Question 1

What is Sage?

Accepted Answer

Sage is reinventing the way you sell your home, while saving you thousands! Sage saves the average person over $15,000! What would you do with an extra $15,000? You could pay off debt, you can remodel a bathroom, do landscaping, or even though housing prices continue to grow you can buy a larger house. Sage was created to put value in the buyer's and seller's pocket so that they can hold onto the equity that they have earned on their home.

We have optimized the system by provided an integrated, coordination of services to provide you with a similar experience to the traditional commission-based method, while saving you a ton of money.

Question 2

Is Sage a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Platform?

Accepted Answer

Heck No! As a a seller you have a dedicated, committed licensed real estate agent that is there to guide you through the process of selling your home. You also get your house on the MLS for 6 months, which does most of the marketing for you. Traditional agents don't want you to know that the MLS is the tool that gets you on all of the big websites (Zillow, Realtor, Redfin, Trulia, etc.) and the MLS is what markets your house in a way that people all over the world can see your house is for sale.

For selling your house, your agent is available for questions via email, text, and phone. Your agent will not meet you in person, but your agent is available for quesitons, helping you review the contract, and difficult questions you may have about selling your house, helps with negotiations, etc. like any other traditional agent would also do. They are a resource to help represent you in selling your house.

Question 3

Are There Any Hidden Fees?

Accepted Answer

Nope. All Sage fees and payment plans are listed on the "List Your House" Page.You chose your plan of payment. Pay all upfront, or split up the cost over several months.    Sage's goal is to provide you with a great selling experience, while saving you thousands of dollars in the process. Because of the way it coordinates its services to save you money, part of your payment must be paid at closing. The $399 fee paid at closing is a minimum required fee required per state minimum service regulations. Note how on the "List Your House" page, each plan includes an upfront or monthly fee and this $399 fee at closing.   Sage is transparent about all costs involved in the process so that you fee comfortable about what you are paying for Sage services. Save tons of money, while allowing Sage to help you sell your house. Who would complain about an average of $10,000 of savings put back in your pocket?

Question 4

Where does Sage Provide Its Services?

Accepted Answer

Sage can help sellers sell their house in all 50 states and save thousands of dollars while doing it.

Question 5

Do I Have To Pay the Buyer's Agent Commission (BAC)?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if a buyer puts an offer on the your house and comes represented by a buyer's agent, then you will pay the Buyer's Agent Commission (BAC) at closing. When Sage's MLS and Listing Broker Service Provider reaches out to you to provide you the MLS Listing service, you will fill out paperwork that requires you to choose how much you are willing to to pay for a BAC. It is highly recommended that you set this commission in the 2.5-3.0% range. Otherwise, you will drastically limit the number of buyers represented by buyers agents that will be interested in coming to see your house and you will make it harder for you to sell your house.

If a buyer comes and makes an offer on your house without a buyer's agent. Then your Sage Listing Agent will aid in creating a contract for you and you will not need to pay the BAC, but this is less common, but still a possibility as most buyers will come with an agent to help aid them in the process of buying their house.

Question 6

How does the Sage Buyer Refund affect me as a Sage Seller?

Accepted Answer

It does not affect you as the seller. The Sage Buyer Refund is paid to a Sage buyer out of the BAC that you agree upon when you fill out the paperwork with the Sage MLS Listing Service Provider. Say you agree to a 3.0% Buyer's Agent Commission (BAC), which is paid to the buyer's realtor at closing. You, as a Sage Seller, still pay your normal 3.0% BAC, and then the Sage Buyer's Refund is pulled out of this BAC to refund the Sage Buyer at closing. Outside of the standard BAC that you agree to when you sell your house (which is standard regardless if you sell through Sage or a standard real estate listing agent), no additional costs are put on you as a seller. Both you, the Sage Seller, and the Sage Buyer buying your house receive savings by using Sage for this house selling transaction.

Question 7

Can I Use My Own Photos For My MLS Listing?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can use your own photos on your MLS listing for your house. Sage provides you with a Professional Photographer and 25 Professional Photos when you buy a Sage House Listing Package. It is recommended that you do not mix your photos with the Sage Professional Photos so that all your photos looks contiguous on the MLS.   Within 48 hours of buying a Sage Listing Package, Sage's Professional Photographer Service Provider will reach out to you to schedule a time to come take professional photos. It is recommended that you deep-clean and declutter your home before having the Professional Photographer come and take pictures of your home. This way you are representing your home well on the MLS and making it look more desirable to potentially interested buyers that will see these photos on the MLS or the major websites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Refin, Truila, etc.

Question 8

How Do I Get My Photos on the MLS After The Sage Professional Photographer Gives Me the Professional Photos?

Accepted Answer

Once the Sage Professional Photographer is finished editing the photos and sends them to you, you must take the photos and upload them onto the Sage MLS Listing Service Provider's Website. Once the photos are uploaded and you have filled out all the required forms required for creating an MLS listing with the Sage MLS Listing Service Provider, you should be good to go and the Sage MLS Listing Provider will put your MLS listing together and post it.   Once your MLS Listing has posted, within 24 hours all the major websites such as Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Truila, etc. will put your information from your MLS Listing on their websites.

Question 9

Does My Sage Listing Agent Provide Open Houses Services?

Accepted Answer

The honest truth is that Open Houses truly only provide value for the Real Estate Agents hosting them. And the truth is that even though you may agree to have a dedicated Real Estate Agent represent you to sell your house, most of the time, your listing agent may have a newer, less-experienced real estate agent host the Open House for you and then split part of the commission with the Open House hosting Real Estate Agent.   Open houses help real estate agents connect with prospective buyers and future clients more than actually help you sell your house. Top real estate agents do not waste their time with open houses because it really does not help much in selling your house, but instead helps the agents find buyers that come in without a real estate agent.    So, to answer the question, your Sage Listing Agent does not host open houses on your behalf because we do not see it providing value in helping to sell your house. However, the average buyer saves an average of $10,000 or more when listing their house with Sage, and so if you feel you would like to personally host your own open house, you use the Sage MLS listing Service provider to set an open house and host one yourself. To be perfectly honest with you, the MLS listing and the fact that your house will be listed on the top websites (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Trulia, etc.) does all the marketing that you would need to get you the exposure you need to sell your house. If you price you house well, your house should sell given the exposure you get with the MLS listing and being on the top real estate websites.

Question 10

Should I Consider Staging My House Before Listing It On The MLS?

Accepted Answer

When you show off your house, you want to make sure to put your best foot forward. Houses that are cluttered with dated furniture can really hurt a houses' ability to sell quickly. Clutter also makes your house seem smaller than it truly is.

Some people make the executive decision to clean the house, declutter and remove extra furniture and equipment because it makes their house seem more open, more fresh, and up to date, given that their furniture is not very outdated.   Others chose to remove all furniture and move out of a house to make it look more like an open book and they feel that a house without furniture allows people to use their imagination to fill a space. It can be hard sometimes, however, to visualize what a room would look like without a little furniture, so having something in a room is often better than nothing.    While others choose to go the route of staging their house so that their house has a well decorated, up to date look for showings. 77% of buyer's agents would say that staging or some sort of furniture helps their buyers visualize the staged property as their future home. The downside to staging is that there is extra cost involved to go this route.    It doesn't hurt to get a couple opinions about what choice works best for you. One way or the other, Sage would tend to lean towards having some furniture in the house over having an empty house because it gives the buyers and idea of how people live in it. At the end of the day, this is a decision that the seller must make.   Regardless, you should at least clean the house and declutter to make it look its best for the professional photos and for showings. That way, you are putting your best foot forward and presenting your house in its best light.

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