Real answers from real people
Start with the stuff that can cost you money. Then write to us and a person writes back.
Before you send money anywhere, call to verify
- We will never email or text you wire instructions, and we will never ask you to change them.
- Treat any change to wire instructions as fraud until you have confirmed it by phone, on a number you looked up yourself, not one printed in the message.
- Criminals monitor real estate email and send a perfect-looking update the day before closing. Money wired to the wrong account is almost never recovered.
Money
What does it cost, and when do I pay?
One flat fee for the package you choose, plus anything optional you add. Nothing is charged while you build the listing. You pick a package before it goes live, not before you start.
The fee does not cover title and escrow, an attorney, transfer taxes and recording, your mortgage payoff, or any buyer-agent compensation you choose to offer. Those go to other people, and budgeting for the flat fee alone is the most common way a seller gets a surprise at closing.
Do you take a percentage if my house sells for more?
No. The fee is the same whether your house sells for $380,000 or $430,000. That is the point of it.
Who holds the earnest money?
A licensed escrow holder or attorney, named on your transaction. Never us. There is no account here for your money to sit in, and the closing screen shows the holder on every visit so you can check.
Your listing
What if I do not know an answer?
Say so. There is an explicit “I don't know” on the questions where it matters, and choosing it records the uncertainty and creates a follow-up task. It does not accept a guess on your behalf, because a wrong answer about a sewer connection or a roof age is a disclosure problem later.
Some unknowns block publication and some do not. The task list tells you which.
Can the broker change what I wrote?
No. The review screen has no input fields, and a broker session cannot write to your listing at all. That is enforced on the server, not by the absence of a button. They comment on specific fields and you make the change.
How long does review take, and what happens if it comes back?
A person reads it, so it is not instant. If it comes back, you get comments attached to the exact fields, and nothing is lost. Your answers are all still there and the checkpoints that already passed stay passed.
Why is my listing status different in three places?
Because three different things are true at once. Our workflow status is where the listing is in our process; the MLS status is whatever the network last told us; the public status is what a buyer sees. They disagree legitimately, approved here, not yet accepted there, not yet public, and collapsing them into one word is how people come to believe a listing is live when it is not.
Showings and safety
Who gets my address, phone number and access codes?
Your phone number and email are never shared, messages route through the platform, so a buyer or their agent replies to us and it reaches you.
Access details are separate again: alarm codes, key locations and lockbox combinations are encrypted, released only in a window around a confirmed showing to someone who has acknowledged the terms, and every reveal is recorded. They are never included in an email or a calendar invite, and a scanner blocks any outbound message that contains one.
Do I have to accept every showing request?
No. You set your availability, how much notice you need, how many visits a day you will take, and whether requests need your approval at all. You can also require a licensed agent or a pre-approval letter.
Offers
How do I compare two offers that are not alike?
Side by side, as facts rather than a score. There is no composite ranking by default, because weighting price against a shorter closing or fewer contingencies is a judgement about your situation that we cannot make for you. If you want a weighted view you can set every weight yourself.
Each row is annotated factually, highest gross price, but also asks for $6,000 in concessions, so the trade-off is visible instead of averaged away.
A buyer sent a personal letter. Why can I not see it?
Letters are quarantined by default. A letter describing a buyer's family, background or plans for the home creates a fair-housing exposure for you as the seller. Deciding on it, even subconsciously, is the risk. Your broker can review one, and in many cases the right answer is not to read it.
Still stuck? Talk to a human.
The longer guides go further into pricing, showings and offers. If your question is not answered anywhere, ask. A question we have to answer twice is one we should have written down.