Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does Terra Vista Realty provide services at such a low price?
Terra Vista isn’t saddled with the overhead costs that many traditional realty firms have. Conventional real estate companies have to spend money on large offices, local and national franchising efforts, costly management overhead and many other expenses. Terra Vista is structured to avoid many of these extraneous expenses and we pass the savings on to our clients.

Will Terra Vista Realty charge me anything to buy a home?
We normally charge nothing for clients to use our buyer's agency services. This is because the seller will normally offer us a commission on the home you buy. In fact, we will actually pay you to use our services through our 1.5% rebate system. Read on below for more information on rebates for homebuyers...

What services does Terra Vista Realty offer home buyers?
We offer buyers complete assistance in the home buying process - from home searches to placing offers to assistance with real estate closings. We also offer buyers a rebate of up to 1.5% of the home's sales price – which can add up to a significant cash savings on the purchase.

Does Terra Vista Realty provide buyers with a 1.5% rebate on every house sale?
No, not on every sale. We normally offer buyer-clients a rebate that equals one half of the commission that is offered to us, as the buyer's agent. For example, if the commission offered to the buyer's agent is 3%, we give a 1.5% rebate back to the buyer at closing. If the rebate is 2.5%, we provide a rebate of 1.25% (one half of 2.5%) for the contract price. And if a buyer is searching for a home priced at less than $200,000, we would reserve the right to negotiate a different comission rebate - depending on the value of the property sought.

A 1.5% rebate may not sound like much, but it can mean savings of several thousands of dollars on the home you buy.

Does Terra Vista Realty provide sellers with full service?
Yes, we do. We provide the full suite of service components that are critical to the home sales process – from completing paperwork to advising on home values, from marketing exposure to contract negotiations, from signage and lockboxes to managing the closing process.

Does Terra Vista Realty hold open houses?
We don’t hold open houses, although as a client of ours, you would be free to do this on your own. However, we don’t recommend this. Open houses are notorious for delivering nosy neighbors and no qualified leads.

In addition to Terra Vista Realty's listing fee of 1%, what other commissions will I need to pay??
If you list your home with Terra Vista Realty, you have the choice of offering the buyer’s agent a commission of either 2.5% or 3% of the home sales price. You will also pay Terra Vista Realty a 1% listing fee upon closing. Therefore, the total commission paid is normally 3.5% or 4% - depending on your preferences. In other words, 70 to 75% of the total commission fees go to the buyer’s real estate agent – not to us - according to the listing contract we normally offer. This way, buyers’ agents will have plenty of incentive to show your home to their clients.

Why should I use a low-commission service such as Terra Vista, instead of just selling my home FSBO (for sale by owner)?
The greatest disadvantage of going the for-sale-by-owner route is that the home is usually only exposed to a very limited subset of prospective buyers. While it’s possible to sell a home this way, the limited supply of qualified buyers means that the home is less likely to sell at the price that it’s really worth.

The fact is that the vast majority of home buyers still use real estate agents - and these agents are not inclined to show their clients for-sale-by-owner homes. Also, many FSBO sellers encounter hassles and uncertainty in pricing their homes, marketing their homes and completing necessary paper work. As a full-service REALTOR, Terra Vista helps you avoid such hassles.

What is the MLS?
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a computerized database of homes currently for sale. This is an exclusive tool, only available to regional members of The National Association of REALTORS. The MLS is the lifeblood of REALTORS: it is the primary tool used to find homes for their buyers. Real estate agents regularly search the MLS to find potential matches for their buyers. So when new listings are entered, they are immediately made available to thousands of agents with prospective buyers.

Who will show my home to potential buyers?
Licensed real estate agents will show your home to prospective buyers. Because Terra Vista will list your home in the MLS, the entire pool of local REALTORS will have immediate access to your property listing. And they will know ahead of time that you are offering a competitive commission on any in-state or out-of-state buyers that make an acceptable offer on your house. So these REALTORS will have a strong incentive to show your home to appropriate buyers.

Will my property be listed on the Internet?
Yes, when you sell your home through Terra Vista, it will be listed on major real estate Web sites such as realtor.com and dozens of other local and national Web sites. These Web sites offer exposure of your property to out-of-state buyers that are increasingly using the Internet to research homes – as well as in-state purchasers. According to recent data from the National Association of REALTORS, approximately 74% of homebuyers now use the Internet in their search.

Does Terra Vista Realty charge a 1% listing fee on every listing?
We charge a 1% fee on most real estate listings. However, we reserve the right to negotiate a different commission rate – e.g., in the event that a property value is so low that 1% won’t be sufficient to cover the time and expense of marketing that property. For example, if you are selling a single, unimproved building lot you could likely expect to pay more than a 1% listing fee. If you have questions about a particular property that you’d like to sell, please call us to discuss.

How can I decide if Terra Vista Realty is right for me?
If you’re interested in getting a better understanding of our services, we invite you to call us. We’ll do our best to answer any questions you might have.