1. In a housing downturn the scarcity in the marketplace shifts from sellers to buyers. There are lots of great sites out there to help people find properties, but none to help agents and sellers find buyers.

1. Simple really, it's a little like an online dating site. Buyers anonymously enter in what they are looking for in a property and then broadcast (did we mention anonymously?) their requirements to the web. Sellers can search for buyers, and if the buyer's requirements match the house, the seller can privately make a reverse offer to the buyer. The buyer then accepts, rejects, or holds the offer asking for further details on the property. The transaction closes in the usual way (external to the NationalBLS web site).

1. By representing the buy side of the market, we make it easier for sellers to find prospective buyers. This will help get deals moving. Many sellers will then become buyers once they have sold a property, and hence the market should become more liquid.

1. It's no secret: Agents make money when transactions close. In a down market, there is a constant challenge for agents to get sellers to be realistic in pricing their home. It is also a challenge to get buyers off the fence to actually buy. We provide a marketplace to do just that. In addition, agents who sign up are immediately searchable by sellers and buyers to help out in account authentication and making offers. Finally, agents can set up reciprocal links to their chosen lenders. This helps promote the lender and also the agent.

1. Lenders not only promote themselves on the system but can also help their clients with authentication and pre-approval. Key to any lender is the relationship they keep with agents and NationalBLS allows them to create groups of Agents which they can support.

1. Absolutely. Selling or buying a house is complex and should be done with guidance from a real estate professional. We don't exclude the small percentage of consumers wanting to do things on their own, but we strongly recommend using a licensed Realtor.

1. Yes. We recommend sellers retain the services of a real estate agent but if they want to go it alone we won't stop them.

We are running a beta test with real estate agents in the East Bay, CA (Livermore, Pleasanton, Union City, Hayward, Castro Valley, San Ramon, San Leandro) initially before pushing out nationally.

1. Nobody wants to deal with a tire kicker. If you are a serious buyer with your financing sorted out (pre-qualified or prospective) and have those details authenticated by your agent or mortgage broker, then you are going to get the best offers.

1. No, we are technology people who believe we can innovate our way out of unemployment. We are not brokers, agents, escrow agents, mortgage agents or title agents. We are not involved in the real estate industry other than trying to bring value to a market in flux. We detail who we are on the website and anyone can Google our legitimacy. (unlike other sites)

1. The same way it works now. Property websites don't become obsolete when everyone is looking for buyers, hence NationalBLS won't become obsolete when everyone is back searching for property. We believe that a well balanced market, where both sellers and buyers are well represented, suits all parties.

1. PRO accounts are really positioned for real estate agents or lenders who are helping multiple clients. Eventually we will support sellers who have lots of properties to sell (i.e. a builder or bank).

1. Agent Pro Users can :
   1. Make offers for a reduced rate.
   2. Build up offer credits by introducing people to the NationalBLS platform, and then use those credits to make offers.
   3. See the offer history of a buyer and additional financial details, which STANDARD users can't.
   4. Can link STANDARD accounts to their record and view all the details of those accounts.
   5. Can link to Lender PRO accounts
   6. Are searchable on the system under "Find an Agent"

1. Lender PRO Users can :
   1. Create a profile and link to Agent PRO accounts
   2. Be searchable to consumers
   3. Authenticate consumer accounts
   4. Link to consumer accounts. A consumer account can only link to one Lender PRO account at any one time

1. It is a buyer's market and we help the buyer leverage that position. The more sellers who know you are looking to buy a property, the better it is for you. When sellers compete for a buyer, the buyer wins. A buyer can go to any property website and see all the properties for sale, but they cannot see who the most eager sellers are. Many Sellers are intentionally holding their homes from the market because they don't think there are buyers in the market. With NationalBLS it is now easy for someone thinking of selling to test a buyer's appetite. There is a vast "shadow inventory" of property for sale in America but not advertised on the market. It makes sense for every buyer to see what they would be offered before purchasing a property. You never know, there could be an amazing deal out there.

1. Register as a buyer for free and fill out as much information as you would like. If you have your mortgage arranged then great! Follow through all the questions and submit your profile to start receiving reverse offers. Don't forget to authenticate yourself with either your mortgage broker (very easy), your real estate agent, or NationalBLS. All in, it is free and should take about 10 minutes. Then sit back and wait for reverse offers.

1. Register as a buyer for free and fill out as much information as you would like. Tick the box "I am sorting out my mortgage at the moment." Then, go and sort out a mortgage. If you want help with that, choose one of our mortgage partners and don't forget to get them to authenticate you on NationalBLS once your prequalification is complete. Sellers are more likely to make offers to prospective buyers than those who aren't. You may get an offer before you confirm your mortgage details, but most likely they will wait until they know you can actually buy.

1. Getting a letter from a mortgage company or bank stating you are "pre-qualified for a mortgage" is a good start but by no means guarantees that you will be offered the loan. It simply means you are a good candidate for a mortgage. When you receive a "prospective for a mortgage" letter then you are in a far better position; the lender has checked out your credit history, income, etc. and is willing to lend. They will state the mortgage amount and sometimes a timeframe. Being a "prospective buyer" makes you very attractive to sellers, and makes you more likely to receive the best offers.

1. You have a couple of options:
   1. Click on "Find me an agent" and chose one from the list of local agents. They can help advise you on which offers to accept and what is a good value. Agents will also help negotiate and close the transaction, and complete the paperwork.
   2. Go it alone and either use the seller's agent to help with the paperwork, or do it yourself. This option carries more risk, and should only be pursued for people experienced in real estate.

1. In this market where buyers are scarce, it's best not to disclose your information. Retaining your anonymity can give you the upper hand in the initial negotiation. Maybe you know the seller, or have already tried to negotiate face to face. When you are anonymous, it removes all emotion from the negotiation. Once you are happy with the offer, you can then give up your anonymity. Oh, and finally, if you weren't anonymous, people wouldn't make offers through the platform and you'd be flooded with spam.

1. It is up to you, but once you choose to hold an offer that meets your satisfaction and you begin to negotiate, it is best to let the seller know who they are dealing with.

1. Be as specific as you can without ruling yourself out of the market. If you are only interested in a certain house or want to live on a certain street, say so. But if you are looking for a single family home in Sacramento and are interested in receiving a few offers, you should be more general. Don't waste the sellers time (and money) however: if there are things you really do or don't want in the property, please say so.

1. Are you sure? There are many homes in the current market which the owners would be happy to sell but they have not yet put it on the market. With NationalBLS you can show you are interested in a specific address if the owner ever decides to sell. You never know when the owner's circumstances change. Or, perhaps they are already considering moving but just need a nudge.

1. It shows you are serious, prepared, and can move quickly. It also shows that a second party can vouch that you have financing available. You are at the top of the list to receive the best offers.

1. Yes, Please make every effort to paint an accurate picture about your budget and ability to buy a home.

1. If you have a finance professional (accountant, real estate agent, or banker) who will vouch for your ability to buy at a certain price, they can easily do so using our system (you will be prompted to send them an authentication email). If not, then you simply state yourself as a cash only buyer or investor.

1. List the three properties you are interested in on your profile and state you are looking to buy one of them. You should get some pretty competitive offers.

1. Simply say so in the free text box on your profile. The sellers agent will see how many offers you are dealing with, and how many offers you accept.

1. For a few good reasons:
   1. To ensure that you only receive good offers. If there was no cost to make an offer, you would get lots of half-hearted offers. We don't want to waste your time.
   2. To prevent "Offer Spam" where every seller would give you an offer even if their property did not fit your requirements just on the off chance you would be interested.
   3. To make money. We want to ensure we can finance the constant improvement of NationalBLS.

1. No, sorry, you'll have to choose a favorite.

1. Rule out any offers that don't suit your requirements and state why in the space provided. Negotiate on the remainder.

1. Our work is done here. NationalBLS is a marketplace to introduce sellers to buyers. All transactions are completed in the usual manner using real estate agents, lawyers etc.

1. It is against the NationalBLS Terms of Service for an agent to fraudulently pose as a seller. Please flag the offer and we will review it and contact the agent.

1. Yes, simply click the box "Find a mortgage".

1. It's likely to be your description or location. If you are very specific on what you are looking for, or your budget is too low for the market, you are unlikely to receive a lot of offers. Equally, if you are looking for a single family home with a yard and stabling for horses in Manhattan, chances are it will take a while before one is on the market.

1. How long? Where you going? Any spare room? - Simply add a note on your profile that you are "on vacation until April 21st" or whatever date you get back. Sellers will know to wait.

1. Absolutely. We do not touch the agent's commission and have a shared interest with your agent in that we are trying to help you buy or sell a house.

1. Interesting! We would love to hear the reason why they suggested you should not use the platform (please send it to us via the feedback link at the top). We are here trying to help you buy a house and do not affect the commission or transaction in any way. If an agent has a good reason not to use us we would love to know! We know that there will always be some backward looking agents who don't like change. Equally, we know that there are some agents out there that will put their interest ahead of yours, like only showing you houses where they get special commission rates. Fortunately, the vast majority are here to act in your best interest. And so are we!

1. Not a problem, with NationalBLS you can show you are interested in one home or several homes should the owner ever decide to sell. You never know when the owner's circumstances change, or when they just need a nudge to get moving.

1. There is nothing desperate about being proactive. In this market, reverse offers are smart, not desperate. You still set the price when making an offer. You can join the crowds trying to sell a property in the conventional method of "stand and sell," or you can get proactive and make things happen.
2. In a falling market there is a real cost associated with the length of time it takes to sell. Better to close the deal early than to let the price drop with the market.
3. NationalBLS helps you get buyers off the fence by making the first move. You now have an active buyer with whom to negotiate.

1. It's simple. Once you have found a suitable buyer click on "Make an Offer". If you have already registered you will confirm payment details and proceed to key in the details of your offer (price, number of days your offer is open for, etc.) and add a link to the property you are selling. If you have not registered you will have to do so and then proceed with the above.

1. For the following good reasons:
   1. To ensure that buyers only receive real, relevant offers and not simply sellers or agents trying to spam them with low value offers or attempts to get leads.
   2. We don't want sellers going offer crazy. Think carefully about an offer and the likelihood of it being accepted. If your property has been sitting on the market for $200,000 and you haven't had an offer then an offer on NationalBLS for $200,000 is unlikely to be successful.
   3. We looked at charging in arrears on completion of the sales but we would have to charge a far greater amount and it would add complexity to the process.
   4. The days of raising millions of dollars to build a website and offer the site for free are gone. Our site offers great value in large transactions for which we charge a very small amount. We think that's fair.
   5. One last thing: If you chat up your real estate agent they can make offers at a greatly reduced price if they join NationalBLS. Well worth knowing.

1. No, well actually yes. If you send out an invite to your agent from NationalBLS, your agent will be rewarded with $50 of offer credits if he or she signs up. It only seems fair if your agents uses them on your behalf!

1. No, you don't have to, however we strongly recommend that you do.

1. Above all, sellers should use real estate agents because of their knowledge of the market and their experience in closing real estate transactions. They also get to view any buyer's offer history, potentially screening buyers on your behalf, and can offer at a reduced rate or even for free.

1. We deliberately don't touch commissions. That is 100% for negotiation between you and your agent.

1. Unfortunately we can't. NationalBLS is like a dating site; we help you find a partner but can't guarantee any action beyond that. If you feel the buyer is dishonest or deliberately misleading, then let us know and we'll sort things out.

1. If the buyer is prospective, 14 days should be more than enough.

1. You can and it could work in your favor. When a buyer receives an offer from you, they will be aware that you have other offers open. This could create a situation where multiple buyers accept your offer, and this is where it gets interesting. You could see competitive offers develop, since you've reached out to several buyers.

1. Great! Let them both know and get them offering against each other.

1. OK, let's check a few things:
   1. Is the buyer on vacation? If so, they should have flagged their account.
   2. Has the buyer viewed your offer? If not, be patient. If it is not viewed in 20 days then you will be credited back your offer fee and the buyer will be contacted.
   3. If it has been viewed but you have not gotten a response, they are probably trying to find out the details on your property.

1. For these reasons:
   1. To prevent unsolicited communication from agents and sellers.
   2. Buyers are more likely to get involved if they can remain anonymous.
   3. Agents would not list their buyers on the system if they were not anonymous.
   4. If you could see their details you would be a little less likely to pays us to reach them... we suspect.

1. That depends—
   1. How aggressive is your offer? Obviously the more aggressive the offer, the more likely it is to be accepted.
   2. How good of a fit is the buyer to your property?
   3. How many other people are trying to sell a similar property to that buyer?
   4. One of the best reasons to use a Real Estate Agent is to get their input and experience on what price to offer in your local market. Well priced properties are usually the first to sell.

1. We recommend trying all methods. Put your house on the market at a fair value. If it sells, great. If not, before you drop the price to the public, try out a few private offers on NationalBLS. Your best case scenario is to have multiple interested buyers.

1. Many people don't like to buy at auctions or simply cannot make the specified time and date, as such you are unlikely to get as many people competing for your house and that means a lower eventual price. Auctions are great if you don't have time and have to sell very quickly. We see NationalBLS as a great option to explore before you go to an auction format.

1. We suspect there is a gap between what you feel your house is worth and what buyers are willing to pay for it. Make sure the buyers are prospective and authenticated by NationalBLS. Then, get a little more aggressive on pricing.

1. If you feel the buyer deliberately misrepresented his or her ability or intention to buy, then please let us know and we will look into the issue.

1. You can set up alerts to email you when buyers arrive. The more people on the NationalBLS platform, the better it is for everyone. Feel free to email your agent and friends and ask them to do the same. (Oh, if you do, thank you very much!)

1. For these main reasons:
   1. Join for your clients, whether they are buyers or sellers. We leverage the position of the buyer and help sellers get proactive, through professionals like you. Both of these result in more transactions, but equally important, the seller sells and the buyer buys.
   2. We actively promote the use of real estate agents, and once registered on the system, your name and information will pop up in local searches.
   3. Agents have additional advantages in being able to see a buyer's offer history and greater finance details. This drives consumers to agents, along with the fact that you are able to make offers at either reduced prices, or completely free using offer credits.
   4. Agents can link to lenders and appear in the lenders referral list. The linking works both ways and helps agents and lenders build better referral business.
   5. It is a unique selling point when prospecting for buyers to state that you will market them on NationalBLS. Not every agent will do this and buy marketing a buyer you are clearly working in their best interest.

1. Type "Reverse Offer" into Google and look at all the agents already using this concept. Most agents claim making a reverse offer results in as many transactions closing as conventional offers. Could that double your transaction flow? We think so. We think the potential upside to agents is huge and the downside nonexistent since reverse offers on NationalBLS are private.

1. Key reasons:
   1. As soon as you join, you start to build up "Offer Credits" which you use to make offers to buyers on behalf of sellers. Every time you refer other agents or authenticate a buyer, the system will award you more Offer Credits. In addition, buyers and sellers can only be linked to one PRO User account. Getting in early can help you solidify and protect your client base.
   2. We reward activity! The more active you are on the system, the more NationalBLS points you receive. This ranking serves to promote you to buyers and sellers (in the form of preferred search placement). The sooner you get started, the further ahead of the competition you will be.
   3. Discounts. We are rewarding the early adopters of our service with discounted prices. Those that come later will pay full price.
   4. We strongly encourage all buyers and sellers to link to an agent, as many new users aren't working with an agent. Active PRO Users will show up in local agent search results, and this is a great way to pick up active leads.

1. Yes! We assure you that buyers linked to your account are held 100% anonymous. You will be able to see all communication, offers, counter offers, and other details. We know these are like gold to you and we respect that. Here are some benefits of adding buyers to NationalBLS:
   1. You get Offer Credits for every authenticated buyer you add.
   2. Your buyers will love you as they start to see some great offers come through.
   3. It gets them off the fence. Buyers are waiting for a great offer before they jump into this market.
   4. Your buyers could sign up on their own and receive offers from sellers and agents. They could then bring you in to help with the transaction, but if you sign them up first, you are one step closer to the process and can monitor all communication.

1. If you sign up your buyers and link them to your account, then you see every communication to and from that buyer. You can also flag your buyers who happen to be on the system already, and link them with you. If an agent deliberately attempts to poach your buyer by submitting a fraudulent offer, simply flag them.

1. Offer Credits can be accrued like airline miles, and are awarded for signing up buyers (25 Offer Credits) and inviting other agents to join NationalBLS (50 Offer Credits). They are a cash equivalent that can be applied towards making an offer in lieu of cash (but not for monthly subscription fees). We expect that active agents will never pay to make an offer, as they acquire Offer Credits by adding buyers and inviting other agents.
2. PRO Points are built up through activity on the site. Agents acquire various amounts of points according to the following activities: number of days as a PRO User, number of visits (maximum of one per day), number of buyers and sellers linked to the PRO User's account, number of invites sent and accepted, and the number of offers sent. Those with a higher number of Pro Points are placed at the top of search results.

1. No, you don't need to make offers on your own buyers. We are creating a marketplace and a process to drive up deal flow for everyone's benefit. We give you tools to help get buyers off the fence and to help close the gap between what a seller thinks their house is worth and what a buyer is willing to pay for it. We are driving consumers to agents and recognizing that in this market, every seller is a potential buyer further down the line. Finally, for those that help build the NationalBLS by joining early on, there are huge discounts.

1. The days of raising millions of dollars and providing services for free are gone, and let's face it, that's not a great business anyway. Agents are the heart of the real estate business, and we are providing a valuable tool to help them increase transaction volume. We charge to make offers mainly to prevent offer spam and to ensure that only valuable offers are made. We charge a small membership fee for access to more tools and increased market views to the agent (such as a buyer's offer history and advanced finance details), thereby driving consumers to agents.

1. We offer generous revenue share with partners. Brokers can become partners and offer the service at a discount to their agents.

1. You don't have to pay if you accrue Offer Credits by signing up pre-qualified buyers and authenticating their status. Also, you can refer us to other agents, and when they sign up, you will receive Offer Credits. The cost associated with making an offer is to ensure that only the best offers are presented to buyers and to prevent offer spam which would be removed, if it were free.

1. Any buyer or seller can look for an agent on NationalBLS. If you are on the system and active, you will appear in local searches and be ranked by your experience (the greater the activity, the higher the rank). We allow consumers to look for an agent for many reasons:
   1. To find a mortgage
   2. To be authenticated
   3. To view a buyer's offer history (which only PRO users can see)
   4. To help make an offer

1. Customers and prospects can only be linked to one PRO Agent account at a time, and you will be able to view all communication to your client or prospect from other buyers, sellers, or agents. In addition, your authentication and placement of buyers on the system really does show that you are leveraging all resources necessary to make a successful transaction. In the end, the more you do for a client or prospect, the less likely they are to leave.

1. The more buyers, sellers, and agents on NationalBLS, the more effective it is for everyone. We have a generous partner strategy to assist us in becoming the de facto central database of prospective home buyers, and to help prevent a fragmented market of hundreds of small BLS's. We reward you with Offer Credits and PRO Points for introducing new PRO users to NationalBLS.

1. There are always going to be consumers who want to sell their homes themselves. If we ban them they will simply go elsewhere. We support choice in the marketplace but do promote the use of real estate agents by offering real, tangible benefits (and better offer pricing) for doing so.

1. Consumer choice; preventing individuals from making offers would devalue the system to an important part of the ecosystem.

1. We don't touch commissions. Some transactions are relatively easy and some take a huge amount of work. It is up to you and your client to agree on what is a fair reward.

1. Email feedback@nationalBLS.com and tell us how we can improve.

1. If for whatever reason you decide to cancel your account with NationalBLS the following will happen:
   1. Your account will be hibernated 30 days allowing immediate repayment and activation (just in case).
   2. You will have full control over any buyers or sellers who you signed up to the system or invited to the system. You will have the ability to notify, suspend, or transfer their accounts.
   3. After the 30 day hibernation you will lose any Offer Credits and PRO Points.

1. The price of the first annual plan you sign up to is the price for life. As long as you renew your contract, you will always have that pricing.

1. If your current broker is a partner than they will receive the revenue share for the life of your account, no matter which broker you changed to. You can change your account details on the system to show your new broker affiliation at any time. Furthermore, your client accounts will still be linked to you.

1. NationalBLS is a strong lead sourcing tool. We attract many buyers to the site who then realize the value in being prospective. By creating an account you are immediately searchable by all buyers in your area.
2. NationalBLS allows agents to promote lender and vice versa. It adds great confidence to a consumer to see 3rd party promotions.
3. NationalBLS promotes buyers to get prospective. This speeds up the transaction as does the time sensitive nature of reverse offers.

1. NationalBLS is a buyer marketing tool in much the same way as many real-estate website market properties. It is in the interest of your buyers to be marketed to as many sellers as possible. Placing a buyer on NationalBLS and authenticating them not only promotes the buyer but also is likely to speed up the process of purchasing a house. By promoting a buyer on NationalBLS you increase your rankings on the system.

1. NationalBLS is an excellent tool to help agents prospect for buyers. Agents can offer a really unique marketing service for buyers and in return link the buyers account to their own. NationalBLS knows that all buyers are not equal and that by pre approving a buyer and authenticating the buyer you are placing them in an elevated position likely to receive great offers and close quickly. Many agents use NationalBLS as a qualification tool so that they can focus their attention on serious buyers.

1. The purpose of linking is to help the consumer see who the industry trusts. No lender wants to be associated with a disreputable agent and vice versa. The more promotion a lender or agent has from industry peers the better.

1. We are keen to partner with all industry participants. We offer four main partner programs:
   1. Web
   2. Broker
   3. MLS
   4. Mortgage

In return for placing the NationalBLS widget on the partner's website and promoting us to their users and agents, partners receive a generous revenue share on all recurring and transaction revenue.

1. We feel there are many excellent websites out there who have done a great job attracting traffic, but need to monetize to survive. We are happy to let other people leverage our platform to build their business, but we want to centralize the buy side data to one central location, rather than hundreds of smaller locations like the current MLS structure. Let us learn from the past and move forward.

1. We offer a generous revenue share with our partners, sharing all revenue from users that originate on the partner's website. Users who sign up through your widget are yours for life, and all monthly revenue AND all offer-based revenue.
   1. Every partner is on the same partner scheme, which pays out a straight percentage of revenue. This percentage increases as partners drive more total revenue, not simply for those with the big names.
   2. If we introduce new products and services which your customers buy or subscribe to, then guess what? That's right, you get your share of that as well. Recurring revenue that goes straight to the bottom line.

1. That depends on the type of partner, if you are a:
   1. Web partner, the buyers on your site will benefit from being approached with great deals. Sellers and agents will benefit from being able to get proactive and close more transactions.
   2. Real estate broker, more transactions means more commission and happier agents.
   3. MLS, you can enhance the service offering to your members.
   4. Mortgage broker, we will list you in search results viewed by unqualified buyers who are looking for a mortgage.
2. We also intend to generate local real estate data and share it with our partners.

1. If an agent signed up through your widget, then you get the revenue even though they are probably competing against you now... bitter sweet!

1. Feel free, if we can help just ask.

1. As a partner you will see a quarterly report of revenue generated, the number of new users, and the number of offers paid for in cash.

1. Within 30 days of the end of each quarter you will receive either a check or an electronic payment. There is a minimum payment of $500 which will rollover into the next quarter if not met in the previous quarter.

1. Yes.

1. ONLY if they sign up through your widget.

1. Once we start to produce data there will be guidelines for its use. But in general, if we can help you we will.

1. Yes, if the advertisements are highly relevant to our user base.

1. We will produce a list of all partners (anonymously) except for you. You can then see your status.

1. Yes, you must be promoting us to continue in the partner program.

1. Initially 3 years, but it can be extended.

1. No, we do the billing as the revenue share is split between the sites who generate the buyers and sellers, hence it may be split between two partners (except in the case where you generated both the buyer and the seller). Subscription revenue is only shared with one partner, the one that generated the PRO User.

1. Yes.

1. Yes, as long as the user does not opt out of being contacted.

1. We are all-inclusive and welcome many partners. At this stage there is no limit.

1. Many people who initially come to our site are looking to buy property but do not have a mortgage arranged. We strongly promote getting prospective before starting the search process, and we can direct those buyers to you.

1. When a buyer registers on NationalBLS, they type in their finance details (mortgage offer, etc.) and then select an authentication method (real estate agent, mortgage broker or lender, accountant, or NationalBLS). This simply triggers an email to the authenticator who is requested to confirm that the details on the authentication request are accurate.

1. We encrypt all data on the system and have external organizations check our security procedures on a regular basis.