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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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For Over 20 Years Our Company Has Helped People, Just Like You, Sell Their Homes. And Save Money! We Offer Discount Real Estate Services Specifically Created To Help Home Sellers In The Hampton Roads Virginia Area.

This Includes The Cities Of Hampton, Newport News, York County, Poquoson, Isle Of Wright County, James City County, Matthews County, Smithfield, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, And The Surrounding Areas.

We Have Made Every Effort To Make Our Service As Easy As Possible. It Really Is As Simple As The Intro Video On Our Main Page. However, This Video Provides A More Detailed Overview Of Our Service. It Goes In To More Explanation Of What The MLS Is. And How Our Service Will Benefit You. There Are More Q & A Further Below That Answers The More Common Questions That We Receive. As Well As Two Additional Videos.

.ONLY 3.0% TO BUYERS AGENT. PLUS 0.9% FOR OUR DISCOUNT MLS SERVICE. THAT’S IT!
ALL AGENTS WILL CONTACT YOU DIRECTLY TO SCHEDULE A TIME TO SHOW YOUR HOME.

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Q. Why Did I Receive This Post Card, Email, Text, Etc?
A. Because you have a House For Sale and it may be advertised online somewhere like Zillow, Craigslist, etc. Or it is with a Real Estate Company. It is Listed in the MLS. At the time the Post Card was created the MLS shows that your Listing has Expired. Listings are typically for a 6 month period. Some Agents may not even realize that the Listing has expired. Which is why you may not know. Other Agents are very quick to have a Seller sign up to renew their Listing. So if you have already done this then please ignore the Post Card and disregard this message. However, if you have not made that decision yet then our service will benefit you. It will save you money! We will place your home in the MLS for much less than your Listing Agreement that just expired. The average savings is over $3500 in Realtor Fees. Depending on the price of your home, your savings could be much more!

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Q. What Is The MLS?
A. MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service. The basic explanation is that it is one shared source where all of the Real Estate Agents, in a particular area, post all of their homes for sale. So it is essentially agents advertising to other agents. One agent may have listed a 2 story, 3 bedroom, home in Norfolk. But the buyer they are working with wants a 1 story home in Newport News. So the agent checks the MLS to see who has it. Active Realtors are constantly looking in the MLS. The objective is to get as many of them as possible to see your home. Recommend it to their buyers. And then call you to see it! In Hampton Roads the MLS is ran by a company called the Real Estate Information Network. Therefore you may hear it referred to as REIN. It is all the same thing.

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Q. What Is The Benefit To Me?
A. Many more potential Home Buyers will see it, period! Much more than just Zillow, Or Craigslist, which are the only things that most For Sale By Owners will do to try and sell their home.

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Q. What Forms Do I Need To Submit?
A. There is the agreement for Peninsula Homes. You ONLY authorize us to do one thing. You give us the authority to enter your home in the MLS. Then there is the actual MLS Listing Agreement plus an addendum. There is a MLS Input sheet where you basically check off all the features that your home has. Then there is a require Virginia Disclosure Form. Plus, if your home was built before 1978 there is a Federal Lead Base Paint form. These are all the exact same forms that will be required. The state and federal have nothing to do with the MLS at all. Anyone selling their home is require to complete them including FSBO. In order to stay in compliance with Federal & State Laws, State Licensing Statutes, and MLS Rules all of the required forms must be submitted before your property can be listed in MLS. (We created a video below that gives an overview explanation of each form.)

We make this very easy! We will email you everything you need. And, we use an eSign service that simply allows you to click to sign. It can all be done right over your Smartphone.

Plus the MLS requires at least one photo of the home. Of course if you really want to sell it you should submit more. At least the front, back, living room, kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, and garage. With our service you can email them in the .jpg format and they all will be uploaded to the MLS. Or, if you already have them posted somewhere online, just send us that link. We can easily download them from there.

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Q. What Type Of Listing Agreement Do I Have To Sign?
A. You signed a “Limited Service Agreement”. Or a “Independent Contractor Agreement”. These are type of listings that DOES NOT give you the common traditional Listing Agent. You remain a FSBO. You keep the option to freely attempt to sell the home on your own. While it is simultaneously listed with a real estate company in the MLS. Then it is what ever happens first! If you sell it on your own then you do not owe commission to anyone. But, real estate agents exist for a reason. If one of them is able to find a buyer for your home, and successfully closes the sale, then that is the whole purpose of a sales commission. With this service you have both worlds available to you.

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Q. How Do Agents Or Buyers Contact Me?
A. However you prefer. When a property is listed in the MLS it is identified as such so an Agent knows it is a Limited Service Listing. They know that the listed property is Deal Directly With Seller. They know that the real estate company ONLY listed it in the MLS and does not provide any other services, at all, to the Seller. Other than to update the status of that listing (Contingent, Pending, Sold). Home buyers, or their agents, deal directly with you!They only see what we enter into the computer. So if you prefer a text, or a call, to a certain number, or all contacts to going to a certain email address, that is completely your choice. If an agent, or a direct buyer lead, should happen to contact us, then we give them all your contact info. It basically becomes a direct relay to you.

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Q. Do I Have To Offer A Commission?
A. To be in the MLS, a Seller must offer a commission (some may consider it a finder’s fee) to a buyer’s agent. However, the Seller will only pay that commission if the a real estate agent found a buyer, sold your home, and a successful closing actually occurs. In that case why wouldn’t you want to pay a finders fee, or sales commission, or what ever you want to call it. There is no set amount. You can offer anything you choose. But keep in mind that your home is directly competing against all other similar homes in the MLS. So if you are offering 1%, and the home right around the corner, in the same price range, is offering 3%, who do you think the agent will put at the top of the list to show. People are people. And real estate agents are people. They are accustom to seeing between 2% and 3% if you stay within that range, then your home will be right in there with all the others.

The important thing is that THE AGENTS ALREADY KNOW THE COMMISSION BEFORE THEY EVEN CONTACT YOU! THEREFORE, THERE IS NO NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT AT ALL! And remember, if a buyer finds it on Zillow, etc. then contacts you directly, and that leads to a sale, then you pay zero commission.

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Q. What Do I Do Once I Accept An Offer?
A. Per MLS Rules, Sellers must inform Peninsula Homes within 1 business day after a change in status. It is very important to know that you must notify Peninsula Homes within 1 business day. You agreed to keep the MLS data current. And to stay in compliance with all MLS Rules, State, and Federal Laws. The MLS can issue fines. You agreed to pay any fines that were completely due to your actions, or failure to act. Just simply keep us updated as to the status of the home. And do it by email so that you have a record of the communication.

Also, you have a choice on how it appears in the MLS. It can show as Pending Sale in which case all activity will stop. Or it can be reflected to where agents will see an offer has been accepted, but Continent on a home inspection, or buyer’s loan approval, etc. They can still consider it for back-up offers. In which case you could still receive calls about the home, people still wanting to see it, etc.

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Q. What Do I Do After My Property Is Sold?
A. Of course if the home sale has closed it needs to be removed from the MLS, and all contacts to stop, etc. If any status of the home has changed. We need to know so it can be updated in the MLS. It is not hard to do. The issue is with people just forgetting to do it. The agreement is to notify Peninsula Homes within 1 business day. However, the MLS doesn’t start issuing finds until it exceeds 14 days. Therefore twice a month you may get a courtesy generic email from us inquiring if there has been a change in status. Simply reply to that email with the status change. Or ignore it if there is no change.

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Q. What If I Need To Make Changes To My Listing?
A. We make this very easy to do. And 100% Free. Many other Discount Listing Companies will charge you for every little thing you do. However, with our service all you have to do is send us an email. Price change, photos, description changes, etc. The MLS requires that we have a record of the owner authorizing us to make a listing change. This is why it must be done by email instead of phone calls.

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Q. Am I Prohibited From Using My For Sale By Owner Yard Sign?
A. YES. As it is now. You’ll have to make a simple alteration to it. And this is probably the only noticeable change for some FSBO Sellers. We know that many Sellers choose not to use Signs at all. Statistics show they produce more calls from nosy neighbors than actual sales. For this reason, and because we want to keep the cost of our service as low as possible, we do not provide yard signs. Plus you can get easily get one yourself at Lowes, Home Depot, Office Max, even Walmart.

If you do use a sign the MLS says it must match the name of the company in the MLS. If you are a For Sale By Owner, the house is now also simultaneously an officially MLS Listed Home as well.

The MLS requires you To remove the words BY OWNER from your yard sign. The easiest thing to do is simply cover those words up with masking tape, etc. Then write PENINSULA HOMES REAL ESTATE. Make sure it is clearly visible. If you do this then any sign calls will still go directly to you.

There is no sign police. However, other agents see it and they love to report it. Then the MLS will delete the listing for a Sign Violation.

The MLS is a very valuable service! And For Sale signs are not nearly as important as some Sellers think they are. So don’t risk getting your listing deleted over a sign. You should make the change as soon as possible

It is also a good ideal to just take a picture with your phone and send it to us. This is only just in case the MLS tries to say it is in violation. We can send it to them as proof.
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Q. What If I Want To Use A Traditional Realtor While My Property Is Listed?
A. Remember the term is for 12 months. If you want to change to a traditional full service Realtor before then, you must cancel your listing with us first. Only one real estate company can list your home.

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Q. How Does Peninsula Homes Provide This Service At Such A Low Cost?
A. We are a full service real estate company just like any other real estate company! However, we also offer this Discount MLS Service to For Sale By Owners. A customer can choose full real estate service, or just the MLS Only service. If that is what they choose, then it is really just data entry. Their information is entered in to the MLS and that’s it. This is typically done without ever leaving the office. Everything is completed online.

Compared to other similar MLS Listing companies, we offer a better service. Many of these companies are not even local. For many of them you first have to indicate what state you are in, then find your particular city. They are really just referring customers. You submit your payment on their website. Then they refer you to a local agent in your area that they have an agreement with. And, it is possible that individual could request something additional from you. However, we are already right here in Hampton Roads. And, you do not submit your payment until after you know your MLS listing is live.

Plus be very careful with companies that offer a very low price. You have to read it carefully. Many times that low price package is just a listing on realtor.com. Which is an official sounding name. But it is not the MLS! It’s just another home website. And right now Zillow is more popular than realtor.com.

Or, it may not be the local MLS. Which does not help you at all. There is only one main MLS system that all the Realtors use in Hampton Roads. It is ran by a company called Real Estate Information Network. So if it is not REIN then it is an absolute waste of time. Some exceptions, for example, may be if you are closer to Williamsburg. They have their own MLS system. But for all the major cities in Hampton Roads it’s REIN or nothing at all!

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Q. How Many Property Have Been Sold Through Peninsula Homes?
A. A lot. I first got my real estate license in 1996. I spent a few years with Century-21. Then Peninsula Homes was started in 2003. About 1/3 of all properties listed with a MLS Flat Fee Service have been Sold. And, about 1/2 of those are Seller to Buyer direct, which means the Seller paid NO Commission.

Also, sometimes as real estate agents we have to tell home sellers things they may not want to hear. Like if the house doesn’t sell it has nothing to do with the MLS. The MLS simply guarantees that it will be seen. And it was probably seen hundreds of times on a daily basis. And that is just Realtors! That doesn’t even count the people on the different home websites, etc.

If a house does not sell it is usually the condition, the location, the price is not in line with the current real estate market, or a combination of them. The location is the only thing that can not be changed.

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We’re Frequently Asked About The Required MLS Forms. This Video Gives A Quick Overview, And Explanation Of The Agreements, Disclosures, Etc. Once We Get Them Back From You, We Enter Your Home In The MLS. Then We Send You The Link To The Live Listing.

CHANGES SINCE VIDEO WAS CREATED:
1) We Now Have E-Sign. Nothing To Fill Out. Nothing To Fax.
2) The MLS Requires For Sale By Owner Signs Be Removed.

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We Frequently Get Questions About Lock Boxes. This Is A Quick Tutorial Clip For The Very Popular Lock Box Made By Master Lock. A Lot Of People Out There Think Lock Boxes Are Something That Only Realtors Can Do. That Is Definitely Not True. It Is A Very Big Industry. There Are All Kind Of Professions That May Have A Need To Get In To A Home. And Lock Boxes Makes It Extremely Convenient. You Can Find This Lock Box At Lowes, Home Depot, Some Office Max Stores May Carry Them. It Is Even At The Local Walmart Near Me, In The Home Office Section, For About $27.00. And, Of Course, You Can Always Order It Online At Amazon. This Clip Is Going To Show You How To Set The Code. Then, How To Put It On The Door.

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Scott, And Athena, Told Us They Had A Great Result With Our MLS Service. We Asked To Record A Quick Video On Their I-Phone. They Unexpectedly Needed To Sell Their Condo. They Hadn’t Had It Long. They Did The Math And Would About Break Even. But When They Added The Realtor Commission, They Actually Had To Pay Money At Closing. So They Interviewed A Few Agents And Asked If They Would Lower Their Fee. Only One Was Willing To Go From 6% to 4.75%. That Still Wouldn’t Be Enough So They Used Our Service. After About 2 Months They Were Contacted Directly By A Couple. It Led To A Sale. They Ended Up Actually Paying No Commission.

 

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Q. Is This Limited MLS Service For Everyone?
A. No it is not. You have to be able to handle the contact inquires, and coordinate the showings of the home, completing the required forms, writing a description of the home, taking pictures, ordering a sign, getting a lock box, etc.

And then when you get someone who makes a purchase offer there is another whole other series of things that takes place during the negotiations, home inspection, home appraisal, financing approval, etc. Then yet another series of things that have to be done once everyone proceeds towards the actual closing.

There are some sellers who will not be able to handle everything. Then there are many others who can… but they just don’t want to. Real Estate Agents exist for a reason. And we would recommend a full service agent for these types of home sellers.

But this service is absolutely perfect for For Sale By Owners. Because, you are already doing everything! Now you’re just adding another powerful marketing tool to help get your home sold. No Listing Agent. You remain in control of everything.

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If this does not cause you to pause, then our MLS Listing Service will be a good fit for you. Simply complete the contact form at the bottom our main page and let us know you would like to get started. Thank You!

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WE OFFER OUR DISCOUNT REALTY SERVICE FOR THE ENTIRE HAMPTON ROADS AREA!
IT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF REALTOR COMMISSIONS YOU WILL PAY.
SIMPLY COMPLETE THE CONTACT FORM ON OUR MAIN PAGE. WE WILL SEND YOU ALL THE
FORMS REQUIRED BY THE MLS. EVERYTHING CAN BE DONE OVER YOUR SMARTPHONE.

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“HAMPTON ROADS DISCOUNT MLS SERVICE”
PENINSULA HOMES REAL ESTATE LLC
809 Aberdeen Rd #9001 Hampton VA 23670
Phone: 757-932-0004 | Fax: 757-299-9900
WE HELP HOME SELLERS SAVE REALTOR FEES

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