List your home with Exactly for just $4,800, no strings attached
By Laura Briedis
Every so often, companies come along that change the way we do things. Facebook changed the way we communicate. Uber revolutionized the way we get around. Netflix streamlined how we watch movies. And now in real estate, Exactly’s mission is to transform the way we sell homes.
Filling the niche between selling a home by owner and using a traditional real estate company, this locally owned company was founded last fall to provide homeowners a better way to sell their home.
Everything is different, from flat-rate pricing to instant offer kiosks set up inside homes during open houses. Even the “for sale” sign is unique, with its tall, three-dimensional cube shape signaling there is something distinctive about this company.
“We make the home-selling process simple, transparent and stress free for homeowners—all the while offering the same, high-quality service,” says Exactly Founder and President Kevin Wasie, who owns this new real estate company headquartered in Akron. Kevin’s wife Shannon serves as Exactly’s director of operations.
“We don’t see ourselves as salespeople, but more like a guide helping homeowners navigate the sometimes confusing and stressful process of selling a home,” says Kevin, who was inspired by his grandmother, a real estate agent during the civil rights movement who helped homeowners fighting for equal housing rights.
After working in the corporate world as a district manager for a grocery store chain and at a real estate company in town as a licensed agent since 2014, Kevin wanted to do something more innovative.
“I had my aha moment after selling a million-dollar home and realized after getting my paycheck that it didn’t seem fair for a homeowner of a million-dollar listing to pay so much more commission than someone selling a $200,000 home, when the work the real estate agent does is the same,” he recalls. “I wanted to innovate a way to be more fair, honest, transparent and just.”
One of the pillars of the company is a flat-rate fee structure. Exactly handles everything from the initial in-home consultation to delivering the keys to the buyer for a $4,800 package fee, instead of a percentage of the sale. There are two optional add-ons: a Luxury Option for homes that require extra marketing like drone footage and video-walkthroughs, and a Showings Option if you want an Exactly agent to be present at every showing.
“For 98 percent of homes, the luxury add-ons are not needed,” says Kevin. “Only a small percentage of luxury homes may need some extras, like if a home has special features such as an equestrian barn or lots of acreage that would require extra marketing.”
“Our fees are transparent so the homeowner knows exactly what is due to us,” Kevin explains. “And if the buyer has a real estate agent, then we help you set an attractive buyer’s agent commission.”
“The Exactly agents are salaried and non-commission, so they treat every home the same and people don’t feel like they are hustled,” adds Shannon. “And, currently, we only represent sellers since we have their best interests in mind so there is no conflict of interest.”
The process is simple. An Exactly real estate agent meets with the homeowner to discuss goals, provides a six-page comparative market analysis, does a walk-though to make sure everything is ready in the home, creates a marketing plan and lists the home.
“We are transparent in every step of the process,” says Shannon. “Even our seller agreement form is intentionally written in plain English, because we feel the lawyer-speak of most contracts inhibits understanding.”
And when it comes to accepting offers, there are Instant Offer Kiosks set up in the homes during open houses, so someone can submit an offer immediately using the proprietary software developed by Exactly.
Once a buyer, or their agent, submits an offer (either on a kiosk or online), the computer program immediately generates an offer summary sheet detailing everything from the commission paid to Exactly and any applicable buyer’s agent commission, to home warranty costs and title insurance fees.
“The seller will know down to the penny how much money they will get from a prospective offer, thus helping with our negotiation strategy,” says Kevin, who has an economics degree from John Carroll University. “And once a buyer submits an offer, the offer summary sheet is immediately generated and emailed to the seller and their agent.”
“The real estate market has changed over the last decade. Homeowners and buyers can find information they used to need a real estate agent to do now online at such websites as Zillow and Trulia,” says Kevin, noting that real estate commission structures have remained largely the same since the 1950s. “With these changing times, I thought the time was right to offer this new type of real estate service.”
To list your house or for more information, call 866-515-6789 or visit ExactlyUSA.com. Exactly Real Estate is located at 209 South Main Street, 6th Floor, in Akron.