Frequently Asked Questions

Is this too good to be true?

No! This a full MLS Listing. It’s the same kind of listing you would get from any other real estate company.

Can I cancel at anytime?

Yes. Just call us and we will take your home off the MLS.

Are you my Listing Agent?

Yes, I am your listing agent. Even though you think you are selling your home yourself through this service and have no agent, I am still your listing agent. You hired me to list your home on the MLS for a really low  flat fee. Any commission you set on the contract does not go to me, it goes to an agent that sells your property who is called the “selling agent” or “buyers agent”.

How long will my home be on the MLS?

With our Monthly Plan, your home will be listed on the MLS for as long as you need it to as long as your credit card is active. If you stop paying, then your house will be taken off the MLS. With our 3, 6 or 12 Month Plan, your home will be listed on the MLS for either 3 or 6 months or 1 year depending on the plan you choose.

Can I change the commission during the listing period?

Yes. Commissions are negotiable. But if an agent showed your home to a buyer at one commission rate, you might get some resistance trying to change it on them if the are making an offer for their buyer.

Do I have to use your signs?

No. You may use your own FSBO signs if you like.

What if I want to do an open house or make a price change?

Call us, email us, or text us so we can make the change on the MLS for Buyers and Agents to see.

How will real estate agents contact me?

Your phone number will be listed at the bottom of the listing page that agents see. They will be instructed to call the owner at the number you provide to schedule an appointment. Your contact info CAN NOT be listed publicly.  It is against the MLS terms of service to have a homeowners number listed publicly.

How will buyers contact me?

You will receive leads from the hundreds of websites that receive the IDX data feed from the MLS system. Buyers will call you from our automated phone system. When they call our office telephone, they will hear a message that says if you are calling about one of our listings, please press 8 for more information. Then they are asked to enter the first few letters of the street name and when the system finds the address they are looking for, their phone call is then forwarded to your contact number of choice.

If a buyer does not use the automated phone system, then when we receive a phone call or an email from a buyer who is not working with a real estate agent, we will either give that buyer your number for them to call you or we will forward that buyers contact details to you so you can call or email that buyer back and set up an appointment for that buyer to see your home.

What Happens to my Zillow Listing? (UPDATED 1/14/2021)

Zillow is now an MLS Participant! Our MLS system DOES NOT have the capability to block the Zillow feed any longer so you CAN NOT keep control of your Zillow home listing.

Zillow has obtained a broker’s license and has become a Participant in OneKey™ MLS and most other MLS’s around the country.

They will now be receiving listings through the MLS IDX feed like other Participants subscribing to IDX.

The field “Publish to Zillow (Y or N)” has been removed from the MLS system.

You WILL still receive any leads or phone calls from that Zillow listing that we receive. My info will be there as the Listing Agent but you will still get all the leads that come to me. I can no longer add your phone number into the Zillow description. (NO ONE CAN)

Also, Zillow is its own company and can do whatever they want with their website. If your listing on Zillow is not correct or displays something that you don’t like, let me know and I will try to correct it. If not, then I have no other control over Zillow.

If you sell or cancel and Zillow sees that your property is no longer listed with a real estate company, (it takes about a day or so), you can then go in and claim full ownership of the property again if we created the listing through our MLS feed.

Will my home be listed on the Hamptons and North Fork MLS?

There is no Hamptons and North Fork “MLS”. There is only ONEKEYMLS.com (formally known as MLSLI.com) on Long Island. Some Hamptons and North Fork properties are listed on REBNY which is the Manhattan property listing system. We do not list your home on REBNY (we are not a member).  Other properties get listed on StreetEasy.com, OutEast.com and other local websites but there is no Hampton and North Fork MLS. Some people call OutEast.com the Hamptons and North Fork MLS.  So if a company tries to charge you more to list on the Hampton and North Fork MLS, make sure you find out exactly what they mean so you don’t get scammed. We can list your property on StreetEasy.com and OutEast.com for a small additional fee. Your listing on OneKeyMLS does not automatically get syndicated to those two websites. They have to be entered manually.

How do you take payment?

We accept checks and credit cards. If you are doing the monthly plan, then we only accept credit cards. If you want to pay by check then you must mail it to our office. Paying by check will delay the time it takes to get your property online. The time to receive the check, deposit it and clear it can take as much as two weeks. We strongly recommend using a credit card for same day service. Our site is totally secure with a 256 bit SSL Certificate to encrypt all credit card data that passes through our site.  Look for the Green Lock in your address bar.

Do I have to sign a contract and what paperwork do I have to fill out?

Yes, you will have to sign a standard MLS contract that gives us permission to list your home on the MLS.
There are 9 forms in total (easy to fill out on your computer) that need to be completed and emailed back to us.
Most of them just need to signed. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Client Info
NYS Agency
Lead Paint Form
Property Condition Disclosure Notice
Contract
Data Form
COVID-19 Disclosure (NEW)
Anti-Discrimination Form (NEW)
Showings Form (NEW)

How do I send everything to you?

After you purchase you will be taken to a page where you will be able to download a zip file that contains all the paperwork, bonus material and instructions on how to send us your photos and completed paperwork.  Photos must be emailed to us but paperwork can be faxed or scanned and emailed.  All the instructions are in the zip file that you will download.

*** OUR PAPERWORK IS NOW DIGITAL!  After you download the forms, you can fill them out on your computer with Adobe Reader (free program). Then save them and email them to us. Photos must still be emailed (36 max).  If you still prefer to print the forms and fill them out, that option is still available.

How long can my property description be?

The property description on the MLS is now 4500 characters! That includes spaces. I recommend that you use a website like http://www.charactercountonline.com to write your property description so you know when you have hit the limit of 4500 characters. If your property description is over 1000 characters, the MLS says that property flyers that are printed out may cause the flyer to be 2 pages instead of 1 page. This may not be a big deal to most sellers.

Can I meet with you to fill out the paperwork and pay?

Our flat fee service is designed so that you can do all the paperwork in your home by yourself. We provide you with written instructions and videos on how to fill out the paperwork and send everything to us.  If you still want to meet with our Broker to fill out the paperwork and pay, there is an additional fee for approximately two hours of his time to do so.  Please call us for more info.  Or you can purchase our All-in-One Plan that includes this as well as a sign, photos, lockbox and more.

Can I order other services at a later date?

Yes. If you did not order one of our add on services at the time you purchased your flat fee listing and would like one at a later date, then please visit out Addons Page to see the available addons for purchase.

What if I am unable to be home to show the house?

The showing will either be rescheduled or a lockbox can be use to secure a key to your home to give access to an agent to show the home when you are not there. Lockboxes are commonly used to give home access to real estate agents. We can loan you a lockbox if you do not have one.

Can I use the aid of another real estate company while using this service?

No. You will be signing a contract with us that will allow us to list your home on the MLS. You can only be listed on the MLS by one company at any given time. You must cancel with us in order to use the services of another company.

What if I accept an offer, go to contract, or sell the house?

Email us so we can change your listing status on the MLS.  We also need the contact information for the real estate agent who sold your house (if any). In order for us to close the listing out on the MLS, we need a few pieces of information about your sale that are required by the MLSLI. So please email us or give us a call.  If not the listing will just expire.

Can I get a refund?

Month to month billing is not refundable.  To cancel, just call us and we will stop billing you and cancel your listing.

If you purchased a 3, 6 or 12 month plan, refunds are given on a case by case basis and if granted, then a refund will be prorated.  If you sold your house earlier than 3, 6 or 12 months and are trying to cancel to get a refund, then you will be denied because you used our service successfully to sell your house. You should have chosen the monthly plan.

If you ask for a refund prior to having your house listed, there is a 2.9% +.25 cents credit card fee that will not be returned as our credit card processor does not refund that amount back to you.

Can I call you if I have any questions during the process?

If you have questions prior to signing up then please call us. We will set your mind at ease about purchasing a flat fee MLS listing service. After you sign up, please contact us my email for all questions, changes or concerns. But if you have a real issue, then please call us. If you want phone support and more for the selling process, then you can sign up for out Full Service Flat Fee Plan which provides that.

Don’t be discouraged if you are not getting many showings. The average length on the market is 3-5 months in many towns. The biggest factor is your price range and the condition of the house. Be sure not to over price your home and make sure you have good pictures. We can provide a CMA to help you price your home.