Frequently Asked Questions for Advertisers of Homes for Sale, Rent To Own Houses, Rentals anbd Real Estate Related Businesses
What happens if I Register on your site?
- You will be able to list your rental property, Real Estate for Sale, Rent to Own house or Lease Purchase home.
- You will be able to configure the system to display your contact information, or an alternative contact, automatically, including the appropriate email address as you see fit.
- You will be able to configure the system to email you directly, or to email an alternative contact, if you need.
- You will be able to edit your ads and manage your pictures at your convenience.
- We will email you a link that will allow you to remove yourself, and all of your properties, or advertisements for your business at any time, with just one click.
What HTML do you allow in my ad?
<b>BOLD</b>
<i>ITALIC</i>
<u>UNDERLINE</u>
<center>
<br/>LINE BREAK
How do I Remove a property from the site?
As long as you do not "Permanently Delete" your property, your property will continue to be available to you. You may ReList the ad to displaying to advertise it.
After Delisting a property, you may "Permanently Delete" a property at any time to remove it permanently from the site.
How do I Remove an Advetisement for a Business from the site?
As long as you do not "Permanently Delete" your Ad, your property will continue to be available to you. You may ReList the ad to displaying to advertise it.
After Delisting a property, you may "Permanently Delete" a property at any time to remove it permanently from the site.
I'm having problems with my login. What do I do?
If you continue to have problems, please email us at questions@househitz.com. Tell us what error you got. We will get back to you as quickly as we can.
If I Register, will I get a bunch of SPAM from your site?
Househitz does not condone SPAM. We do not sell or give away email addresses. When you register, you will be emailed a link that you can use at anytime to remove yourself and your email address from our site. See "What Happens if I Register on your site?" to see how you can configure and control our system.
Additionally, even when you tell us to allow users to email you, we never display your email address on our site. So, spammers cannot "Scrape" your email address from us.
How can users contact me through the site?
Additionally, when a user clicks on your summary ad, they will get a "Send Email" button. Users on the site may use this button to send you emails directly from the site.
How do I know how many Home Searchers are viewing my property ads?
- When you are logged in, click on "Manage My Properties", When you are on the management page, each property will have its statistics on how many users have seen your ad, how many times a Home Searcher has clicked on your ad to see the details and pictures, how many times home searchers have gotten a map to your property, and how many times home searchers have emailed you directly from the site.
- Monthly, we will email you a report of your site activity. It will inform you of how many users are registered on our site, how many users have seen your ad, how many times a Home Searcher has clicked on your ad to see the details and pictures, how many times home searchers have gotten a map to your property, and how many times home searchers have emailed you directly from the site.
How do I know how many Home Searchers are viewing my ad for my Business?
- When you are logged in, click on "Manage Business Ads", When you are on the management page, each Ad will have its statistics on how many users have seen your ad, how many times a Home Searcher has clicked on your ad to be directed to your website.
- Monthly, we will email you a report of your site activity. It will inform you of how many users are registered on our site, how many users have seen your ad, how many times a Home Searcher has clicked on your ad to be directed to your website.
Do you post my property ads to other sites?
Yes! We do. We currently post your ads to the following sites:
When you post your ad on HouseHitz, we automatically post it to our Network of sites for you! Save yourself time and get the most exposure for your ads at the same time. People searching any of our network of sites will be forwarded to your ad on HouseHitz.
Go to our Advertiser Home Page to see how many people are searching the site today due to our Network of Sites.
All of your ads are automatically posted to:
- Google for address search
When you make your ad a Featured Ad, they are posted to:
- Google for address search
- Vast.com
- USAA Home Circle (homecircle.com)
- Hotpads.com
These would cost you $49.90 to post individually!
When you make your ad a Premier Ad, they are posted to:
- Google for address search
- Vast.com
- USAA Home Circle (homecircle.com)
- Hotpads.com
- Oodle.com
- OLX.com
- Trovit.com
- Rentbits.com (Rentals or Rent to Own only)
- Zillow.com
These would cost you $249.60 to post individually!
Do you post my ads for my business to other sites?
No, not at this time.
How do I get the best positions on HouseHitz for my Property Ads?
We sort our ads according to the features you select. Make an Advertisement a Premier ad and we position it higher. Display a Web Link, or Virtual Tour, we position your ad higher. The more pictures you select, the higher we position your ad.
Go to our Advertiser Home Page to compare how upgrades give you the clicks you need that turn into leads.
Below is the order that we position our ads:
- Premier Homes
- Featured Homes
- Economy Homes
- Number of Additional Pictures Selected
How do I get the best positions on HouseHitz for my Business Ads?
You will get the most exposure for your ad according to the Audience you choose. Nationwide ads are seen often by every user of the site. Statewide ads are only seen when someone is searching homes in that site, etc. All ads get the same rate of display at this time.
What does it cost to advertise real estate on your site?
Economy Homes - Price: $4
- Always Posted to Twitter
- Always Posted to Facebook
- Always Post to Google for direct search
Improve your Advertising Results!
Featured Homes - Price: $7You Save $42.90 over posting to these sites individually!
- They are placed above ecomonmy homes for searches that match them. This causes them to be seen much more often than standard homes.- Always Posted to Twitter
- Always Posted to Facebook
- Always Post to Google for direct search
- Always Posted to Vast.com
- Always Posted to USAA Home Circle (homecircle.com)
- Always Posted to Hotpads.com
Premier Homes BEST EXPOSURE!- Price: $10
- Are viewed 80% more often than Standard homes.
- You Save $239.60 over posting to these sites individually!
- Displayed on our Home Page!
- Displayed periodically on right side of our site! They are placed above Featured or Standard homes for searches that match them. Because they are seen on the home page, on the right side of any search in your state and at the top of relevant searches, these ads are seen the most often of all ads!
- Always Posted to Twitter
- Always Posted to Facebook
- Always Post to Google for direct search
- Always Posted to Vast.com
- Always Posted to USAA Home Circle (homecircle.com)
- Always Posted to Trovit.com
- Always Posted to OLX.com
- Always Posted to Oodle.com
- Posted to Rentbits.com for Rental or Rent to Own only
- Always Posted to Zillow.com
Add a Web Link or Virtual Tour - Price: $5
- Will provide a link to your Virtual Tour, or website!
- Direct our Home Searchers directly to your Website, or a Virtual Tour for your home!
Do Not miss this oportunity to drive home searchers directly to your website!
Additional pictures
We allow you to post 4 pictures with your economy ad. Additional pictures affect the order your ad is displayed in. The more pictures you have, the higher the rank of your Ad. Ads with Unlimited Pictures Display First.
- Six pictures - $1 per month
- Ten pictures - $3 per month
- Sixteen pictures - $5 per month
- Unlimited pictures - $10 per month
What does it cost to advertise my business on your site?
Nationwide (Display to all users) - Price: $39.95 per month
Statewide (Display to all users searching homes in your state) - Price: $19.95 per month
Zip Code (Display to all users searching homes within 5 miles of a Zip Code) - Price: $9.95 per month
I have registered, but I cannot post a property, what do I do?
After you log in, you should have a "Post a Property" link under "For Advertisers". If you do not have that link, select "Edit My Profile". You can change your user type in your profile. Once you have changed your profile to allow you to advertise properties, you should now have a "Post a Property" link.
If this still does not help, please email us at questions@househitz.com. We will help you get it resolved as quickly as possible.
Do you ever email my advertisements to users.
What mapping system do you use? How can I know your maps will display my property properly?
We recommend testing the "Get Map" button while posting your your property to assure that it displays correctly when selected.
What is Owner Financing?
With some houses sellers are able to actually provide the loan for you, without you having to go to a bank. This works well if you have a good sized down payment (at least 8-10% of the purchase price- $15,000-$25,000) but have bad credit, that keeps you from getting a reasonable loan.Owner financing can also work well for investors who want to acquire more properties, but do not have a 25% down payment, or do not want the loans to show up on their credit report.
With owner financing, you actually buy the property from the home seller and make monthly mortgage payments directly to them. The advantage over the rent-to-own option is that you get all of the tax benefits of owning the home, which can save you thousands of dollars every year on taxes. You also own the home and can do major improvements, additions, and whatever you want (within reason). Often times, there are less loan costs than if you had gotten a traditional home loan.
Doing owner financing is also a fairly simple process. The buyers and sellers sign a Purchase Contract, an Installment Land Contract, and a couple of other short documents. The paperwork take about an hour and a half, and then you own your own home.
HouseHitz strongly recommends that buyers entering into a owner financing agreement consult legal counsel. All real estate agreements carry significant legal ramifications and appropriate legal representation is strongly recommended.
What is Rent To Own?
Rent To Own (also called lease option, and/or lease purchase) refers to a contractual arrangement between the tenant and landlord whereby the tenant rents the property, much like any rental arrangement you have had. The difference is that the tenant also has the GUARANTEED right or option to buy the property at an agreed upon price sometime during the rental period. This is kind of like a "rain check" at a department store. While the tenant has the OPTION to buy the property, they DO NOT HAVE TO buy it. The landlord MUST SELL the property to the tenant at the agreed upon price, if the tenant so chooses.
Benefits to you of Rent To Own Housing
Depending on your particular situation, there are several advantages of a Rent To Own house over a standard rental house:
- Rent-To-Own allows you to move into your own house now, with a relatively small down payment, even if you have credit problems that would keep you from buying a house. Once you are in the house, we work with you to improve your credit over the next year or two, so you can easily qualify for a good loan.
- Once you have lived in the house for 1-2 years, it can be possible to get a refinance loan, which is typically easier and cheaper than getting a loan to purchase a house.
- Generally, you can treat a rent-to-own home like your own home. You can paint and decorate it to suit your tastes and make improvements you would never think of doing with a home you are just renting.
- A rent-to-own home lets you "try out" an area or house before you are actually locked into a 30 year mortgage.
How Do You 'Rent To Own' a House?
Rent-To-Own is a simple process! The tenants and landlord sign a Lease Agreement and an Option To Purchase Agreement, each about 2 pages long. Generally, the Lease Agreement on a Rent-To-Own home differs from a standard Lease Agreement in 2 ways:
-
There is an option fee paid to the landlord for the guaranteed,
exclusive right to purchase the property during the lease term.
This is similar to the down payment required on most home loans,
but is generally less money. Typical option fees range from $3,000
to $7,000, depending on the home and your credit history.
If the tenant buys the property during the lease period, the entire option fee is credited to the tenant as part of their purchase. If the tenant does not purchase the property, or if they default on the lease agreement, they lose the option fee. -
Because the tenant is to become the owner of the house, typically
the lease requires that the tenant be responsible for all
day-to-day maintenance and repairs under a fixed amount (usually
under $500). All this means is that you will fix the leaky toilet,
change the light bulbs, etc. If the furnace or roof needs
replacing, the landlord is responsible for those major repairs.
The Option To Purchase Agreement simply states that the tenant has the right to buy the property at a fixed price during the lease period.
HouseHitz strongly recommends that tenants entering into a lease purchase or rent to own agreement consult legal counsel. All real estate agreements carry significant legal ramifications and appropriate legal representation is very strongly recommended.