How to fill out directions – It’s actually really easy to do. List two major cross streets first. Then simply write out basic directions to the property from these major cross streets. Typically, the MLS will allow you anywhere from 150 – 250 characters to accomplish this.

Give us what you know. Do not worry about what is “required” according to the form. Many of the “required” items we do for you.

2)This seems like a lot of paperwork and I need to get my property listed ASAP!

Call us. We can walk you through the forms in less than 20 minutes.

3) Photos – How do I upload them?

Use our Pre Listing manager link found in the original email we sent you or email the photos to info@congressrealty.com

4) Where do I get purchase contracts, counter offers, etc… and are they included in the $299 fee?

Yes, they are included. All of these documents can be downloaded in the private customer area at anytime. You receive a login and password to the private customer area via email the day the listing goes active.

5) Can I make changes to my listing in the future and what is the cost?

No cost. Make as many changes as you like.

6) Will my phone # be the point of contact in the MLS listing for other Realtors(R)

Yes

7) Is anyone in your office available via email AND phone on the weekends?

Yes, the 800# will forward to Andrew’s cell on the weekends.

8 ) How quickly can my property be up on the MLS from the time I submit the forms to you?

Within 1 day. Anything we receive on Friday, we try to have up that same day.

9) Why aren’t my photos showing?

The first thing to ask yourself is did you submit them to us? If not, please email them to info@congressrealty.com and we will add them. Once we upload them to the MLS, the photos are live on the MLS at that very moment. 3rd party sites like Realtor.com typically take about a day to display photos. (from the time they hit the MLS)

10) Is this the same MLS local Full Price/Service Realtors(R) are using?

Yes. We will not attempt to sell you anything other than your local MLS. If any other company tries to convince you to purchase just a “Realtor.com” Listing or a listing in a “neighboring” MLS… run away from that company/scam as fast as you can.

1) The first question you want to know is do you have a Real Estate License to do business in my state? If the answer is, no… move on immediately. If the answer is no, but we are going to refer you to a “local” broker who does, etc… Move on.

Reason – It is illegal to accept a fee for Real Estate Services in a state you are not licensed in. Secondly, never allow a company to refer you to a “local” broker. You as the consumer have no say in who they refer you to. Referral companies generally choose the cheapest option for them. (meaning the local broker who will accept the least amount of money) The problem with this is that you could be sent to a company who is only open 3 days a week. (or doesn’t accept phone calls, etc…) You won’t find out who they are referring you to until after you’ve paid. You as the consumer should choose who you will be working with. Do not allow a referral company to choose for you.

2) Can I speak with a real person before paying?

Reason – If you can’t speak to a live person, do not sign up with that company. Preferably, ask to speak with the broker who will be listing the property before paying.

3) Can I review the listing agreement before paying?

Reason – the listing agreement is the agreement b/w you and the broker that allows the broker to put the property in the MLS. This agreement has the terms and conditions of your agreement. DO NOT PAY a penny to anyone before you have read the entire listing agreement.

4) Always ask just how much control you have over your listing.

Reason – Flat Fee Companies are notorious for misleading consumers into thinking they have complete control over the MLS listing. The fact is that they really do not. A seller has control over the data, however, the listing broker has to be the one to update the MLS with price changes, photo changes, etc… As a seller, you are at the mercy of the listing broker concerning when they actually update your listing.

5) Will all offers and negotiations go through me? (the seller)

Reason – Every state has different state laws affecting this very issue. Always ask ahead of time so that you know what to expect. If you are in a state where most offers are presented to the listing broker, DO NOT sign up for an MLS listing service where the broker does not work weekends. The worst thing in the world that can happen is an offer comes in on Friday night and the broker doesn’t fwd you the offer until Monday afternoon.

How Congress Realty would respond to your questions:

1) Yes, we are licensed in every state we do business. Our brokers are Donald Plunkett and Andrew English. You can speak with either directly at any time.

2) Absolutely, both are available at 800 657 6579

3) Yes, you can download the paperwork from our website or give us a call and we will email the docs to you. You can review everything before paying.

4) We have multiple staff members who update listings throughout the day. A seller can submit changes through our website directly via the private client area or via email/fax.

5) We constantly forward offers – 7 days a week. If an offer comes in a Sunday, 99% of the time you will receive the offer that same Sunday.

So how do you obtain this information – Gauging how much traffic your neighborhood properties are getting is simple and easy. Get out in the community and ask the owners themselves. Go directly to your neighbor and ask. It’s that simple. If you are thinking to yourself… My house is superior to my neighbors, etc… That’s ok. What we want to find out concerns if the neighborhood is getting traffic. Remember, Real Estate is all about location. This will help determine how “in demand” your subdivision is at the moment.

Sold Data for the last 3 months – The county assessor will show you recorded sales based upon address and subdivision. You can research this online. If you have difficulty with this, shoot us an email at info@congressrealty.com and we will email this info to you directly. Once you have this data, this is where you can compare your property and its features to those that have actually sold and at what price, price per sq ft, etc…

What is on the market in my area – To accomplish goal 1, you need to know which properties are on the market. You can use sites like Realtor.com to determine this or send us an email and request they we email you all of the active properties in your neighborhood directly from the MLS.

The next document you have will be the profile document. This document appears more difficult than it actually is. The first thing to keep in mind is to disregard what the form says is required. Many of the “required” fields are actually completed by our brokerage. What you want to do is give us what you know about the property. The bedrooms, the bathrooms, the sq footage, etc… Just give us what you know.

Next, return any/all attached state disclosures that we provided in our listing email.

Lastly, you will want to add remarks, directions, and photos prior to sending in your paperwork. (If this isn’t possible to do beforehand, you can add the info at a later time if needed) To do this, you can email this information to info@congressrealty.com or use our pre-listing manager link: http://www.congressrealty.com/FileManagement/PreListingControl/default.aspx

Listing documents can be scanned in and emailed back to us at info@congressrealty.com or faxed to 866 314 7201.

I can’t help but think this is Yahoo telling the world… they aren’t really interested in Real Estate at the moment. When Prudential cut ties with Yahoo, the content on the Yahoo site tumbled downward. Why is this? Simple answer, Prudential was able to provide MLS related data to Yahoo. Zillow can’t do this. Zillow relies upon 3rd party portals for content. (List Hub, VLS Homes, etc…) MLS data is strictly monitored for accuracy. 3rd party portals consistently provide outdated poor data to the web/public. Zillow will continue to feed this data to Yahoo through the 2014 year.

As a result, I will continue to not acquire my Real Estate related news/data from Yahoo until they go back to putting effort into the Yahoo Real Estate page. 5 years ago I visited the Yahoo Real Estate Page every single day. Today was the first day in over 6 months I visited the Yahoo RE page. I won’t be going back anytime soon.

2) Sellers who insist on giving the buyer a “personal tour” of the home. – Let the buyer walk through the property undisturbed. If a buyer needs assistance or has a question, they will ask.

3) Safety Hazards from construction/modifications. – Delay showings until all construction is complete.

4) Odors. – Whether they are from pets, left over food, etc… avoid any/all unpleasant odors

5) Difficulty showing upon arrival. – Ensure the key and lockbox work correctly ahead of time.

6) Clutter. – The buyer should be able to walk through the home w/out having to climb over obstacles

7) Loud TV’s and/or music – A little gentle music is acceptable. “Blaring Days of our Lives” is not.

8 ) Calling for feedback 8 minutes after the showing has occurred. – Wait at least 24 hours prior to asking for feedback.

9) False advertising – Buyers many times search for properties based upon select criteria. If you have a 2 bedroom advertised as a 3 bedroom… buyers who require 3 bedrooms are going to be frustrated and annoyed upon arrival and learning of the false advertisement.

10) Attempts at concealing defects. – Do not paint over the water stain in the ceiling. Have the issue addressed by a professional, corrected, and have the area replaced entirely.

While I applaud Zillow for recognizing they have a long term problem w/out Realtor(R) support. I can’t understand why they can’t connect Realtors(R) and Zillow together. It’s simple. Realtors(R) despise Realtor.com b/c Realtor.com charges Realtors(R) for the leads their very own listings create on the Realtor.com website. Realtors(R) hate being charged for the business they create for others. (It’s a double punch to the stomach) Zillow needs to find a way to drive buyer traffic with the use of MLS listings. However, they need to find a way to feed these leads back to Realtors(R) w/out making money off of the Realtors(R). They need to focus on driving revenue from some other source. As long as Realtors(R) control the data your website relies upon for traffic… they will have the upper hand.

You could certainly argue that Zillow does not rely upon Realtors(R) for all of their data. Homeowners can add their listing to the Zillow database directly w/out the use of a Realtor(R). The problem… this only accounts for a small fraction of the homes on the market. To be relevant, Zillow doesn’t need a portion of the listings, they need all of them.

So why does my property no longer appear on Realtor.com after I updated my status to under contract?

Simple answer: Many 3rd party websites that display data from the MLS will only display active properties. Once a property is no longer active, the 3rd party site discontinues showing the listing. This does not mean the listing is no longer on the MLS.

More complicated answer – Different 3rd party websites use different variables to determine what listings they will show. Each website has the right to determine what property status they will pull into their database. As a result, some websites will show only active properties. Other websites will show active and contingent properties but not pending properties, etc…

In the event the property falls out of contract, we will update the status back to active on the MLS and the property should return back to all of the 3rd party sites.

This policy is the exact same for all MLS members. It does not vary from brokerage to brokerage. 3rd party sites do not show favortism towards any one brokerage. The only factor that determines whether the listing shows up on that particular website is the property’s subtype and status.

Curb appeal in its most basic sense is the beauty of your home from a front elevation view. Basically, how does your home look while standing in the street facing the home? Curb appeal when trying to sell your home is very important. As a homeowner, pay attention to the details. Try to have your lawn cut, your flowers looking lively and colorful, your sidewalks clean of debris, etc… The house itself should be appealing as well. This includes ensuring the paint is fresh, the brick is clean, the awnings are functional, the shutters are in pristine condition, and so forth… Why does all of this matter? It is the first thing the buyer sees when they get out of the car. You are giving the buyer the impression that the interior and foundation of the property itself have been kept with the same great care as the landscape, front elevation, etc… Never miss a chance to impress a potential buyer. This includes making sure the sign in the yard is clean and upright. If you are having an open house, try to make sure your balloons are fully inflated and not “dead” looking. Pay attention to the details and you will distinguish your property amongst the competition.