Thanks for choosing to list your home with Hauseit. In this video, we will walk you through
what happens next.
But first, let us more formally introduce ourselves. Hauseit was founded here in New
York City in 2014. Since then, we’ve helped over a thousand homeowners like yourself save
money on real estate commissions. We’ve listed over $1,000,000,000 of real estate
here in NYC, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Along the way, we’ve received hundreds of
positive reviews. In conclusion, the service you’re using is not new or experimental,
but rather a time tested and proven way of selling and saving money.
That being said, the sale process itself is never easy or straightforward. Even in the
best of markets, the average time it takes for a listing to enter contract in NYC is
approximately four months. And keep in mind that this average time frame is for traditional,
full-service listings with professional photos and experienced listing agents who are overseeing
the process.
So it’s important to walk-into this process with the understanding that success with our
Assisted FSBO listing service requires patience, perseverance and effort. Most importantly,
you will only succeed if you do your homework and learn the specifics of how the process
works.
At Hauseit, we’ve created over 1,000 detailed articles and videos which cover just about
every part of the sale process in great detail. We encourage you to learn about the various
steps of the process, before you find yourself wondering what to do next. This will maximize
your chances of a successful outcome.
Here are some things you can learn by checking out the articles and videos on our website:
How do I deal with buyer’s agents? What documents should I ask for when receiving
an offer? How do I deal with multiple offers?
How long do I have to respond to an offer? What happens after an accepted offer?
How do I prepare a deal sheet? How much are my closing costs?
What’s the typical real estate attorney fee?
What questions should I ask when interviewing attorneys?
At this point, our support team has already uploaded your listing and sent you a notification
email. If your property is in New York City, we’ve also shared with you two links: one
from RealtyMX and another from Stratus. RealtyMX shows how your listing appears in the RLS
Broker Database (also known as the REBNY Listing Service), which is operated by the Real Estate
Board of New York. Stratus shows how your listing appears in the OneKey MLS, used by
agents who are members of HGAR and LIBOR.
If your property is in Long Island or The Hudson Valley, we’ve sent you a link from
Stratus which allows you to view your listing in the OneKey MLS.
The complete listing syndication process to all third-party websites takes 24 to 48 hours.
During this time, your listing may not appear on all sites and there may be momentary syndication
errors as the syndication is finalized.
Please refrain from submitting an update request until 48 hours have elapsed from the time
you receive this email. If errors persist after 48 hours, please submit a Listing Update
Request by visiting www.hauseit.com/listing-update/
Now let’s go over some frequently asked questions:
How Will I Receive Inquiries?
All email, text message and voicemail inquiries pertaining to your listing will be forwarded
to the email address you designated when submitting your listing details. We utilize automatic
server-level forwarding rules to ensure rapid and automatic transmission of inquiries directly
to your email.
In addition to our automatic inquiry forwarding technology, our front desk team conducts routine
manual checks to ensure that no inquiry is missed. During business hours, our front desk
personnel will also send you a text message notification to alert you whenever a new listing
inquiry is forwarded to your email.
For live inbound callers, we partner with call centers across the world to ensure 24/7
coverage of our phone lines.
Buyer’s agents may request a showing by calling our 24/7 Call Center at (800) 746-9464
which is powered by ShowingTime. When an agent calls to request a viewing, you will receive
a notification from ShowingTime via email, phone or text message in order to approve
the request. ShowingTime is an industry-leading showing management service which we provide
free of charge to our Assisted FSBO sellers.
ShowingTime assists with coordination and confirmation of appointments. A ShowingTime
account will be created within 24 to 48 hours of your listing being uploaded. Once the ShowingTime
account is created, you may customize how to receive alerts for showing requests.
If a direct buyer or an agent calls our main phone number, (888) 494-8258, our front desk
team will take a message and forward it to you during normal business hours which are
9am to 6pm ET from Monday through Friday.
How Are Showings Scheduled and Handled?
Once we loop you in on an initial inquiry via email, our responsibilities end and it’s
up to you to take it from there. As an Agent Assisted FSBO seller, it’s up to you to
schedule viewings, attend showings, negotiate offers and manage the process from accepted
offer to contract to closing.
Did I Receive Any Inquiries Today?
We understand that it may be tempting to ask this question, especially in a slow market.
Please rest assured that all email, text message, voicemail inquiries and front desk messages
pertaining to your listing will be forwarded to the email address you designate when submitting
your listing details. If you’re not getting enough traffic, please consider realistically
pricing your property and ordering professional photography.
Please also make sure to set realistic expectations with regard to the duration of the sale process
by studying how long it took similar listings in your area to go into contract. The typical
time it takes for a listing to go into contract in NYC is approximately 4 months, even in
the strongest markets. By definition, this means that, on average, you should not expect
to be flooded with inquiries the moment you list.
Will my contact information appear on the listing?
MLS rules prohibit contact information such as phone numbers, emails or website addresses
from being included in your listing description. The contact information on your listing will
be that of the listing agent, which is Hauseit. Rest assured, ell email, text message and
voicemail inquiries pertaining to your listing will be forwarded to you via email. We utilize
automatic server-level forwarding rules to ensure rapid and automatic transmission of
email, text message and voicemail inquiries directly to your email.
Once we loop you in on an initial inquiry via email, our responsibilities end and it’s
up to you to take it from there.
How Should I Represent My Role?
You can always explain to buyers and buyer’s agents that you are taking an active role
in your home sale as the owner. You never need to obfuscate your identity. Remember
that buyer’s agents can see the commission % you’re offering to them in the OneKey
MLS and/or RLS Broker Database, depending on the region of your listing.
For buyer agent inquiries, we recommend focusing on scheduling a showing instead of flaunting
your status as the owner early on. There’s simply no upside to bragging about your lower
commission arrangement, as it might confuse or turn off buyers’ agents who are simply
focused on getting their client in to see your apartment.
If an initial showing leads to something more substantial, it’s okay to explain that you’re
taking an active role as the owner.
What happens after I accept an offer?
With your home now receiving maximum exposure and assuming you’ve taken professional photographs
and priced your property correctly, you’ll start seeing inquiries and offers roll in.
Decide to accept an offer from an unrepresented buyer? Great, you’ll pay zero percent in
broker commission at closing.
What if you accept an offer from a purchaser who is represented by a buyer’s agent? Pay
only what you chose to offer to buyers’ agents in the broker database. You are free
to sell to anyone you choose or no one at all, your call.
What’s next after you’ve accepted an offer? The next step is to prepare and send a deal
sheet to both attorneys and the buyer’s agent, if there is one.
If you’re selling a condo or co-op, you’ll also need to email the building due diligence
documents to the purchaser’s attorney. These items include the most recent building financials,
the offering plan, purchase & sublet applications, house rules as well as the alteration agreement.
We recommend placing these items in a cloud storage folder, using a service like Dropbox
or Google Drive, and including that link in the email containing the deal sheet.
To avoid any delay in the purchaser signing the contract, we recommend assembling all
of this paperwork at the very beginning of the sale process instead of waiting until
you have an accepted offer. Similarly, we also suggest interviewing and selecting a
real estate attorney at the beginning of the process instead of waiting until you’ve
accepted an offer.
Visit our website to learn more about how to interview real estate attorneys as well
as the typical fees.
Keep in mind that an accepted offer is not binding until the purchase contract is fully
executed, and the buyer’s attorney must review the due diligence documentation before
advising her or his client to sign the contract. So any delay caused by not having this documentation
readily available will put your deal at risk. If you’re unable to locate some or all of
these items, please check with your managing agent or a board member.
If you’re selling a co-op or a condo and the buyer doesn’t have a broker, you may
also need to help the buyer assemble and submit the purchase application, and in the case
of a co-op, prepare the buyer for the co-op board interview. This phase of the deal happens
after the contract is signed, and in the case the buyer is financing, after she or he has
received a mortgage commitment letter.
We also recommend scheduling an introductory 30-minute consultation with one of our experienced
real estate attorneys. Ask any legal questions you have and learn more about the step-by-step
NYC closing process, from timing to costs.
Can I pay for additional marketing or premium advertising?
Yes. Certain 3rd party websites such as StreetEasy offer premium advertising which you can elect
to pay for. For example, StreetEasy offers the ability to feature your listing in search
results for a non-refundable fee. While we do not believe paying for such features is
necessary nor industry standard, you may request to feature your listing on StreetEasy by submitting
a Listing Update Request.
Am I allowed to cancel before the listing term expires?
Yes. You may discontinue the service at any time, although we strongly encourage you to
utilize the full listing term. The average time it takes for new listings to go into
contract in NYC is approximately 4 months. This estimate does not include the additional
two to three months on average it takes to “close” on a transaction once you’re
already in contract.
Furthermore, the average “days on market” for listings above $2mm is significantly higher
than 4 months. It can take a year or more to sell certain properties above $5mm or very
unique listings at lower price points. Even if there is nothing wrong with your pricing,
photography and general marketing strategy, cancelling prematurely will likely not give
your listing enough time, statistically speaking, to find a buyer.
Prior to listing, we strongly encourage you to research the average days on market for
comparable listings in your area. Assuming you’ve priced your property in line with
comps and you have professional photos and a floor plan, you should set expectations
for similar performance when it comes to the timeline for going into contract with a buyer
on your own listing.
Keep in mind that general market conditions can change rapidly, so it’s always possible
that your listing will take longer (or take even less time) to go into contract compared
to recently sold comps. Overpricing your listing and/or using amateur photos may result in
significant underperformance when it comes to the expected timeline for finding a buyer.
The nominal flat fee payable upfront entitles you to up to 6 months of listing time, however
it is non-refundable in the event you opt for early termination. A new listing package
must be ordered if you decide to relist after the expiration of your original contract term
or if you decide to temporary delist and relist during the contract term.
Can you customize my listing on various websites?
Unfortunately neither we nor our partner brokers have any control over how third party websites
choose to display information after they’ve received the data feed. This means we cannot
take custom unit or building amenity requests, requests to change listing or building history,
requests to change public records or other data aggregated by third party websites nor
any other custom requests on how your listing is displayed on third party websites.
For answers to more frequently asked questions, please visit hauseit.com/agent-assisted-fsbo
Finally, and before we let you go, we want to remind you that this a low cost, DIY service
which does not come with free phone or email support. If you would like additional help,
please either consult your attorney or check out our flat fee phone support and broker
consulting packages on our website. Alternatively, please consider our 1% Full Service offering
if you require more support throughout the process.
Thank you for working with Hauseit, and we wish you the very best of luck during the
sale process.