Frequently asked questions

Yes. Ohio law allows homeowners to sell their own property without a licensed real estate broker. This is called a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sale, and it is legal in all 50 states.

When you list with agent9, you remain the seller of record. agent9 is not a broker and does not represent you as an agent. You make all decisions about price, offers, and terms. agent9 lists your home on the MLS and relays communications — that is the full scope of what we do.

Ohio FSBO is legal. agent9 is your relay and your listing service. You are the seller.

No. agent9 is not a licensed real estate broker under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4735. We do not negotiate on your behalf, provide legal advice, prepare legal documents, or act as your representative in any legal sense.

agent9 is a technology platform that: lists your home on the MLS, relays communications between you and buyers or their agents, and connects you with Ohio title companies at closing. All decisions about your transaction — price, terms, acceptance — are yours.

Because we are not a broker, we do not charge commission. That is how the savings are possible.

Purchase offers come from buyers (typically through their agent) using standard Ohio real estate purchase agreements. You receive the offer and decide whether to accept, reject, or counter.

If you want to counter, you write the counter-offer terms — the price, the closing date, what stays and what goes. agent9 relays your counter verbatim to the buyer's agent. agent9 does not generate counter-offer language for you.

We provide guidance and standard form templates. But the words and decisions are always yours. This is important legally: the party-to-transaction exception that protects your right to sell your own home protects you, not a platform acting on your behalf. When agent9 relays your words, you remain the decision-maker.

For complex negotiations or unusual contract terms, we recommend consulting a licensed Ohio real estate attorney before signing.

Yes, you need a title company. All Ohio real estate transactions require a title company (or closing attorney) to handle the transfer of title, the escrow of funds, and the preparation of the closing documents.

You do not need a realtor to work with a title company. Title companies work directly with sellers all the time. agent9 routes you to a trusted Ohio title company when you're ready for closing. You can also choose your own title company — agent9 has no exclusive relationship and no financial incentive to route you to any specific partner.

The title company handles: title search, title insurance, deed preparation (where permitted), collection and disbursement of funds, and closing coordination. The $999 agent9 flat fee is separate from title company fees, which are standard across all Ohio real estate transactions regardless of whether a realtor is involved.

Most flat-fee MLS services — including FSBO.com, Houzeo, and Beycome — are platforms where a licensed real estate broker handles your MLS entry. They operate under a broker's license and the broker has legal responsibilities in your transaction. Their pricing reflects that broker overhead.

agent9 is different: we are not a brokerage. We are a pure technology relay. Our AI handles the communication volume that would otherwise require a licensed agent. We list you on the MLS through our network access and relay all buyer communications. There is no licensed broker overseeing your transaction on our side — which is why we can charge $999 instead of a percentage.

This is also why we are explicit about what we are not: we are not your representative, we do not provide legal advice, and we do not negotiate for you. Those are broker activities. We handle communication relay and MLS listing. You handle decisions.

The $999 flat fee includes: MLS listing (your home appears on Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and hundreds of partner sites), AI-relayed buyer communications (24/7 message relay, showing request coordination), daily summary reports, offer routing and tracking, and title company connection at closing.

The $999 does not include: title company fees (which are standard in any Ohio sale), any buyer's agent commission you choose to offer, or legal advice. Attorney fees, if you choose to consult one, are separate.

We collect the $999 at closing, from the proceeds of your sale. If your home does not sell, you do not pay the fee.

If your home does not sell, you do not pay the $999 fee. The fee is collected at closing from the proceeds of the sale. No sale, no fee.

If you list your home, receive no offers, and decide to take it off the market — you owe nothing to agent9. You can relist later if you choose, subject to the listing terms at that time.

We cannot guarantee your home will sell. The biggest factors in whether a FSBO sells are price, condition, and market timing — the same factors that determine whether an agent-listed home sells. agent9 gets your home on the MLS and in front of every buyer's agent in your area. What happens after that depends on the market and your price.

Buyers' agents are welcome to show your home and bring you offers. When you list on the MLS through agent9, you specify whether you are offering a buyer's agent commission and, if so, how much.

This is your decision. Some sellers choose to offer a standard buyer's agent commission (typically 2.5-3% in Ohio) to attract more buyer's agent interest. Others choose a lower amount or none. The MLS listing clearly states your offer to buyer's agents.

Even if you offer a 3% buyer's agent commission, you are still saving the 3% listing commission — that's $8,400 in savings on a $280,000 home, minus the $999 agent9 fee, for a net savings of $7,401.

That is completely fine and very common. Most buyers, especially in Ohio's suburban markets, are represented by their own buyer's agent. When a buyer's agent contacts agent9 on behalf of their client, we route the showing request or inquiry to you, and relay your response back.

Buyer's agents typically work for the buyer, not the seller. Their commission (if offered) is paid by you as the seller, but they are legally representing the buyer's interests. This is standard in all Ohio real estate transactions and does not change with agent9.

No. The agent9 AI does not generate answers to buyer questions. It relays your answers.

When a buyer asks a question — "Was the roof replaced recently?" or "Is the washer and dryer included?" — agent9 routes that question to you. You respond. agent9 relays your response verbatim to the buyer.

Every message agent9 relays includes a disclosure: "This message was relayed through agent9 AI on behalf of [your name]." Buyers always know they are receiving a relayed message, not a direct response.

What the AI does handle automatically: scheduling coordination (confirming showing times once you approve them), routing messages to the right parties, and sending daily summaries. For anything that requires your actual answer, the AI waits for you.

Every message agent9 sends to a buyer or their agent includes a clear disclosure: "This message was relayed through agent9 AI on behalf of [Seller's Name]."

This disclosure appears on every message, every time — it cannot be disabled by the seller. We build the disclosure into the platform itself, not into a setting that can be turned off.

This is the Privacy First principle agent9 operates on: we tell buyers when our AI is communicating. They are never left wondering whether they are talking to a human or a bot.

Yes. When you list through agent9, your home is submitted to the MLS — the official database that Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and every major real estate site pulls their listings from. Your listing will appear on those sites with the same data, the same photos, and the same search rankings as any agent-listed home.

Buyers and buyers' agents searching on Zillow will find your home the same way they find any other MLS listing. The source of the listing (agent9 vs. a traditional agent) is not visible on the consumer sites. What matters is that the home is on the MLS — and it will be.