FAQ

• The obvious advantage is if you sell on your own with no MLS help or Realtor involved, you'll save a significant amount of money by not paying a listing agent or buyers agent.
• The biggest challenge in doing this is how to showcase your home to the most buyers as possible if you decide not to go on the multiple listing service (MLS) which is where all searches for properties start. When a home hits the MLS, it is then shared on over 100+ websites through something called an IDX feed.
• Over 90% of US home buyers today start their home search online unlike the old days when buyers looked in newspapers and magazines for homes for sale. With popular platforms like Realtor.com, Homes.com, and Zillow, it's easy to reach these buyers when listing on the MLS.
• To get your listing in front of as many buyers as possible, it's important to list it on the MLS. This gets your home on local and national platforms, and in front of buyer's agents who'll forward them onto their buyers. When you list your home WITHOUT going on the MLS, you have reduced your marketing efforts by 95%.
  TIP: Most Realtors do NOT search outside of the MLS to find their buyers homes as that is the main platform that showcases all homes for sale.

• A flat fee listing is where you, the seller, pay a small flat fee to list your home on the multiple listing service (MLS) and you handle alot of the details of the sale due to not using the services of a full time Realtor.
• Most MLS Only websites give you 3 pre-determined options to choose from (ie: Bronze, Silver and Gold or something simiar.) Real Estate MOO is the first of its kind to give you options to sell in an a la carte style setting.
• If you choose to do an MLS Only listing, you will have to give out a buyers agent commission. As long as you give something, you are within the law. However, the higher that commission is, the greater the chance an agent will be motivated to show your home to their buyer.
• Real Estate Moo has an option called “100% FSBO + MLS” that gives you access to the MLS for a small flat fee, and you’ll show up where local real estate agents go to find homes for their buyers.
• If you list your home on the MLS, there must be a real estate brokerage involved as this is the only way to list your home on the MLS.

• A Broker starts as a Realtor and then continues specific real estate education to become a Broker. A Broker can open their own brokerage and hire other Realtors to work under their Broker license. The Broker can still do all of the duties of a Realtor as well.
• Realtors have a state license to help with the buying, selling, and renting of real estate.
• Realtors must “hang” their license under a Brokerage.
• Realtors get paid a commission when they connect homebuyers and sellers together and they all get to the closing table and close.

• Yes. Your listing will look no different from any other home for sale in the MLS.
• Buyers cannot tell the difference either. When a buyer sees your listing online, they will reach out otheir buyers agent and ask them to set up a showing to see your home.

• The MLS charges Real Estate Brokerages a fee to use the MLS service. When a Real Estate Brokerage helps sellers go on the MLS, there is a small fee charged to the consumer to be able to utilize this service and put their home on the MLS.

There are 2 options with Real Estate Moo.

• 1. You can choose 100% FSBO & NO MLS, then you are in full charge with no Realtor or Brokerage involved. Just pick and choose any products you feel would be beneficial for your unique situation, and start selling For Sale By Owner. You will NOT be on the MLS with this package.
  2. If you choose 100% FSBO + MLS, you are now going to be hitting the market with the assistance of a Real Estate Brokerage and Realtor so you can get on the MLS. Depending on what products you purchase will depend on how involved a Listing Agent or MOO Admin Staff Member will be with your sale.
• If you want full control, take it. If you want assistance, Real Estate Moo is here to help!

• The MLS is a database of homes used by Licensed Realtors to showcase homes for sale. When a Realtor puts a home on the market, it gets posted on the MLS.
• Realtors pay monthly dues to have access to the MLS and list their clients home for sale.
• The MLS has a service called (IDX) Internet Data Exchange which allows any property you put on the MLS to be distributed to websites such as Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, and every other website that showcases homes for sale. All homes that consumers see online, originate from a local MLS feed.

• You must select a Flat Fee Service or hire a full time Realtor to to get your home listed on the MLS.

• It depends. If you list with a full time Realtor, the standard timeframes are 30,60,90,180 and 1 year timeframes.
• The majority of other MLS only websites have a package that starts with a smaller fee for a shorter period of time that you are allowed to stay on the MLS. The more you pay, the longer you can stay on the MLS. Then if your home doen’t sell in the allotted time, you will need to upgrade to get more time on the MLS.
• When purchasing the 100% FSBO + MLS with Real Estate MOO, the listing period is 6 months. This allows you to be listed on the MLS for 180 days which should give you ample time to sell your home. If you don’t sell in this timeframe, you can extend the listing contract or cancel your listing for free.
• With Real Estate MOO, you can cancel your listing at any time and there are no fees to do so. No hidden fees or switch and baits either! (There are no reimbursements for anything you purchased though)

• No. As long as you don’t buy more products or go off the MLS and cancel your listing contract and then choose to re-list and hit the MLS again, there is no fee to extend your listing contract for another 6 months.
• When a listing goes off the market and then back on again, there is substantial data entry and admin work needed to get a listing on the MLS so there must be a fee.

• Yes. As soon as your home hits the MLS it will syndicate to major websites, including Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Trulia, Re/Max, and many more
  Note: It may take up to 24 hours for your property to show up on Realtor.com, Zillow & other 3rd party websites as the feed comes from the local MLS and each website handles the fee differently.

• If you choose 100% FSBO & NO MLS, then you have the ability to put your contact info on any sites you have access to.
• If you choose 100% FSBO + MLS, then the sellers contact information will appear in the “agent only” section of the MLS so agents know who to contact if the seller chooses to handle their own showings and not choose the Showing & Feedback Assistance product.
• Due to the rules of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and local and state boards, the Brokers contact information must appear on the MLS and a seller's contact information is not allowed on any public site if you are listed on the MLS. By default, the Listing Broker's name and phone number will appear on your MLS listing as well as any public real estate websites, such as Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com etc.
• Real Estate MOO does not have any control where potential buyer leads are sent. This is the same no matter which company you list with.

• No, once your property is listed on the MLS you will not have control of your listing on Zillow. This is out of our control as this is an automated feed from the MLS. Once you are listed in the MLS, you are technically no longer a For Sale By Owner so your Zillow listing will go from For Sale By Owner to listed (with a Listing Agent).

• Visit the MOO Shop
• Select the MOO Products you feel are best for your situation and check out
• Complete and sign the Paperwork
• A MOO Associate will double check that all documents are filled out completely and correctly and reach out for correction
• Select the buyer agent fee that you would like to offer (2%-3%).
• Have pictures of your home taken and upload them into the MOO Portal
• Write remarks for your home that explain all of the details about your home and upload them in the MOO Portal.
  *If you choose the “Writing Remarks for the MLS” option, MOO will prepare a draft of your MLS Listing and email it to you to review. You then can make changes to it as you see fit. It’s a time-saver option if writing isn’t your thing.
• Real Estate MOO will send you a draft of the entire MLS Listing to check for accuracy and make sure you are satisfied
• Once the MLS Listing is accepted by you, your property will be listed on the MLS
• Showings begin!

• We have divided the paperwork into three parts. (Legal documents, MLS Documents and Homework.)
• Real Estate MOO will email you all Legal & Listing docs and the Homework for you to complete.
• We have created how-to videos and written documents showing you step by step how to complete all of the documents.
• Legal documents are required when you sell any home or land whether you sell with or without the help of a Realtor.
• The Homework is all about detailing the best features of your home and marketing these features to buyers.
• There is an option to get personalized help with all of your listing paperwork from a Real Estate MOO Admin. Just purchase the “Listing Paperwork Assistance” option.

• We created the Listing Paperwork Assistance option to guide you through the abyss of the unknown. Dealing with a ton of paperwork to fill out, in a pile, and not knowing how or what to do to legally keep yourself safe is super overwhelming.
  NOTE: If you plan to go 100% FSBO + MLS, you wont need to hire an attorney to guide you through all of the listing documents safely. There are approximately 25 documents to fill out and sign/initial.

• Did you know that 86% of all buyers are represented by a Realtor? That’s a staggering number and that only leaves 14% of the buyers unrepresented. It would make sense to offer a commission to a Realtor as they have the majority of the buyers.
• Keep in mind that buyer’s agents won’t be encouraged to bring a buyer to your home if you sell on your own without going on the MLS and then tell the buyer’s agent that you aren’t giving out a commission.

• That is a great question. It is actually illegal to Price-Fix commissions or discuss what going rates are in regards to commissions Realtors earn because real estate commissions are negotiable. The most common commissions are between 1.0% and 3% to Buyer's Agents and it is the law that you have to give some commission when you hit the MLS.
  A. If you choose the 100% FSBO + MLS option then you have a range of commissions that you can choose from.
  B. If you choose the 100% FSBO & NO MLS then its up to you on what you do with this. We still recommend that you do give a commission to a buyers agent as a majority of the buyers are represented by an agent and you want buyers agents to bring their buyers to your home. More buyers = more money.

• If you choose the 100% FSBO + MLS then Yes you are obligated to pay a buyer’s agent commission if there is an agent involved.
• If there is no Agent involved, then no..

• No. As long as the buyer doesn’t choose to work with a Realtor, there is no commission due.
• If you choose the 100% FSBO & NO MLS and the buyer is not represented by a buyer’s agent then you will not be obligated to pay a commission to Real Estate MOO or any buyer’s agent.

• At closing, the commission is deducted from your net proceeds and is paid directly to the buyer agent’s Broker.

• On the MLS Listing Docs there is a section to input the commission offered. Once your home hits the market, Realtors will be able to see the commission being offered by looking on the MLS Listing Ticket.
• During the listing process, on the "Enter Property Data" page, there is a section explaining best practices and where to enter the commission amount you selected.

• We encourage it. Having a home hit the market with accurate information is the best practice. MOO will send you an email with a link to verify your home information is correct and to your satisfaction before your home hits the market.
• If you don’t make the changes up front, once your home gets sent to the 100+ websites it will get displayed with incorrect info. Imagine a buyer setting up a showing thinking that your home has 4 bedrooms and it really only has 3!

• After you have submitted all of your paperwork to us & answered any follow-up questions we might have, then, your listing will be live on the MLS within 2 Business Days.

• Once we have final approval from you, your home will hit the market and we will notify you promptly that you have gone live.

• You will have two options.
  1. An MLS property link will be emailed to you once you have gone live. This allows you to view your home. We recommend using this MLS link to post to your own social media sites and send out to friends and ask them to share your home for sale on their social media sites.
  2. Google your address and you will see your home for sale on multiple different websites.
  NOTE: Sometimes it takes up to 2 hours to appear on websites. It does show up instantly on the MLS, however.

• We will need a “Request Listing Change” form that can be found in the docs section in your MOO portal. Price changes are free but additional changes after the listing is proofed and ok’d by you, are $25 per charge.
• You are required to let us know within 24 hours if you accepted an offer, if a contract fell through, if you sold the property, or if you need to make changes to the listing.

• Once you have chosen the new listing price, go into the MOO portal and find the “Request Listing Change” form and add your request there.
  Once our listing department gets the notification, MOO will make the changes on the MLS and then send you an e-mail letting you know that the changes have been made. All changes will be made on the MLS within one business day from the time the change(s) were requested.

• Yes. You can cancel your Real Estate Moo listing at any time for free.

• Seller may cancel their listing agreement at any time.
• There are no termination fees or other penalties.
• No refunds will be provided on anything you purchased once you sign the listing contract.

• You can cancel your listing at any time by submitting a “cancellation request” form through your MOO Portal.
  NOTE: You CANNOT cancel your listing with MOO when there is a contract pending on your property with a buyer as you are in a legal binding contract to sell.

• Before putting a home on the market, sellers should have a comparative market analysis prepared. This is also referred to in the industry as a CMA or Comps.
• Regardless of whether it's a buyer's or a seller's market, pricing your home correctly is essential to get your home to sell. Pricing correctly doesn’t mean pricing low just to get buyers through the door, but what it does mean is you better understand how appraisals work and what the impact is when receiving a low appraisal.

• A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a process in which Realtors gather:
  1. Homes that are active on the market for sale-Your Competition
  2. Homes that have gone pending sale- The price they were listed at that caused them to receive an offer
  3. Homes that Sold-The proof of an actual sale.
• The homes that are selected mirror what an appraisers criteria is for creating an appraisal.
• Once this data is collected, the Realtor then shows all of the information to a seller so they can make an informed decision on list price based off of proof.

• You can upload your own photos in the MOO Portal or hire a professional photographer in the MOO Shop.
• We recommend professional photos be taken, regardless of whether you choose the MOO plan or hire one yourself. It's a small investment and will showcase your home the best!

• No, but we strongly encourage a lock box for easier access to your home. Otherwise, you have to either leave your house unlocked or be there to let agents in and then leave for showings. What happens if you’re out of town??
• If you choose the FSBO + MLS option, as soon as you pay for your items, the sign and lockbox will be shipped out the next business day! Arrival day is dependent on your location and carriers schedule.
• There is a “Rush Option” if it is a weekend and you don’t want to wait for the next business day to come to receive you sign and lockbox.

• No, but we strongly encourage it as you never know who may drive past your home and have interest in it. Even thugh people will use GPS to find your home, it’s always good practice to show the world you are for sale!

• If you choose the FSBO + MLS option, as soon as you complete your shopping cart selections and pay for your items, the next business day the sign and lockbox will be shipped out! Arrival day is dependent on your location and carriers schedule.
• There is a “Rush Option” if it is a weekend and you don’t want to wait for the next business day to come to receive you sign and lockbox.

• By law Real Estate MOO’s contact information must be on the sign.

MOO now has two options for managing showings.
1. FREE- You are the main point of contact for agents to call to set up appointments. You will need to know the complete showing schedule as not to overlap showings and create confusion and wasted time for everyone involved.
2. SMALL FEE and HUGE Time Saver- You now have the option to manage your property showings in the Showing App and/or receive text, email or phone calls directly from a Professional Company that coordinates the showings for you. It is super convenient and the Showing & Feedback Assistance option handles everything.

1. In the MOO Portal, look for the “Showing Assistance folder” which has the instructions on how to download the app.
2. Upon setup, you'll receive notifications on all showings and feedback!

• It is recommended that you allow Realtors to still show your home to prospective buyers when you are not in town. Realtors are licensed professionals and they can use the lockbox, obtain the keys, and then lock the home back up and shut off lights when they leave.

• MOO has 2 options for this.
  1. If you choose not to purchase the Showing & Feedback Assistance option then you would contact the Realtors directly that showed your home to obtain feedback. This is a very arduous process as most agents don’t leave feedback easily. You have to follow up over and over again to get the feedback.
  2. If you choose to purchase the Showing & Feedback Assistance option then there are automated emails that go out requesting the feedback as soon as the agent leaves the home after they show it. Then automated emails will consistently go out until the agent responds. Texts and Phone calls are also made for you requesting feedback. Then it is relayed on to you.

• If the buyer is working with a buyer's agent, it's the responsibility of the buyer's agent to show your home to their client.
• If the buyer is not working with a buyer's agent, it would be your responsibility to show the property.

• If you list your home 100% FSBO & NO MLS, you will know who’s been in your home because you are the one showing your home! 🙂
• If you choose FSBO + MLS, and purchase the Showing & Feedback Assistance option, our recommendation is to download the showing app which keeps track of all activities at your house!
• Your lock box number will only be given to licensed real estate agents. Whenever there is a request for a showing, that particular agent's ID number is recorded and verified to ensure safety.

• Real Estate MOO receives calls from buyers on homes at times. If we set up a showing to see your home with a buyer that contacts us from the yard sign, and then they put in an offer and you accept it, at closing MOO would be compensated the fee you chose to give out to buyers agents.

• There are two options with Real Estate Moo.
  1. If you choose the “Negotiating Help” Product in the MOO Shop then your assigned Listing Agent will receive the offer, review it and then give you a call to go over the offer and supporting documents. Your assigned Listing Agent will then do all the negotiating for you.
  2. If you choose to negotiate on your own then you will receive offers from buyer’s agents or buyers not working with an agent directly to your email. You will then negotiate with the buyer’s agent or buyer directly.
  TIP: If you choose to negotiate on your own, our recommendation is to hire an attorney to help make sure that you are doing things properly.

1. If you choose the “Negotiating Help” Product in the MOO Shop then your assigned Listing Agent will receive all offers, review them and then give you a call to go over everything they have in their hand. Your listing agent will notify all agents that brought an offer and all buyers agents that have showed your home that they have until “X” day and time to bring their best offer to the table. Your listing agent will handle all questions behind the scenes and then call you with final results to go over all of the details of your offers.
   NOTE: Your listing agent will fill out an offer intake form to ensure all important negotiating/legal items are discussed.
2. If you choose to negotiate on your own then you will receive offers from buyer’s agents or buyers not working with an agent directly to your email. If you receive two or more offers we recommend you let all interested parties know how many offers you have in hand and what day and time everyone has to give you their best offer. Once you receive all offers, we recommend that you reach out to your attorney to go over the purchase agreements and supporting documents and then choose the best offer for you.

• As a general rule of thumb, when you hit the market with your home, things change from emotionally living in your home to treating your home as a business transaction.
• Don’t show the buyer that you are upset with their low offer, just counter them and then see what the buyers do.
  NOTE: If you come back and outright reject their offer with no counter, you can count on the buyer walking and going to another home.

• If you choose the “Negotiating Help” Product in the MOO Shop then you will have full service help.
• If you choose 100% FSBO NO MLS and do not select ``Negotiating Help” Product in the MOO Shop then you will NOT have full service help and it is recommended to hire an attorney to review and give suggestions on any offers you receive..

• Open Houses are always a gamble. You get everything from lookie lous that aren’t in the market to buy to neighbors that have always been curious about your home and just want to take a peak.
• National Association of Realtors statistics show that as of 2022, only 4% of all sales happen due to a house a buyer saw at an open house.

Source: 2022 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

• Internet: 51%
• Real estate agent: 29%
• Yard sign/open house sign: 4%
• Friend, relative, or neighbor: 10%
• Home builder or their agent: 1%
• Directly from sellers/Knew the sellers: 5%
• Print newspaper advertisement: less than 1%

• According data from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), about 75% of sellers saw an ROI of 5% to 15% over asking price and sold up to 30 times faster when a home is staged.
• With that being said, if you focus on de-cluttering, de-personalizing, and moving furniture around to make rooms look as large as possible, all out staging is not necessary!
• Check out the MOO Shop for the option to select a Professional Stager!

• You have 2 options.
  1. If you selected the “MOO Admin” option, you can reach out directly to your MOO Admin with the contact info provided once you check out of the MOO Shop.
  2. In the bottom right corner of the website you will see cute Molly Moo with a headset on. Use it to chat and get the majority of your questions answered. You can always upgrade to “ “MOO Admin” option at any point in the MOO Shop!

• Just follow the prompts on the login page and it will give you the option to reset your username and/or password.

• Yes! If you choose to represent yourself, be responsive and upfront. Everyones time is precious so value other people's time just as much as you value your own.
• If you choose the FSBO + MLS, respond to your Listing Agent and MOO Admin staff who's helping you with the MLS listing quickly, respond to inquiries from buyers and their agents timely, and reply to offers ASAP as you don’t want buyers overthinking.

• Yes, we are not simply a referral service like forsalebyowner.com and owners.com; we are an actual licensed brokerage in Michigan by the name of Real Estate MOO.

• In real estate, buyers come into the market, they buy and sell, and then they leave the market. This is the cycle to think about. So with that being said, if your home is not on the market you drastically reduce your chances to sell your home. Seems silly to say that but it’s the truth.
• Alot of people say that spring is the best time to sell. We like the question, “what is spring to you?” In Michigan, people say spring is in April/May. That doesn’t mean that homes do not sell In January-March though. What happens if everyone comes on the market in spring? This means that the Supply is full. What happens if you list in January and there aren’t as many sellers on the market? This means you are sitting pretty where the demand is!

• MOO recommends getting pictures taken on Monday or Tuesday and listing your home on Thursday of the same week.
  By doing this, you are hititng the market before the weekend which allows buyers to schedule showings for the weekend when they are most likely not working.

• Real Estate MOO is a licensed real estate brokerage so buyers do come about and they do get full representation by a buyers agent.

• How much time do you have available to handle all of the details?? Seriously though… There are 110 things that happen from the time you get an accepted offer all the way until you hit the closing table and get paid for selling your home. Missing any step during this phase of the process can slow things down and cause major issues and in some instances, deals to fall apart.
• If you choose the “Contract to Close” Product, we handle all of the details so you can get back to living life and making memories. All details are handled for you while we make sure you are in compliance with State and Federal laws, MOO takes care of all the communication with both title companies, lender, buyers agent, appraiser, home inspector, and any attorneys invloved.

• Yes. Most title companies have the same fees so picking one, most times, isn’t about the cost it’s about what you get for the cost.
• If you have a relationship with a title company, when an issue arises, you get put to the front of the line rather than being just another number.
• MOO will suggest some title companies if you don’t have a connection already.