Frequently Asked Questions

Hometuit has automated and streamlined much of the homebuying process so that buyers can do quite a bit themselves (like browsing for homes online to find the ones they’re interested in). As a result, our costs are lower and we’re able to refund our buyers up to $5,000 at closing (some limitations apply).

If a non-Hometuit seller has listed their home on the MLS, they’ve agreed to pay a buyer agent commission (BAC), usually around 3% of the price of the home. Hometuit collects those funds for a Hometuit buyer and refunds up to $5,000 back to the buyer for closing and loan costs. To qualify for the refund, buyers must have signed a Buyer Broker Agreement (BBA) with Hometuit and get prequalified with Hometuit Loans. Some brokerage fees and lender restrictions may apply. The Hometuit Buyer Refund is not available for Hometuit seller listings.

Learn more by downloading our buyer eBook.

1. Sign the Hometuit Buyer Broker Agreement (BBA)
2. Get prequalified for a loan at Hometuitloans.com

Refunds come from any paid buyer’s agent commissions. Check with a Hometuit attorney or agent to inquire as to whether or not commissions are being paid on any given property and, if so, how much of a refund you could qualify for. Hometuit Buyer Refunds do not apply to Hometuit-2-Hometuit deals, since Hometuit sellers do not pay typical buyer agent commissions when they accept an offer from a Hometuit buyer.

If the listing has no Buyer Agent Commission, Hometuit’s buyer services are still free, but you will not receive a refund since no commission will be collected.

The exact amount Hometuit can refund buyers depends on the commission specified in the MLS listing. For instance, on a $300,000 home, if the seller agreed to pay 1% commission, then the maximum Hometuit could refund a Hometuit buyer would be 1% minus fees. If, like most sellers, the agreed-upon commission is around 3%, then a Hometuit buyer could receive up to a $5,000 refund to use for closing and loan costs.

Hometuit-2-Hometuit is another way we help you get the home of your dreams. When a Hometuit seller reviews an offer from a Hometuit buyer, they know they are NOT paying the full BAC listed on the MLS. This means they could be saving thousands of dollars in typical commissions. This makes Hometuit buyer offers more attractive to Hometuit sellers. For example, assume you and another buyer both put in the same exact offer for a Hometuit listing. The Hometuit seller is financially wooed to take the Hometuit buyer’s offer instead of the traditional buyer’s offer, giving your offer a much better chance because the seller’s fees are so much lower for Hometuit buyers.

If the home is listed on Hometuit’ website, simply click “Request a Tour” on the listing to set up your tour directly with the seller. If the home is not listed on Hometuit’s website, contact to set up a tour.

Sign up to be a Hometuit buyer here.

House hunting can be both fun and frustrating. Most buyers find a home by browsing online listings in the areas where they want to live. Start with the listings on Hometuit.com. If you don’t find the home of your dreams there, search other sites like Zillow, Trulia, and MLS sites. Once you’ve found a few you’re interested in, it’s a good idea to do a drive-by. Is the house next to a train track? The only decent house in a crummy neighborhood? On a busy street? These things are difficult to assess online. After you’ve done your drive-by, and you’re still interested, it’s time to set up a tour.

Any allowable buyer refund can only be applied to closing costs. It is applied to the settlement statement at the time of closing. The refund cannot be deducted from the sales price or given out as cash at closing.

Learn more by downloading our buyer eBook.

No, the only requirement for receiving your Hometuit Buyer Refund is that you pre-qualify. We know how competitive Hometuit Loans’ rates are and they can almost always get our buyers the best deal. If, however, you choose to get your loan elsewhere, you can still qualify for the Hometuit Buyer Refund.

Yes, to receive a Hometuit Buyer Refund you need to pre-qualify with Hometuit Loans. Start the simple, quick process here.

Yes, you are represented by Hometuit and have signed a Buyer Broker Agreement, this makes Hometuit your buyer’s agent.

No worries. We have real estate attorneys and agents available to answer any questions you may have on the official offer form. Just contact us.

Learn more by downloading our buyer eBook.

The most important aspect of your offer is typically the sales price. Before you decide how much to offer, find out what your dream home is worth. Hometuit will send you a Home Value Report on the home you’re interested in for free. Use the report to make an educated offer on the home.

Learn more by downloading our buyer eBook.

Earnest money is a deposit that you make as a buyer to confirm the contract and show the seller that you are serious about your intent to purchase the home. Earnest money can be returned to you or forfeited to the seller depending on the terms of the purchase contract and whether you decide to move forward with closing once a contract is in place. As a buyer, make sure you understand the terms of the earnest money deposit and the circumstances under which you can cancel the contract and retain the earnest money.

Learn more by downloading our buyer eBook.

The earnest money deposit is usually at least 1% of the home’s sale price. When making offers, offering more earnest money makes your offer stand out and shows you’re serious. You need to have the funds available to cover your earnest money deposit because you will have to deposit it with a title/escrow company when your offer is accepted.

Learn more by downloading our buyer eBook.

Yes. You can make offers on homes advertised on Hometuit and use your agent to do that for you.

Yes, Hometuit’s got your back. Hometuit Loans, a sister company, offers mortgage loans and can pre-qualify and pre-approve you for a loan. Get started online at www.Hometuit.com.

Learn more by downloading our buyer eBook.

Click “List Your Home” to start the signup process. Fill in the basic information about your home and enter your payment information. You should sign up 3-5 days before you want your listing to go live. Once the listing is live, people can use Hometuit to schedule tours of your home and make offers. Contact us with any questions about the selling process.

Professional photography is included as part of the seller package. We will contact you within one business day of signing up to schedule an appointment to take photos of your home.

We recommend having our professional photographer come out. This service is included and you’ll have even more good shots to choose from. If you have certain photos of your home that you’d like to use, you can send a shareable Dropbox or Google Drive link and we will include them in your listing and online ads.

Our standard advertising package includes a free listing on the local multiple listing service (MLS) and most sellers opt to be listed in order to increase visibility and traffic to the home. Some areas in Utah and Arizona are outside of Hometuit’s MLS coverage but you may be able to still list with us. Contact support@Hometuit.com to find out exactly which MLS services Hometuit uses.

If you choose to list your home on the MLS, you decide how much of a buyer agent commission you are willing to pay. The typical buyer agent commission is 3% and many sellers choose to offer a commission to buyers’ agents to get as many potential buyers in the door as possible. If you receive and accept an offer from a non-Hometuit buyer, you would pay whatever commission you promised to pay on the MLS. If you receive and accept an offer from a Hometuit buyer, you pay only a $1,799 buyer transaction fee, NOT the full buyer agent commission you agreed to pay on the MLS. This is another way Hometuit saves you thousands of dollars should you choose to go with a Hometuit buyer.

The Hometuit-2-Hometuit deal incentivizes sellers to inform interested unrepresented buyers to use Hometuit. If you, the seller, accept an offer from a Hometuit-represented buyer, then you will not have to pay the full buyer agent commission (BAC) listed on the MLS. Instead you only pay a $1,799 buyer transaction fee, in addition to your normal listing charges. Hometuit-2-Hometuit saves sellers thousands in buyer agent commissions, in addition to savings on sell-side commissions, and rewards everyone for being a Hometuit.

Nothing. The Hometuit Buyer Refund applies only to contracts in which a Hometuit buyer purchases a non-Hometuit home. Since you are listed with Hometuit, you would not pay any buyer refund fees.

When you list your home with Hometuit, you’ll want to keep your private phone information private, so we assign you a Hometuit-specific phone number. Callers can select one of three options. They can: 1) schedule a tour; 2) contact you directly; or 3) hear a description of your home. You can then choose which calls you want to respond to and avoid those calls that tend to be a disruption. Note: now that Hometuit is a real estate brokerage, other real estate agents are not allowed to call you for the purpose of trying to acquire your listing.

Hometuit is a licensed real estate brokerage and provides sellers with a Home Value Report that includes data on active and recently sold comparable properties. The report helps sellers zero in on a price that’s both attractive to buyers and highly profitable.

Don’t worry, Hometuit’s got your back. One of our attorneys can answer any questions you have. Just email us.

The purpose for holding an open house has changed. Most potential buyers will have already seen your house online and would typically prefer to view it in person without other people walking around. Still, an open house can work to your advantage. When buyers see other buyers interested in your home, their interest increases. Open houses can lead to multiple offers at the same time. Download a checklist on how to hold a Modern Open House.

In a hot seller market, it’s not uncommon to receive two or more offers. We highly recommend going over all offers with Hometuit attorneys so they can point out the pros and cons of each. With more than one offer, you can choose to respond to all open offers by telling interested parties to submit their highest and best offers. At this point, you can choose the offer that works best for you. For more tips on selecting offers, download our Sell Your Home with Confidence ebook.

You will show your home in one of three states: 1) as is; 2) empty; or 3) staged. The best choice depends upon quite a few factors, which we cover in Staged to Sell, an eBook in our Seller’s Toolkit.

Most offers include a response deadline of several hours to several days. We’ll help you through the entire process, but for the lowdown on what to expect, get your copy of our Sell Your Home with Confidence ebook.

There’s nothing more frustrating for both buyers and sellers than when a transaction doesn’t go through. Be sure you’re spending your time and energy with qualified buyers by asking them to get prequalified with Hometuit Loans (Hometuit’s sister company) prior to touring your home. That way you don’t spend an hour cleaning and straightening up for a buyer who can’t afford to buy your home.

Hometuit now installs yard signs in select areas of Utah. The approximate area of coverage includes Box Elder, Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, and Wasatch Counties. Upon signing your listing agreement with Hometuit, your post will be installed that same business day or the next in most cases. If you’re outside the coverage area, then your post will be shipped for self-installation. It will ship the same business day or the next once you sign your listing agreement.

The hanging sign portion ships directly to you (via USPS) regardless of post install method.

You can have your listing taken down at any time, however the setup fee is non-refundable. It covers the cost of your Hometuit yard sign, professional photography, value report, and overhead for initial setup and verification tasks. If you are unsure about selling your home or have questions about Hometuit, please contact us before listing.

Once you’ve signed the listing agreement, it is valid for 12 months. Regardless of where a potential buyer comes from during that period, you agree to pay Hometuit the fees specified in your listing agreement, even if you have your ads taken down.