Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains answers to common questions handled by our support staff, along with information we have found useful and presented here as questions.  We always recommend that you consult a professional (lawyer, inspector, Realtor...) for you and your family's protection.

• "FSBO"--What does FSBO mean?
• "Coop" rate--What is "Coop" and why should it be used?
• "Coop" rate--How do I change it?
• Virtual Tour--What is it and how do I get one?
• Marketing--What marketing services are available and what do they cost?
• Empowerment--Who we are and why we provide this service?
• Marketing--How do I get the most from the sale of my home?
• Marketing--What is Lead Follow-up and how does it work?
• Posting a Photo--How do I add a photo?
• How do I get qualified to see all of the posting information?

"FSBO"--What does FSBO mean?

"FSBO" stands for For Sale By Owner.  The National Association of Realtors' 2003 Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers indicated that 5%* of all homes sold without being put on the market, by being sold to a friend or relative, someone the owner knew.  Of all FSBO homes remaining, only 5%* sold FSBO.  We currently track over 14,000 FSBO's and continue to conduct an ongoing survey to track regional and local trends in order to help people with this complicated transaction.

* Source: 2003 Profile of Buyers and Sellers, The National Association of Realtors, based on a survey of over 40,000 buyers.

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"Coop" Rate--What is "Coop" and why should it be used?

Coop is short for "Cooperative Commission Rate."  This rate is the percentage the seller is willing to pay a licensed real estate professional if they present a ready, willing and able buyer.  As an example, if your home sells for $200,000 and the Coop Rate is 2.5%, then the commission due the real estate professional will be $5,000.

Close to 95% of all resale homes are sold through a real estate professional.  It only makes sense for a FSBO to attract the real estate professional's buying client, because they tend to be more qualified and their transition issues (home to sell, loan, inspection, moving...) are usually managed by professionals.  In other words, the real estate professional's client tend to be more qualified than a random sign call.  If your home is posted with us and you want to change the Coop rate, click on this link.

Realtors^©--the "Coop" bar and number are merely an indication of the owner's willingness, NOT a guarantee of payment by anyone including, but not limited to, the owner's of this website, their employees or any third party.  You must secure an agreement with the owner acceptable to your lawyer and managing broker.

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"Coop" Rate--How do I change it?

The "Coop" Rate represents the percentage of the selling price the owner is willing to pay a licensed real estate professional to provide a ready, willing and able buyer.  You must enter into an agreement with the buyer's agent or through your listing agent to formalize this agreement and, of course, you should consult your attorney on this issue, as this is not legal advice. 

If you have posted your home on our site, you can change this value by submitting a free Change Order Request.  Just click on this link.

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Virtual Tour--What is it and how do I get one?

Virtual Tours (VT) come in many flavors and is only vaguely defined.  VTs can mean a series of still images and/or 360 degree images where the viewer can manipulate the camera.  Even the 360 degree view vary dramatically.  Some are done with a single image and, due to that technique, limit the view to a relatively narrow 360 degree strip.  The technique we use requires a substantial equipment investment and produces a distortion free complete 360 degree image as though you were in the center of a sphere.  You can point the camera at vaulted ceilings or inspect the hardwood floors.

Why provide a VT?  According to the NAR 2003 Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers, photos and virtual tours were number one and three on the "value of online features" list, respectively.  In general, you want your home to stand out from the crowd and be seen by as many buyers as possible.  If you want more details, click this link.  How much do they cost? 

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Help with Marketing--What marketing services are available and what do they cost?

Our group and associates include investors, lenders, developers, lawyers, Realtors...  We developed these websites to empower home owners and buyers.  The real estate transaction is filled with detail, if ignored or poorly completed, could be catastrophic due the the cost of the property. 

We acknowledge your uniqueness and that not everyone fits into the same service mold.  We want you to choose.  Depending on your personality, experience, expertise, available time and the cost of your time, you may need the full services of all the real estate professionals or you could sell the home to a relative who is a lawyer and never put your home on the market.  Either way, we want to help you.

As real estate professionals, we offer many of our full service methods to those attempting to sell by themselves.  Many of these services come with a guarantee--contact us directly before you speak with a real estate agent and if you list with us or one of our referral agents, we will reimburse for all, 100% of the services you buy from us.*  Work with us and we'll help make sure you net the most on the sale of your real estate property.  The following represent some of the many available services:

	Service	Cost	List with Us	Cash Back*
Order	Virtual Tour	$199	included	$199	Initial photo shoot, 360o control in all directions, distortion free, four 3D scenes & up to 10 stills, hosted on the Internet, shown on your posting here & available from any browser.
Order	Virtual Tour Additional Scenes	$49	included	$49	Each additional scene.**
Order	Virtual Tour with Print Brochure	$99	included	$99	A Virtual Tour plus a 4 page brochure you can print from your computer.
Order	Brochure without Virtual Tour	$199	included	$199	Initial photo shoot, up to 10 stills & 4 page brochure you can print on your computer.
Order	Professional Yard Sign Rental	$79	included	$79	Up to 6 months rental of sign.  Use our lending services and you will be reimbursed at closing upon return of the sign.
Free	Buyer Lead Follow-up	Free	included		Simply enter an interested buyer's information on you Detailed Posting Screen and one of our lenders will call them, qualify them and post the results on you posting.  You can then view the status of prospects or call them directly.

* How it works--Talk to us before you talk to a real estate agent, then either you list with us or with one of three agents on the list we provide.  That agent will pay us the industry standard referral fee of between 20-30% of their gross at closing.  We will reimburse you up to 50% of what we receive at closing, which is usually enough to reimburse you completely.  As an example, let's say you list and sell your home with on of our referred agents for $200,000 and pay the referral agent 2.5%.  We would end up with $1,000 ($200,000 * 2.5% * 20%), which would provide $500 of Cash Back at closing.  Spend $400 on our services and get $400 back in this scenario.  Spend $1,000 and get $500 back or list with us and get it all back, up to $2,500
** The number of scenes included and reimbursed depends on the List Price of the property.

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Empowerment--Who we are and why we provide this service?

As real estate professionals and investors, we know that buying, selling and investing in real estate represents both a fundamental cornerstone of your financial portfolio and an emotional foundation for your family.  Buying and selling real estate requires expertise at many levels to insure a smooth transaction and a sound financial result.  Often, a dollar saved turns into thousands lost because a professional, a skilled person that works their discipline daily, was not involved.

We acknowledge your uniqueness and substantial capabilities.  We want to serve you.  We provide top real estate professional at every stage of the transaction, from initial marketing consultation to closing.  This website allows you to choose the level of service you need and provides you with professional backup, should you need it.  Additionally, you won't lose your marketing investment.

Depending on your personality, experience, expertise, available time and the cost of your time, you may need the full services of real estate professionals or you could sell your home to a relative who is a lawyer, thus you never put your home on the market.  Either way, we can help you. 

We provide this website because we add value.  We know that, if we give something of value to you, you will appreciate it and give back to us.  Whether that comes in the form of a referral or handling your entire current transaction, either way, we are here to serve you, your friends and relative.  That's how we put food on our family's table, by serving you. 

Close to 5%* of all owners who attempt to sell on their own, sell to a friend or relative, someone they know.  Only 5%* of the remaining FSBO's are successful.  While we continue to conduct our own survey to test this assumption, we know many owners spend a great deal of time and money and fail.  We want to help.

Our website provides the latest data driven technologies while attracting local highly qualified buyer through both paid advertising and state-of-the-art organic search engine methodology.  Post your property on our site and you substantially increase your Internet visibility.  This empowers both buyers and sellers.

"2003 marks a milestone in the technological evolution of the real estate industry.  For the first time, more buyers used the Internet as an information source than used newspaper advertisement."*

The Internet is the #1 buyer information source and we harness the Internet for you.  Buyers are benefited by a centralized depository of local homes for sale by owner, where they get what the want, information, when they want it, 24/7/365 everyday, night or day.  Sellers increase their property's Internet exposure, maintain their marketing investment and maximize their net. 

* Source: 2003 Profile of Buyers and Sellers, The National Association of Realtors, based on a survey of over 40,000 buyers.

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Help with Marketing--How do I get the most from the sale of my home?

Our group and associates include investors, lenders, developers, lawyers, Realtors...  We developed this website to empower investors, home owners and buyers.  The real estate transaction is complicated, details if ignored or poorly completed, could be catastrophic due the the cost of the property. 

We acknowledge your uniqueness and that not everyone fits into the same service mold.  We want you to choose.  Depending on your personality, experience, expertise, available time and the cost of your time, you may need the full services of all available real estate professionals or you could sell the home to a relative who is a lawyer and never put your home on the market.  Either way, we want to help you..

We know that our Full Service methods produce more net, cash at closing, than the average for sale by owner.  We know you are unique, otherwise you would not be reading this.  So, if you have the time, go for it!  But remember, whatever your do, day in and day out, it would be impossible for someone to come along and do your job as well as you.  Image that you're one of the best in the world.

That's who we are and we are ready to help you.  If you attempt on your own and fail, we stand ready to jump in and we put our money where our mouth is with a simple money at closing guarantee.

Getting the most for your home requires an understanding of the "5P's" of marketing-Product, People, Promotion, Place and Price.  Poor execution on the first four and you'll pay for it with a lower sale price.  That's where the majority of home sell for, a unnecessary discount due to poor execution.  The 4P's of old school real estate marketing: Put as sign in the yard; Put lock box on the door; Put an ad in the paper; and Pray, will cost you.  While prayer can be powerful, God is not Santa Claus.  Your net increases in proportion to understanding and execution.

Our advise--do what you think you can do well but always keep the professional close at hand.  When you've had enough or you need help, the pro's can turn mountains into mole hills.

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Marketing--What is Lead Follow-up and how does it work?

Lead Follow-up is one of the most powerful services that we offer and it's free to you.  All you need to do is logon, go to your home's posting and enter the prospective buyer's contact information.  A professional, trained in working with buyers, will call the prospect, qualify them, stress your home's features and benefits and then post the call results back on your home's Detailed View screen.  The typical turn-around is 24 hours and you can always use this functional for your own record keeping.  Here are the detailed steps:

Go to the home page. Click on "Home Search." Search for and find your home's posting. On your home's posting click on "View Details." If you haven't already logged in, you will be asked to login.  This will identify you as the owner and open up the Follow-up region at the bottom of the posting.

Why do we do this for free?  According to nation statistic, only 1% of people who went to an open house bought the home they toured.  Of the other 99, some where just curious, some where not qualified and many bought other homes.  Sometimes the bought another home because of poor follow-up and many just could afford the home, didn't like it or it didn't meet their needs.

We help you increase the probability of your home selling in exchange for the opportunity to help buyers with their mortgage needs, if they sign off on your home as not meeting their needs, we will help them find another home or they may need our help selling a home.  This website's business model revolves around helping you sell your home.  We know if we do this we will earn your loyalty, referrals and, in the majority of cases, your lending and real estates sales business (as a buyer or a seller).

We have a vested interest in your success.  The sooner we get involved with the prospect, the greater your chances of a sale.  Because we qualify buyers everyday, we can tell within minutes if they are for real.  Are they motivated?  Is their motivation compelling?  Can they qualify?  Are they realistic about their timeframe?  Can they sell their home on time and with enough equity for the down payment?  All these questions and more qualify a buyer.  We'll know within minutes.  It could save you hours and a great deal of heartache, not to mention substantially increasing your chances of a successful closing.

Our business model calls for hard work, trust, expertise, execution and integrity.  You are the beneficiary.  You pick the service level and we produce.  In the majority of the cases, our full service will put more in your pocket.  If you think you can get the same or more net, cash in your pocket at closing, and you have the time to do it, then go for it!  If it doesn't work out, we'll be here to help and we'll even credit you for the services you bought from us.

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"Posting a Photo--How do I add a photo?

Once you have posted your home, you can press this link then attach your photos to the e-mail.  We will process the photos, process them and attach them to your home.  You may post three photos and a virtual tour with any number of scenes.  You can never have too many high quality images of your home to attract online home buyers.

In your e-mail, please include your home's address and the slot you want each photo to occupy (photo 1, 2 or 3).

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"How do I get qualified to see all of the posting information?

As a service to the sellers, we guaranteed them that we would attempt to pre-qualify buyers before giving out contact or location information.  As a service to buyers, our lending group provides expert advice in meeting the buyer's objective while saving the most.  Over 2,000 programs are available to match the unique buyer needs on time and at the greatest savings.  A quality loan and service with maximum savings.

Our customer service goals require us to pre-qualify buyers within 24 hours.  Our target is much more aggressive.  If you registered more than 24 hours ago or you have a pressing need, don't hesitate to either e-mail us at UrgentApproval or call us directly at 630.561.7008.  We'll hop right on it and get you qualified.

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