Questions and Answers

Ohio Flat Fee MLS

What is the Multiple Listing Service , also known and referred to as the " MLS ?"

The MLS is a database owned by Realtors which is used to find homes for their buyers. For most Realtors and buyers, it is the only tool they need to find the right home.

The MLSs across the country are members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and are computerized databases of homes currently for sale. This is an exclusive tool, only available to the members of the NAR. Realtors search the MLS daily to find potential matches for their buyers, thus when new listings are entered, they are immediately evaluated by thousands of Realtors with prospective buyers, making your house quickly and easily found.

Only a Realtor can list your property in the MLS. Realtors own the MLS. The HomeWise broker, Sharon Y. Jebavy, is a Realtor member of the National Association of Realtors, Columbus Realtors (formerly known as the Columbus Board of Realtors), Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, Dayton area Board of Realtors, WRIST MLS, Toledo Board of Realtors, Firelands Board of Realtors and Cleveland Board of Realtors (NEOHREX MLS - Ohio's largest MLS with 22 counties).

Listing your home on the MLS is crucial if you are serious about selling!

MLS provides the biggest marketing advantage in selling homes.
This kind of exposure to buyers is not available anywhere else. You maximize your chances of selling your property more quickly and at a better price when it is listed in the MLS. When your property is in the MLS it receives the broad coverage of all the member real estate offices via computer of your home's availability, price and features .

Being listed on the Realtor's MLS enables you to take advantage of the power of thousands of Realtors in your area. That means more exposure for you!

Examples of h ow you could save thousands by ordering should your property be sold, with your paying 3%:

Is this the same Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to which all area Realtors belong?

Yes. All Realtors belong to their local association of Realtors and to their local MLS. HomeWise belongs to 7 MLSs and has almost the entire state of Ohio covered. We service every area that has ever asked us to list them!

Will my property be listed on the Internet?

Yes ...on literally hundreds of web sites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, etc. Please see Listing Programs page.

How long will it take after I send you the forms for my property to be on the MLS?

We guarantee to have your property in the MLS within 24 hours (Monday-Friday) after receipt of your completed forms, but usually it is the same day. We also have to have at least the front photo of your property to go live in the MLS.

How long will it take after I send you the forms for my property to appear on Realtor.com?

After your property is live in the MLS, it takes between 3 and 24 hours to feed electronically to Realtor.com and all the other web sties that carry the MLS.

Will it be helpful if I fax you the flyer I made up for my home?

Any additional information you can give us is always helpful. We can use the information on the flyer to help write the 'remarks' section. If you prefer to write that section, you can do so and email it to us. ALWAYS put your street name on any communication.

Are there any more Realtor fees besides the up-front listing fee and the percentage I have listed for?

The only real estate fee we collect is the up front fee unless there is no buyer agent, in which case, HomeWise collects 1.5% commission and shepherds the transaction to closing. There is nothing hidden. We guarantee to save you half the traditional commission.

Do I have to complete the 'remarks' section on the listing form?

No, you do not have to write this section if you would rather not. If you don't want to author this, just send us a list of all the amenities of your home, all the updates, anything new you have done to the property and we will write the remarks section. When writing your list, think of everything you would want to tell a prospective buyer and put it all on the list. We have limited space on the MLS for the remarks but we will try to work in as much of the information as possible. Realtors use abbreviations and take 'license' when writing remarks. Remember, the remarks are written to other Realtors and they understand these abbreviations.

Can I make changes to my MLS listing after it is in the MLS?

Yes, you may. Just send us an email with the change. We will try to make the change the same day we receive it. ALWAYS put your street name on the email, preferably in the subject line.

How much experience do you have listing this way and how successful has it been?

We have been listing fee-for-service since June of 2001. It has been extremely successful. We have helped thousands of people sell their homes and have saved the sellers thousands and thousands of dollars. It has been our experience that the success rate selling homes listed fee-for-service is the same as selling homes full service. The listing for flat fee looks just the same as a traditional listing. If you list your home and it doesn't get attention right away, please consult with us so we can see if we can determine why the home is not getting shown and sold. Come back to us as many times as it takes....we want to help you get SOLD!

What are your qualifications as a Realtor?

Our broker has a degree in real estate and has been a Realtor since early in 1989, having been a broker and owned our company since early in 1996. She also has the ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative) designation from the National Association of Realtors and understands what buyers want, and has over 1400 documented classroom hours in real estate. She started her career with one of Columbus' largest companies because they were known for their great training. The trainer was a former school teacher who required new agents to meet with her in class all morning, every Friday morning until she released them to work on their own...usually about a year. The training was priceless!

I have heard that Realtors 'network' with each other and that is how homes get sold. Someone told me that an agent who is not from my area is at a disadvantage in selling a home. Is this true?

Our broker has been in real estate for almost 26 years; she worked traditional real estate for 12 years before changing to the flat fee business model. She has a thorough knowledge of how homes sell. Realtors simply do NOT 'network.' That is a holdover idea from the pre-internet days. The internet has changed many businesses but perhaps no business has been more changed than the sale of real estate. What sells homes is location, condition and price. If you get listed in a normal market and you are not getting the showings needed to get sold, one of these is out of balance. You can't change location but you can change condition and price. You need to determine what is out of balance and fix it or adjust your price to compensate. We will help!

Will Realtors show my home even though I listed as a fee-for-service Listing instead of paying a high commission?

There is no way to tell how much you paid to get on the MLS. Regardless of whom you listed with or what you paid, your listing will look no different from any other listing in form and style and the Realtors will show it because they know it has the commission for the buyer's agent. A couple of the MLSs have a required field that tells agents if the listing is a limited service listing. Only option #1 is a limited service listing. This should have no bearing on getting sold. Our investor clients generally use option #1. They come back again and again and again! The thing to really be careful about is what the MLS shows as the buyer agent commission. There is a company that shows $1 with a note that says 'additional commission available.' What this company is doing is avoiding the personal responsibility of the listing agent for payment of the buyer agent commission. It certainly marks that listing as different from a traditional listing and as a result, some agents won't show the property. I get calls from sellers who have listed with this company and are now disillustioned. Be sure to ask before you list!

Will Realtors contact you or me for a showing?

We provide the showing service and have a system that works no matter where we are or what time of day it is.

How long is the MLS listing period?

A listing is for 6 months. Renewal is $100 for another six months.

Must I have a lockbox?

No, but Realtors depend on quick access. Realtors show many homes within a very short period of time, Easy access to your home may make a difference. We strongly recommend a lockbox. We supply the lockbox to our full service clients. We can sell a combo lockbox to option 1 clients for $30. If you are purchasing option 1 and want to purchase a lockbox, please put a note to that effect in the 'message' field on the order form or email or call Sharon. The message field is the next-to-last field on the order form. Just type in: 'I wish to purchase a lockbox.'

How do I make changes to my listing?

Change requests must be made by email. Some of our MLS boards require written notice to make changes, and email from the seller is acceptable to them. Always use your street name when you email us, preferably in the subject line..

Will my listing look the same as a full service listing to a traditional agent?

Your listing will look like all the other listings on your local MLS. The same format is used for all listings.

Is it true that Realtors using the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sell most houses and that they usually sell for a higher price?

According to the National Association of Realtors, approximately 75-80% of all U.S. homes are sold through Realtors using the MLS. Homes listed on the MLS average net proceeds 7% higher than homes sold without a Realtor's help.

The MLS will give you the exposure you need and this is the key to a successful transaction. There is no more effective way to sell your property and be successful. The Realtors are the ones with the buyers!

If you have other questions not addressed here, feel free to call our broker toll free at 614-432-7325 .

How do I get started? ... Click here!

The MLS gives you access to thousands of other REALTORS ^® on call 24/7 to sell your home.