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What is the MLS?
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The MLS or Multiple Listing Service is the most comprehensive database of homes
for sale locally and nationally. 95% majority of residential real estate transactions
occur directly because of MLS exposure. Listing your house on the MLS notifies
thousands of local real estate agents and their buyers that you want to sell.
Since the MLS is now
accessible to anyone on the Internet, your house is also exposed to millions of
agents and buyers worldwide. The question is how much do you want to pay to be
there? Omega makes this vital marketing tool
available to you at a fraction of the cost of using a traditional broker.
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How can Omega Realtors afford to sell my home for so much less?
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We use both technology and volume to lower our costs, and pass the savings
on to you.
- Minimize Meetings - We meet in person at the listing appointment
and at the closing table, rarely in-between.
- Home Marketing Center - Our centralized Internet site where you can
securely make changes to your home's asking price, description, or terms 24x7.
- Document Scanning - Scanning your disclosure forms and posting them on the MLS
eliminates the need for us to fax them to agents interested in your home.
- Electronic Offer Presentation - For our Full-Service Program, we
scan all your offers and net sheets.
Your Realtor will then review them with you online.
- Cut Unproductive Costs - Newspaper ads and open houses are not effective
ways to advertise. See our Homesellers Handbook for more about this.
- Volume - By selling more homes, we cut our overhead costs associated with
each sale.
We focus on the one proven way to sell your home -- marketing it to other agents
via the MLS. This cuts our costs, and allows us to provide licensed Realtor
service at much a lower price than our competitors.
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Why is Internet exposure important?
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Savvy buyers are increasingly turning to the Internet when they go looking for
a new home. Often a buyer won't even contact an agent until they are interested
in a specific home. If you're home isn't online, you're missing a large pool
of buyers.
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Where will Omega post my house on the Internet?
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We supply our listings to Realtor.com, MSN Homes, Yahoo Real Estate, and most other
major home search sites. In addition, many California brokers have established their
own sites for prospective buyers (ColdwellBanker.com, ReMax.com, etc...). Your house will
be listed on these sites as well.
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Do I need to supply pictures of my house?
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No. When we list your house, we will also make an appointment for one of our
Realtor staff members take 6-10 digital pictures of the interior and exterior of
your house. These will be posted on the MLS, and on the various websites.
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What else is included in the Omega listing program?
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- Posting on your local MLS and the websites mentioned above.
- A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to help you determine an asking price.
- Placing a yard sign your front yard.
- A lockbox so MLS agents will be able to show your house.
- Telephone access to licensed Realtor staff members to answer any questions you have.
- Online access to change your house's listing any time 24x7.
- Additional benefits are available with our Our closing program also offers additional benefits.
Get a preview of our online tools right now by taking the Home Marketing Center Test Drive.
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How do I determine my asking price?
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We'll prepare a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to determine your house's
market value, including detailed data on comparable homes that have recently
sold in your area. We'll advise you of your house's optimal selling price range,
but the final listing price is your decision.
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Should I offer a home warranty with my house?
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Yes. We strongly recommend a home warranty for every home sale. A warranty
gives the buyer peace of mind, and makes your home more marketable. Typical
homes cost $400-$500 depending on age, location and coverage.
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Should I have the pest inspection done before receiving an offer?
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In most cases, yes. Pest inspections are required, and usually take 2-3 weeks to
schedule. If the inspector finds something that needs to be repaired prior to
sale, expect another 2-3 weeks to schedule the work crew. Unless you're planning
on sitting in escrow for 2 months, we suggest taking care of both the inspection
and any needed repairs up-front. Inspections cost $100-$150 for most homes.
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How long does it take to list my house?
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You can signup online and
we'll call you to setup an appointment to take photos of your home and sign
the listing agreement. Once the paperwork is done, your house will be posted to the MLS
within 24 hours. Or, if you can speed the process even further by
creating an online home profile.
You'll receive immediate access to our Home Marketing Center, and we'll have most
of your listing information already in our systems.
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When do I need to pay for Omega's services?
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Our full service program is paid through escrow only when your home closes -- you pay nothing
in advance. On our FSBO program, the fee is due when we list your home.
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Will I owe any commission when I sell my house?
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When you post on the MLS, you decide what commission to offer buyers' agents. The
amount is negotiable, but the MLS rules require that you offer a reasonable commission
to motivate buyers' agents to show your home.
If the buyer who purchases your home is represented by an agent, you will owe
that commission to the buyer's agent. If you find your own buyer, you can save that
fee and pocket it yourself. In Northern California
today, most sellers offer 2.5% to a buyer's agent. While we can tell you what
commission surrounding homes near you are offered at on the MLS, the exact amount
to offer on your home is always your choice.
NOTE: Omega does work with buyers as well. It is unlikely, but possible that an
agent from our own office will find the buyer for your home. In that case,
the Omega agent would collect the buyer's agent commission. To avoid any possible
conflict of interest, we always tell you whether an offer was obtained by an
agent from our office, or by an agent from the MLS.
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Will all Realtors show my house to their clients?
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Yes. Since buyers' agents are subject to commission, all Realtors will be
motivated to show your house to interested clients. When it comes to showing your
home, listing with Omega is no different from listing with a commission-based
real estate agent.
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What if I find a buyer myself? Do I still owe a commission?
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No. If you find a buyer yourself who does not use an agent, we will handle
the paperwork for you, but you will not owe any additional commission to
anyone. If there's no buyer's agent, there's no commission.
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What if a buyer contacts me directly after being shown my house?
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You will still owe the Realtor who showed your house to that buyer the buyer's
agent commission as specified in the listing agreement and on the MLS.
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What if a prospective buyer contacts Omega directly?
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If an Omega agent shows the home to a buyer, and that buyer purchases the home,
the Omega agent will expect to collect the commission, just like an agent from another
company would. However, if you put a prospective buyer in contact with your
Omega listing agent, there is no commission.
Historically, one of our agents finds a successful buyer on about 5% of our homes. Another
5% sell directly to a buyer who does not have an agent at all. The remaining 90%
sell through a third party agent via the MLS.
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Do I need to be home for showing?
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No. One of the advantages of using Omega rather than selling your
home directly yourself is that we supply a lockbox, so we or any other licensed Realtor
can show your house whether you are there or not. Realtors are instructed to call
at least 2 hours in advance of showing, so you shouldn't be surprised by
anyone walking in your front door unannounced.
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What happens when I receive an offer?
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If you're evaluating offers without professional help, pay attention to the
details. Who's paying for the inspections and closing costs? What sort of
events is the offer contingent on? Can you sell to someone else if the
buyer is taking too long to sell their home? Remember, more contingencies mean more
opportunities for the buyer to back out of the deal.
On our Full Service Realtor Program, we will prepare a net-sheet estimating
how much you will receive if you accepted this offer (after paying for
closing costs, buyer's agent commissions and any other expenses).
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I signed the contract; now what do I do?
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On our Realtor Assisted FSBO Program, you will be responsible for negotiating
the contract and setting up and monitoring the escrow and inspections.
The buyer will probably specify an escrow company in their offer. You will need
to contact a pest inspection company (if you haven't already), and make sure
the inspection and any subsequent work is completed. Other inspections will
probably be specified in the contract as well. Most California home sales
require a termite inspection, home inspection, roof inspection, and appraisal.
If course, if you'd rather not worry about any of that, we can manage the inspections
and closing for you on our Full Service Program.
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