Hero Program Limitations – Restrictions – Terms of Use

HERO SAVINGS PROGRAMS REQUIREMENTS, LIMITATIONS & RESTRICTIONS:

• ELIGIBILITY: The program is available FOR A PRIMARY RESIDENCE owned by a qualifying hero or spouse of a qualifying hero which is located in a current Smart Move Real Estate service area.

• COSTS TO THE HERO SELLER: Smart Move Real Estate will charge a qualified hero ONLY A ONE DOLLAR LISTING SIDE COMMISSION to list, market and handle all aspects necessary to bring the sale to a successful transaction closing. (The $1.00 is required to be charged by our Errors and Omissions Insurance.) The home seller will pay only the buyer’s agent commission percentage which they agree to allow Smart Move Real Estate to post on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS.) This commission is utilized to incentivize the 2000+ local Buyer’s Agents to bring their buyers to the seller’s property. Smart Move Real Estate will earn the agreed upon buyer’s agent’s commission only if a Smart Move agent brings the buyer who makes the purchase offer accepted by the home seller. All commissions shall be paid at the transaction closing.

• REQUIRED BUYER’S AGENT COMMISSION: A typical Buyer’s Agent’s commission is 2.5%-3% of the final sales price of the property. The program minimum for the Buyer’s Agent’s commission must be at least of 2.5%. If a Buyer’s Agent’s commission is offered that is lower than 2.5%, the property will not sell in a timely manner. Offering a 3% Buyer’s Agent’s Commission often times will result in the seller’s property being one of the first properties the local Buyer’s Agents show their home buyer clients. This typically results in the property selling significantly faster.

• PRICING THE PROPERTY: The Hero Seller MUST invest in a Pre-Listing Appraisal of the property. Special discounted pricing of approximately 50% of the standard cost of a property appraisal have been arranged with Hero Program Sponsor appraisers.

• The property cannot be listed for an asking price greater than 2% above the pre-listing appraised value.

• WHY IS A PRE-LISTING APPRAISAL REQUIRED?

  • Over 90% of home buyers will obtain mortgage financing to purchase the property. The buyer’s mortgage lender will require a mortgage appraisal be performed by an independent appraiser. Most transaction failures are caused by the lender obtained mortgage appraisal resulting in a property value less than the contract sales price. The pre-listing appraisal negates a home seller’s and/or a Realtor’s “subjective” valuing of the property and ensures that the property is priced as accurately as possible.

  • Additionally, a pre-listing appraisal provides an accurate living square footage of the subject property. Misrepresentation of the either inadvertently or purposely can result in the home seller being forced by a court of law to reimburse the home buyer the difference in the represented and actual square footage of the property multiplied by the cost per square foot the buyer paid for the property. For example: a mere 100 square foot error in the represented living square footage multiplied by $150 sold price per sq. ft. could result in a future liability of $15,000! By having an experienced, licensed appraiser measure and value the property, any liability from an error in measurement would result in the liability being deferred to the appraiser’s Errors & Omissions Insurance. The pre-listing appraisal also negates the opposite situation from happening. A home seller may believe their property is 2,000 square feet, when in actuality the home measures out at 2,150 sq. ft.. This could result in a significantly lower final sales price than the home seller may have obtained from the sale of their property.

• PROGRAM REQUIRED REPORTS: The Hero Home Seller is required to make investments in a Pre-Listing Appraisal, Pre-Listing Home Inspection, Preliminary Title Report and Termite & Wood Destroying Insect Report (WDIR). The majority of Hero Home Sellers (WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR SPONSOR PARTNER DISCOUNTS) will invest a combined total of approximately $250 to $350 to obtain ALL of these pre-listing reports. However, for larger homes, properties in outer lying areas and/or properties with excessive acreage, the seller’s investment may be higher, but typically should never exceed $500.)

  • WHY DO WE REQUIRE PRE-LISTING REPORTS?: The information provided in these reports allows Smart Move Real Estate, the seller and the home buyer the ability to negate over 90% of the issues that traditionally cause a home seller unnecessary hassle, liability and a painfully drawn out sales process. Having advance knowledge of the important information provided in these reports BEFORE entering a contract with a buyer allows all parties to avoid the highly stressful and sometimes devastating results of an unnecessary delay or complete failure of a home sales transaction.

  • An added advantage of gaining these pre-listing reports is that they make the Hero Seller’s property more attractive to potential home buyers. Prospective buyers feel much more confident making an offer to purchase a property when this information is available to them in advance of making a final buying decision. Unlike most of the other properties a home buyer may be considering… By providing these reports, the purchaser of a Hero Seller’s property is not forced to spend nearly $1,000 in upfront costs to obtain the information they will need to ensure they wish to proceed with the transaction. 

  • ADDITIONAL BENEFIT TO THE HOME SELLER OF PROVIDING PRE-LISTING REPORTS: Home Seller’s that provide the buyer a Pre-listing Home Inspection Report, Preliminary Title Report and WDIR significantly reduce the chances of the buyer backing out the sale during the property inspection period.  Purchase Agreement cancellation is harmful to a property seller because the house shows as PENDING on the MLS and is effectively off the market during the buyer’s 14 day buyer’s inspection period. During this period, when the house is off the market, the home seller could actually miss another buyer that would have purchased their property. Additionally, when a property returns to market after showing as PENDING on the MLS, agents and buyers tend to wonder if there is a problem with the property that caused the previous buyer to withdraw from the Purchase Agreement. Pre-listing inspections afford the home seller the opportunity to mitigate the risk of buyer re-negotiation or contract cancellation during the inspection period. Advance knowledge of the property condition allows the home seller the opportunity to remedy any issues BEFORE they are exposed by a buyer’s home inspection.

• SPONSOR PARTNER “HERO HOME SELLER” DISCOUNTS: 

  • THE TYPICAL COST OF A HOME INSPECTION IS $300 OR HIGHER BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY.

    • Sponsor Partner Discount Cost: House Call USA performs a pre-listing inspection of any sized property listed under our Hero Seller’s Program for only $150. Plus, they will re-inspect the property for contracted buyer for only $150.

  • THE TYPICAL COST OF A WOOD DESTROYING INSECT REPORT (WDIR) IS $100 TO $250.

    • Sponsor Partner Discount Cost: When completed in conjunction with a House Call USA Pre-listing Home Inspection there is NO CHARGE for the Wood Destroying Insect Report (WDIR).

  • THE TYPICAL COST OF AN PRE-LISTING APPRAISAL DEPENDING ON SIZE AND LOCATION OF THE PROPERTY IS $400 to $800 OR HIGHER.

    • Sponsor Partner Discount Cost: Accurate Valuations will provide a Pre-Listing Appraisal on a Hero Seller’s Program Listing for a typical cost of only $150 to $350 depending on size and location of property.

  • THE TYPICAL COST OF A PRELIMINARY TITLE REPORT IS $200 to $300.

    • Sponsor Partner Discount Cost: Our Sponsor Partner Choice Title performs this report on our Hero Home Seller Listings at NO CHARGE.

Sponsor Partner Discounts are made available solely for the benefit of the home seller or home buyer. Smart Move Real Estate receives no financial benefit from any Sponsor Partner for their participation in the Hero Savings Program. Sponsor discounts are subject to change or cancellation without notice and/or may have certain restrictions, limitations and may not be available in all Smart Move Real Estate service areas. The home buyer or seller are in no way required to use any Program Sponsor Company to obtain services required to complete their real estate transaction. Consumers are encouraged to shop and compare the costs of all transactional service providers.

• IF THE HERO HOME SELLER IS FINANCING A NEW PROPERTY: We strongly suggest that they pre-qualify for their new mortgage with one of our Program Sponsor Lenders. ALL LENDERS PARTICIPATING IN OUR HERO’S PROGRAM HAVE AN EXCELLENT TRACK RECORD OF PROVIDING OUR CLIENTS GREAT SERVICE AND HONEST AND ACCURATE INFORMATION. We suggest this In order to avoid unforeseen issues that could potentially impact the hero’s ability to obtain financing on their new property. The inability of the seller to obtain financing does not allow them to cancel the Purchase Agreement they have entered into with a buyer. For this reason, the Hero Home Seller is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to pre-qualify for their next mortgage with a Program Sponsor Lender, or other highly reputable lender.

  • Hero Program Sponsor Lenders have agreed to charge Hero Home Buyers who are using a Smart Move Real Estate agent to represent them, NO APPLICATION FEE  and provide our Hero Home Buyers up to an additional $1,000 in closing cost credits. (subject to loan amount and program limitations. Ask a participating lender for details)

• Smart Move Real Estate will order a preliminary title search on the subject property in order to ensure there are no issues which would hinder transferability of property title. Seller’s listing their property under our Hero Seller’s Program will be provided this report from Choice Title at NO COST!

  • If title issues are found, Choice Title will, at the seller’s request, begin remedying any issues that could affect the transferability of the subject property. (There may be costs involved to remedy these issues.)

• Smart Move Real Estate will order a Old Republic Home Warranty with HVAC coverage and a $100 Trade Call Fee. The hero’s property shall be covered as long as the property is listed under Smart Move Real Estate’s Hero Home Seller Program. There is NO COST to the Hero Home Seller during the process of selling the property. The warranty will then be transferred to the buyer at the transaction closing at either the buyer’s or seller’s expense of $599, which ever is negotiated between the parties. *HVAC coverage is limited to a maximum of $1500 during the sales process and is fully covered per the plan terms and limitations once transferred to the home buyer. Warranty is subject to limitations and restrictions and may not cover all mechanical items such as pools, pool equipment, septic tanks etc…SEE PLAN BROCHURE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS.

  • The initiation date of the warranty shall be reset from the date of closing, affording the home buyer a full 12 months of coverage. If the property listing with Smart Move Real Estate expires or is withdrawn for any reason, the home warranty will be immediately cancelled by Smart Move Real Estate unless the home seller chooses to retain the warranty by paying the annual premium.

• Smart Move Real Estate reserves the right to refuse service or cancel service, when, in their sole judgement, they feel they cannot provide quality service to a home seller or home buyer due to property location, property condition and/or failure of the client to follow our professional consultation. Program may be amended or cancelled at any time without notice.