FAQ

Q. What exactly are your fees and what do they include?
A. We charge $450 up front and $445 at closing.

The upfront fee will cover:
Advice regarding pricing and presentation/wording of your listing in the MLS. Entry of your home and photos into the MLS and all other websites using the Information Data Exchange.
A professional photography service to take pictures of your home to give a great first impression to online buyers.
Preparation and review of the listing agreement, all disclosures, counterproposals, and amendments necessary to complete the sale.
A showing service to simplify the showing process and so you can have peace of mind that anyone entering your home is accompanied by a licensed real estate agent.
Review of any offers from buyers and verification of buyers financing or cash if financing is not necessary.
Weekly progress updates throughout the process.
The $445 fee payable at closing will cover review of the final settlement sheet, closing documents, and closing.

Q. Why is a payment up front required? Don't most Real Estate Agents get paid at closing?
A. Yes, most full service, full price Real Estate Agents are paid at closing, however to help keep costs low, a portion of our fee is required prior to starting work on your listing. A portion of your upfront fee will cover costs agents incur when listing a home. Often times, full service, full price agents research, create listing presentations, meet and interview with homeowners and do not get the listing for various reasons. Sometimes a homeowner simply is looking for information with no real intention to list with any agent, sometimes the homeowner is interviewing many agents but can only list with one. Occasionally a homeowner will list, then change their mind leaving the listing agent responsible for payment to vendors for services provided at the time of the listing. A full service, full price agent might not mind spending time and money on such listings as they know they will get large commission checks on the listings they do get. We are committed to saving our clients money while providing excellent service, and in turn we ask that our clients be committed to the sale of their home.

Q. What other fees and costs can I expect when I sell my home?
A. There are many costs to consider when selling your home. Some of these costs are:

In addition to our fee, you will pay the agent who brings a buyer a fee. You can choose the amount you are willing to pay for their service, traditionally the fee is 2.8% of the sales price.

Title insurance insuring the buyer you are transferring clear title - rates are approximately $1,200 for $175,000 home- $1,600 for a $400,000 home (subject to change)

Some of the other expenses would be closing fees to the title company, county recording fees, release fees, mortgage payoff statement fees, notary fees, HOA transfer, financial statement and bylaw fees and other miscellaneous fees. These fees usually total $500 or less but can vary depending on your county, current mortgage companies policies, and HOA fee policies.

Property taxes will be prorated as of the date of sale and you will credit the buyer for the portion of the year you owned the home as they will owe for the entire year when taxes become due.

The title company will contact your water department for a final bill and hold approximately$100-$200 of your proceeds in escrow to pay the final bill and refund you any overage.

Some buyers may ask that you pay a portion of their down payment or closing costs-this would be negotiable during the offer and contract acceptance stage, however if the buyer is financing with an FHA or VA loan there are some costs their lender will not allow them to pay- these costs are generally minimal.

Q. How much should I pay an agent representing a buyer?
A. Buyers agents in the Denver metro area generally expect 2.8% of the purchase price. It is your equity paying them, so you can decide how much to offer. Some homeowners offer a flat pay of $3,000- $4,000, some offer 2.5%, some 3.5% and any amount or percentage in between. There are of course risks to offering less than expected. One risk is that some buyers agents may not want show your home if you are not offering them an expected commission amount. Buyers agents are hired by the buyer to represent their best interests and most agents will show their buyers any home they might be interested in without regard to the commission amount, but some will not. Another risk involves the buyer directly, not you the homeowner, but is still something to consider. When an agent prepares a buyers agency agreement, the agent can state how much commission is owed to the buyers agent and who will pay. If the buyers agent states in the agreement with the buyer that the agent will get 2.8%, depending on how the agreement is written, the buyer may or may not be obligated to cover the shortage of pay due to their agent.

Q. Are there any exclusions as to type of sale you won't list for the advertised rate?
A. Unfortunately yes, there are. Although we would like to offer this savings to everyone there are some situations that would be served better by a full service/full price agent. Some examples would be short sales, divorce sales, estate sales, investment properties with uncooperative tenants in place, & bankruptcy sales. These types of sales often involve courts, attorneys, and extra attention for long periods of time. If you have a home that you think might fall into one of these categories, please contact us for more information.

Q. Will not having a sign in the yard or open house hurt my chance of selling my home?
A. The majority of homes are sold by agents representing buyers that have found the homes listing on the MLS or other websites using search criteria such as bedrooms, bathrooms, price, Ect. Some real estate websites and apps have alerts when homes go on the market within a requested neighborhood or radius. Even without a sign in the yard or holding an open house home buyers in your area will have the ability to quickly find your home. With nearly all home buyers using some form of technology in their home search your home will have the exposure needed to sell.

Yard signs and open houses are also a forms of advertising for Real Estate Agents. They hope potential home buyers see the sign and call them or attend their open house- if the home buyer is financially qualified and the home matches their criteria your listing agent will "double end" your sale and make twice the commission. If your home isn't exactly what they are looking for your listing agent will have the opportunity to find the buyer a home and make a commission on that sale. An agent will turn some of these people into leads for themselves, but that doesn't really benefit you.

Our priority is you, the homeowner. On the occasion a buyer is found through an open house or sign call an agent usually becomes a transaction broker- they still need to be honest and fair to both parties, but can not represent both. This means not looking out for the best interests of their original client. It could become a conflict of interest. We believe both the buyer and the homeowner need independent representation throughout the transaction. We do not want to "use" you and your home to secure leads for ourselves. If you are satisfied with our service, please refer others to us.

Q. Can you help us purchase our next home?
A. Our main focus is helping homeowners sell their homes and save their equity. If you are needing to buy a replacement home, we can refer you to excellent buyers agents specializing in the neighborhoods in which you are looking to buy.

Q. Why is communication mainly through email, & what if I have an urgent question after business hours?
A. Every homeowner deserves full, undivided attention that may not be possible on every phone call. When we are contacted through text or email we are able to research and respond to your question and concerns thoroughly and more efficiently. Our clients are very important and we will do our best to respond to their needs ASAP, but if after regular business hours and not an urgent matter, it might not be until the next business day.

Q. Are you a Realtor?
A. A Realtor is a licensed real estate agent that has attended or took an online 4 hour class, and paid their annual dues. The main benefit to an agent joining a Realtor Association is that their listings are displayed on Realtor.com. There are however many other home sale websites that the majority of potential homebuyers will subscribe to as well that do not require the agents to join an association. In the past we have been members of a Realtor Association, but it has been of no substantial benefit to either ourselves nor to our clients. We do still hold ourselves to the high ethical standards such as honesty, cooperation, disclosure, equality, and respect, but at this time we have elected not to join a Realtor Association.

Q. Where do I purchase a lockbox?
A. Lock boxes are sold at Home Depot, Lowes, and online. A numerical push button type or a numerical dial type are most commonly used and are usually $25-$35. You will be able to set your own combination for your security and attach it to the front door.

Q. Who will have access to my home using the key in the lockbox and when?
A. As it is highly recommended the homeowner not be at their home while a buyers agent is showing the home to their buyers, a lockbox will allow an agent representing a buyer to access your home. Buyers Agents have pre-screened and financially pre-qualified their buyers prior to showing them homes. The buyers agent will contact the showing service and provide them with their license number and a password to confirm their identity before the showing service will release the lockbox combination. The showing service will contact you to request access to your home during the time requested-you may accept the time, request they come at an alternate time, or deny the time. Sometimes if a high volume of showings is expected homeowners will plan on an entire day or two to be out of their home and request the showings be scheduled during that time. Once an offer is accepted, the buyers inspector and appraiser will need to make an appointment to visit your home and will access your home using the key in the lockbox as well.

Q. How long are your listing agreements?
A. We write our listing agreements for six months, however if at any point you are not satisfied with our services we will release you from the listing agreement. If you need to temporarily remove your home from the market, we will re-list at a later date with at no additional charge. If for some reason your home doesn't sell, the listing can be extended at no additional charge.

Q. What is your money back guarantee?
A. We don't ever want a homeowner walking away saying they paid too much for our services. Our goal is to save homeowners money by working together in a manner not common with many full price/full service real estate agents. Please review our link "The Homescapes Difference" to be sure our uncommon approach will meet your needs. If at any time you feel we are not meeting the expectations outlined we will refund all money paid minus any costs paid to third parties and withdraw your listing.