasons, the chief among them is to allow us to serve as many of our clients as efficiently as possible. We are a family-owned business taking on the whole state, so you can imagine we get a lot of correspondence. If you’d like to get on the phone with us to discuss something, we request that you schedule a call. We will call you at your appointed time and help you in whatever way we can.