Buyer questions

New and exclusive homes are added daily. In order to receive new home notifications, sign up.

To receive notifications for new homes added, homes (bidding periods) closing soon and comments made on saved homes, sign up as a “just looking” user.

To receive additional notifications about exclusive previews, bids, out-bids, and extended bidding, register to bid, as a qualified buyer. It’s free and only takes a few minutes!

To register to bid:

1. Sign up.
2. Add your billing info.
3. Upload either a proof of funds document from your bank or a pre-approval letter from your lender.

1. Sign up – register to bid as a qualified buyer by submitting your pre-approval letter or proof of funds.

2. Find exclusive homes – and attend exclusive previews for the ones you’re interested in bidding on.

3. Bid – make an intelligent offer. For more information, check out our bidding FAQs.

4. Win – at the end of bidding, if your bid is the highest and meets the seller’s reserve, a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) is automatically generated for you to sign as a formal offer. For more information, check out our post-bid FAQs.

5. Sign – once you and the seller have signed the PSA, the PSA becomes a legally binding agreement. 

Note: the buyer’s fee is collected after the seller signs the PSA. If the seller does not sign the PSA, no fee is collected.

6. Close – the closing process is not handled by pocket. However, we do have preferred closing partners. To learn more about the closing process, check out our guide to navigating the closing process.

A pocket listing provides buyers with the information they need to make intelligent offers and sellers with offers that close quicker. Every home listed on pocket includes:

• Seller’s terms – the terms that the seller is willing to accept from the highest bidder when their reserve is met at the end of bidding.
• Due diligence documents – preliminary title report/title commitment, pre-inspection report, seller’s disclosure and Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA). 

• Neighborhood data – school ratings, crime rankings, and demographic information.

• Price Information – neighborhood and metro home value appreciation comparisons, historical sales price(s), average neighborhood home price, and estimated rental value compared to average neighborhood rent.

• Bid analytics – all bids, bidding trends over time, average bid increase, number of bidders and bidding frequency. 

• Direct access to the seller – live commenting and seller Q + A.

Intelligent offers are data-driven bids made by evaluating a home’s current price, existing bids, market insights, due diligence reports and historical pricing. All of this information can be found on every pocket listing.

Homes are available to be seen in person at the exclusive preview during the pre-bid period. To avoid missing out on upcoming exclusive previews make sure you register as a qualified buyer.

Proof of funds documents and pre-approval letters are used exclusively to qualify buyers who are interested in bidding. Becoming a qualified buyer allows you to attend exclusive previews and bid on properties listed on pocket.

To prepare for an exclusive preview, make sure you do the following before attending:

• Write down your questions – if there is anything that you want to know that hasn’t been answered by the seller Q +A, don’t hesitate to ask and make sure you take notes so you can review later on.
• Create checklists – one for any and all home requirements and another for any issues that would deter you from buying.
• Research the neighborhood – locate schools, restaurants, transportation, etc. (whatever is important to you), so that after the preview you are prepared to discover if the area is a fit.

In order to attend an exclusive preview, you must be a qualified buyer. In order to be a qualified buyer, you must register to bid.

The pre-bid period is 14 days. At the end of the pre-bid period, there is an exclusive preview for qualified buyers.

Seller’s terms are the terms that the seller is willing to accept from the highest bidder when their reserve is met at the end of bidding.

An exclusive preview is a private showing for qualified buyers. Each home has a single-day exclusive preview at a date and time selected by the seller. As soon as an exclusive preview is scheduled, qualified buyers will be invited to attend.

The pre-bid period is the two weeks prior to the start of bidding when buyers can engage in seller Q & A, review property details/due diligence documents and attend an exclusive preview.

Note: buyers will still be able to review property details and engage in seller Q + A during bidding.

Once a bid is placed, it cannot be canceled. Our system allows you to enter your bid, preview your bid, and then place your bid to ensure the accuracy of your bid.

After you’ve registered as a qualified buyer, simply enter the amount you wish to bid in the bid box on the listing of the home you wish to bid on and click the “preview bid” button. After previewing your bid and confirming the amount you wish to bid is correct, you can place your bid by clicking the “place bid” button. The minimum bid increment is $100.

Bidding is open for 7 days. For more information on bidding, check out our guide to how to buy with pocket.

If a home’s reserve price is not met, the seller can still choose to accept the highest bid below the reserve price.

If you have the winning bid and the seller’s reserve price is met, your name, contact information and bid amount will automatically be added to the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA). The PSA will then be available in your dashboard to digitally sign as a formal offer. For more information, check out our guide to how to buy with pocket.

If you are outbid, you can re-bid as long as the bidding period is still open. There is no limit to the number of bids that can be placed during a bidding period. Any time that you are outbid you will be notified by email and text message.

A reserve price is the minimum price that the seller is willing to accept to sell their home. This price is not displayed on the listing but every listing indicates whether or not the reserve has been met.

If a new bid is made within the last 5 minutes of the bidding period, 5 additional minutes are added to the bid clock. This gives all buyers the opportunity to bid or re-bid up to their highest bid.

Even if you have the winning bid, you are not obligated to sign the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA). However, in order to promote honest bidding, if you do not sign the PSA you will still be charged the buyer’s fee. We strongly recommend only bidding on homes that you are willing to purchase.

Even if you have the winning bid and you sign the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the seller does not have to accept your offer. If the seller does not accept your offer, you will not be charged the buyer’s fee.

If you have the winning bid at the end of the bidding period, the reserve has been met and you sign the purchase and sale agreement, you will be provided with the seller’s contact information.

At the end of the bidding period, if you have a winning bid and it meets the seller’s reserve price:

1. Your name, contact information and winning bid are automatically added to the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA).
2. You digitally sign the PSA.
3. After you sign, the PSA is sent to the seller to digitally sign.
4. The seller signs.

When both you and the seller have signed the PSA, there is mutual acceptance and the PSA becomes a legally binding agreement. 

After the seller accepts your offer, the closing process starts. This process is handled by you and the seller independent of pocket. For more information about the closing process, check out our guide to navigating the closing process.

Title and escrow are not handled by pocket. pocket is not a title or escrow company. However, we do have preferred partners that provide these services. For more information, check out our guide to navigating the closing process. 

Note: We do not monetize our partnerships. Our partners are selected based on their expertise and dedication to customer service.

The buyer’s fee is 1% of the winning bid and is charged to the credit card we have on file.

The buyer’s fee is charged after your offer is accepted: when the seller signs the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA). If the seller does not sign the PSA, then you will not be charged the buyer’s fee.

In order to promote honest bidding, if you are the winning bidder and do not sign the PSA, you will still be charged the buyer’s fee. We strongly recommend only bidding on homes that you are willing to purchase.

When placing a bid, a hold equal to 1% of the bid amount is placed on your card. If you have the winning bid at the end of the bidding period, the hold is converted to a charge. If you do not have the winning bid at the end of the bidding period, the hold is immediately released.