Read this before you email. A CMA is not an appraisal. Path and Sell now are two listing packages, not nicknames for how fast the house sold.
On this listing
Path
The 1% package. We list at the market number from the CMA and drop the price on a written schedule every 3–4 weeks. One courtesy week if you want to hold a step. After that week, refuse the drop and the file becomes Hold. Fee is 1% of the sales price or $2,500, whichever is greater.
Sell now
The 0.75% package. You list on day one at the last scheduled drop on that same path. Fee is 0.75% or $2,500, whichever is greater. Raise the price later and the file becomes Path at 1%. If a Path listing sells in a week, you do not get the 0.75% rate after the fact.
Hold
The 1.5% package. You pick the list price. No scheduled drops. Fee is 1.5% or $3,500, whichever is greater. You can choose it at signing or land here after the Path courtesy week. The Hold fee stays even if you later cut the price.
CMA (comparative market analysis)
A pricing opinion a person on our Houston desk writes from recent nearby sales plus your phone photos or a recorded Google Meet. It is not an appraisal, not a Zillow estimate, and not a promise the house will sell at that number. Ours is short: sales used, a list number, and Sell now / Path / Hold.
Google Meet walkthrough
A 15–20 minute recorded video call. You walk the house on your phone. We use the recording the same way we use phone photos — to write the CMA. It is not a listing appointment. We do not use FaceTime because we cannot reliably keep a file copy.
Phone photos
10–20 pictures you take: every room, front and back, every defect. CMA only. They do not go on HAR.
Professional / listing photos
The set that goes on HAR. You hire the photographer and email the files to listings@onepointhouston.com. Horizontal high-resolution JPEGs, lights on, no filters. Typical local cost $200–$400 if you add aerials.
Listing side
What you pay this brokerage to represent you as the seller. Separate from anything you may later agree to pay toward a buyer’s broker.
Buyer-broker / buyer’s agent fee
What a buyer’s agent wants to be paid. After the NAR settlement it is not printed on HAR as an offer from the listing broker. If you pay any of it, you decide in the purchase contract when you see the offer. Not set by law. Fully negotiable.
Lockbox / go-and-show
A lock on the door that licensed agents open after scheduling on ShowingSmart. Buyers tour without you or us standing there. Occupied homes qualify only if this works.
ShowingSmart
The showing service we use in the Houston area. You get notices of who is coming. If they leave feedback, you see it. We do not call every showing agent for extra comments.
HAR / MLS
Houston Association of Realtors and the Multiple Listing Service. The database other agents and the public portals pull from. “Going live” means the listing is entered there with professional photos.
Limited-service listing
We still represent you. We do not do listing appointments, repairs, staging, or weekly strategy calls. The addendum lists what is in and what is out. Statutory minimum duties are not waived.
As-is
We list the house in the condition it is in when photos are taken. We do not write a punch list or manage contractors. Finish Get ready before you ask for a CMA.
Four rules
Lockbox showings (vacant or occupied), built 2006 or later, list $500,000 or less, recorded subdivision or master plan with more than 200 homes.
The contract and the closing
Listing agreement
The exclusive right-to-sell contract (in Texas usually TXR 1101) plus our limited-service addendum. Every owner on title signs. This is what lets us enter the home on HAR.
IABS
Information About Brokerage Services. A TREC form that explains how brokers can represent people. You should read it before you hire anyone. Linked in our footer.
TREC
Texas Real Estate Commission. Licenses brokers and agents in Texas and publishes the consumer protection notice.
Option period
A short window after the contract is effective when the buyer can terminate for any reason if they paid an option fee. Inspections usually happen here. Repair amendments happen here.
Earnest money
A deposit the buyer puts up after the contract is effective, usually with the title company. It is not the same thing as the option fee.
Effective date
The date the contract is fully signed and delivered. Option days and closing dates count from here, not from “we shook on it.”
Seller’s disclosure
Your written notice of what you know about the property. You fill it out. We do not invent it from a video call.
Appraisal
A licensed appraiser’s value opinion, usually ordered by the buyer’s lender. Different from a CMA. If the appraisal comes in low, that is a contract problem we handle on the phone.
Title company / closing / funding
The third party that holds money, clears title, and pays off liens. “Closing” is signing. “Funding” is when the money moves. Our listing fee is paid at funding.
HOA / resale certificate
If the house is in a homeowners association, the buyer usually gets a packet of rules and fees. You point us to the HOA. We do not run the association.
Survey
A drawing of the lot lines and easements. If you have one, send it. If not, the contract says who pays for a new one.
Days on market (DOM)
How long the listing has been live on the MLS. Showings without offers, week after week, is usually a price problem — not a “marketing” problem.
Comps
Comparable sales. Closed houses enough like yours, nearby, recent. That is what a CMA is built from.
Syndication
HAR sending the listing out to Zillow, Realtor.com, and other public sites. We do not control those sites. Accurate HAR data is what they display.
Transaction coordinator (TC)
The person who runs dates and documents after you have an accepted contract. Until then the listing desk is your contact.
Cancellation fee
If you withdraw after the listing is on HAR, $495. If you withdraw before HAR, $0. Your photographer invoice stays yours.
NAR settlement
The 2024 industry change that stopped MLS listings from carrying a pre-set offer of pay to buyer brokers. Sellers decide that in the purchase contract, if at all.
Broker compensation
What you pay a broker. Not set by law. Fully negotiable. Anyone who says “the rate is just 3%” is skipping that sentence.
Exclusive listing
You already hired another broker to sell the house. We cannot take the file until that agreement ends. We will not tell you to break it.
Net listing
A deal where the broker keeps everything above a set number. We do not use that. Our fee is a percent of the sales price or the stated floor.