Terms and Conditions

Listing Agreement and Supporting Documents

We enter a listing agreement with you giving us the exclusive right to list and sell your home. Your listing agreement is customized for your listing and signed electronically by you and us. The agreement stipulates all terms and conditions including fees paid to us and the buyer agent.  Upon request, we review the listing agreement with you prior to execution.  Per paragraph 21. H., we cannot and do not give legal advice. Read your listing agreement carefully. If you do not understand it, consult an attorney. 

The listing agreement stipulates you have the legal capacity to convey the property. The listing agreement must be executed by all parties having an equitable interest in the property or their lawful representatives. You will provide us with your divorce decree, corporate, and other records supporting your legal capacity to convey if applicable.

Any purchase agreement for a property listed by us must state we are representing you. On the one to four family contract this information goes on Page 9. 

MLS and Public Web Sites

Each MLS system has common and unique public web sites to which they subscribe. We do not guarantee your property is listed on all public websites and we do not guarantee content or number of photos on these sites. We guarantee your home will be listed on the MLS of your choosing and those they share with. There are many MLS systems specific to each region, when you property is enabled on your MLS, it transmits your listing to many public websites. The number of photos allowed is a function of the local MLS rules and procedures. Some MLS do not subscribe to websites like Zillow & Trulia.

Leads from Public Websites

Public websites such as Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com are owned by private lead generation companies. We do not get many leads from these sites. When we do, we process the lead pursuant to your service level.

Your Listing Contact Information Might be Shared with Agents

In your listing, unless otherwise requested, your contact information is not on the MLS. When agents, and potential buyers or tenants deliver email or call we may share your contact information in certain situations to facilitate or expedite a request.

Refund Policy

Listing service begins when an order is placed. Processing the order, shipping, consultation, photography, market analysis, processing documents and signatures, are costs incurred before a listing is live. Most of our work is upfront, all fees paid to us are non-refundable, regardless of when the MLS listing is made active.

If you decide to postpone your listing after your payment is made, Your order is valid up to 1 year after payment.

Listing fees paid for Full Representation are not refundable, regardless if offers are not received and negotiated. The fee paid is for the availability of the service during the term. 

Electronic Key box And Sign Returns

We pick up lock boxes and signs after closing. If those are lost, stolen, or damaged, pursuant to the listing agreement, you might receive a bill after closing to collect for those items.

Buyer Representation Agreement

We enter a buyer representation agreement with you giving us the exclusive right to represent you in your  purchase transaction. Your representation agreement is customized for you and signed electronically by you and us. The agreement stipulates all terms and conditions including fees we earn and rebates payable to you.  Per paragraph 18, we cannot and do not give legal advice. Read your representation agreement carefully. If you do not understand it, consult an attorney. 

Showing Services

We utilize third parties to schedule a showing at your property. These services require us to set up an account for you and your property for notification and approval of showings. The criteria for authorizing the showing is set up in advance based on your needs during our initial consultation. With using those methods, you are authorizing an independent third-party to enter your home for the purposes of viewing the property. You are assuming the liability any subsequent event as you would with any other guest or service provider invited by you into your property. You can visit https://www.showingtime.com/privacy-policy/ for information about how you private information is managed.

Buyer Rebates

Agents representing buyers most often are offered a commission of  3% of the purchase price. If the buyer agent commission is less than 3%, your rebate is correspondingly reduced and our commission remains intact.  DFWCityhomes minimum commission is $1,500.

DFWCityhomes can not pay your rebate if it is not stated on your closing statement and disbursed at closing. A closing statement is approved by all parties and implies consent to pay a rebate. 

If an offer is made by us or directly by you, it must include written notification of our representation to the seller and their representatives, your lender, and any other party obligated in the transaction of the amount of the rebate, and how it is to be paid. If we make the offer on your behalf, the rebate is stated in special provisions.

Your loan program may reduce, limit, or prohibit your incentive. Talk to your lender about your options about how to properly disclose and receive payment before making any offers.  If the rebate exceeds an amount authorized by the lender, with the seller’s consent, rebates can be applied to reduce the sales price. 

A rebate may not be paid in a manner that misleads a broker, lender, title company, or governmental agency regarding the real estate transaction or the financial resources or obligations of the buyer.

Comparative Market Analysis

First, let’s clarify that a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is not an appraisal.  A real estate license holder may not perform an appraisal of, or provide an opinion of value for, real property unless the license holder is licensed or certified as an appraiser.

Any opinion of value or CMA provided by us is not to be considered an appraisal or opinion of value. In making any decision that relies upon our work, you should know that we are not certified as an appraiser and have not followed the guidelines for development of an appraisal or analysis contained in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice of the Appraisal Foundation.

Minimum Services and Fiduciary Duty

licensed brokers and agents are required by law to put your interests as their client above all others, including the broker’s own interests. This is called acting as a “fiduciary”. It also involves providing the following minimum services:

  • Put the interests of the client above all others, including the broker’s own interests;
  • Inform our clients of any material information about the property or the transaction received by the broker;
  • Answer questions and present any offer to or counter offer to our clients; and
  • Treat all parties to a real estate transaction honestly and fairly.

We are required to provide certain consumer notices to you. We are required to provide you with a form called the “Information About Brokerage Services” that can be found on the footer of every page on our website. This form describes the different ways a professional can represent you, the minimum services we must provide to you and key business names, licenses and contact information for our sales agent, broker, and delegated supervisor. Our website also contains a link to a copy of the “Consumer Protection Notice” that contains information about filing a complaint with TREC and recovery funds.

We encourage you to ask for advice.  We are obligated to answer your questions. We are not obligated to provide unsolicited advice.

See our article – What are the minimum services a broker must provide?

Confidentiality

We have a duty to keep your confidential information confidential. Anything about a seller or buyer that can be used by the other party to improve their negotiating position is confidential. 

Confidentiality does not apply to the property. Any material information we receive about a property must be disclosed to the buyer and future buyers. We do not solicit inspection reports from buyers without your consent. Should a buyer send one to us unsolicited, we have a duty to disclose it to all buyers. 

Right to Refuse Services

We reserve the right to refuse to accept any client at our sole discretion. DFWCityhomes does not make blind offers on behalf of it’s buyers. Buyers must have seen the property and have an interest in purchasing a property for personal use and a willingness to purchase the property at a reasonable price. 

Privacy

We do not share your contract information with parties not related to your transaction without your approval.  See our Privacy Statement.

Laws and Regulations

You agree to comply with local, State, and Federal laws including the Federal Fair Housing Act that protects people from discrimination when they are renting, buying, or securing financing for any housing. The prohibitions specifically cover discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability and the presence of children.

Communications Policy

The success of our service relies on electronic communications. DFWCityhomes uses the following methods to communicate with clients: our websites and forms, our help desk, our transaction room, phone, fax, letter, email and email forwarding, text, messaging, social media, and voicemail.  Our desire is to make it as convenient and timely as possible to respond to our clients’ needs and concerns. Our success depends on efficient and timely communications. 

Unfortunately, because of our workload, we are not always available to respond immediately when clients contact us.  We will make an effort to return your inquiry made by 6 PM Central time on the same day. However, there are times, often due to urgent negotiation matters, we are unable to respond that quickly. Please be patient and know that some client matters require timely, uninterrupted, and continuous attention, and we will occasionally be unavailable or delayed while handling such matters. We appreciate your understanding when such times arise.

By engaging DFWCityhomes you agree to conduct business electronically and accept responsibility for monitoring and responding to electronic communications initiated by you or us. You agree to use the same responding communication method in communicating with us. In other words, you will respond to email with email, online help desk to online help desk, and text with text unless some other agreement exists. We do not guarantee response to text because of the difficulty in tracking historical text information. We do not send text notifications to tell you to look at email and so forth. It is yours, and ours, responsibility to monitor all communications and respond timely and accordingly. 

We encourage you to ask for advice.  We are obligated to answer your questions. We are not obligated to provide unsolicited advice.