Question 1

What is Aletheia?

Accepted Answer

Aletheia is an offer, contract, and closing management product for real estate transactions. This platform gives buyers a clear way to submit offers, and it gives sellers a clear way to receive, compare, and respond to them. All communication happens in one place, without the back-and-forth of emails and phone calls. Both sides are notified immediately when anything changes, and the full history of every negotiation is documented automatically.

Question 2

Do I need a real estate agent to use Aletheia?

Accepted Answer

Aletheia is built to work without an agent. If you’re an independent buyer, you can submit a complete, legally structured offer without an agent involved. If you’re an independent seller, you can list and receive offers without representation. If you’re working with an agent, Aletheia gives you better visibility into the process and gives your agent a cleaner tool to manage offers.

Question 3

Is Aletheia available outside of Utah?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Aletheia currently adheres to Utah real estate standards, forms, and requirements. But we plan to expand, so if you’re outside Utah, check back! We’ll keep making updates.

Question 4

Is Aletheia a licensed real estate broker?

Accepted Answer

Aletheia facilitates the offer and transaction management process, but is not a licensed real estate broker, agent, or attorney. We also don’t represent buyers or sellers, and we don’t provide legal or financial advice. If you need professional guidance specific to your situation, a licensed real estate attorney or agent can help.

Question 5

How is Aletheia different from Zillow or Redfin?

Accepted Answer

Zillow and Redfin are primarily search and discovery tools, helping you find homes. Aletheia starts where these sites leave off. Once you’ve found a home you want, Aletheia is how you make an offer, negotiate the terms, and manage the process through closing. These platforms aren’t in conflict; you might find a home on Zillow and submit your offer through Aletheia.

Question 6

Can builders use Aletheia?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Aletheia has a dedicated Builder Pro plan with tools built specifically for home builders. This plan includes community and lot management, purchase agreement delivery to buyers, construction timeline visibility, cost tracking, and analytics across your full portfolio. See the pricing page for details.

Question 7

How do I list a property on Aletheia?

Accepted Answer

Listing a property on Aletheia is simple. First, create a free account, then go to your dashboard and click ‘List a Property.’ You’ll add your property details, photos, asking price, and any preferences you have, like whether you prefer cash offers or a specific closing timeline. Once you publish, your listing will be live, and buyers can start submitting offers.

Question 8

Does it cost anything to list a property?

Accepted Answer

No. Listing a property on Aletheia is free. Every listing includes tools for receiving offers, comparing them, and using the accept, counter, and decline functions.

Question 9

How do I receive offers?

Accepted Answer

When a buyer submits an offer on your listing, you’ll be notified immediately by email, text, and in the app. You can review the offer in your dashboard or directly from the notification link. If you have multiple offers, you can make a side-by-side comparison of the offer amount, terms, closing date, and how much money you’d walk away with.

Question 10

Can I counter an offer?

Accepted Answer

Yes. From the offer detail page, you can send a counteroffer proposing different terms such as price, closing date, contingencies, earnest deposit, etc. The buyer sees exactly what you changed and can then accept, decline, or counter back. There’s no limit on how many rounds of negotiation can happen.

Question 11

What happens to other offers when I accept one?

Accepted Answer

When you accept an offer, all other active offers on that property are automatically declined. The buyers who submitted those offers are notified right away.

Question 12

Can I set preferences for what kind of offer I want?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When you create your listing, you can select up to three priorities: things like a specific closing timeline, a cash offer, or flexibility on the move-out date. Buyers see these preferences before they submit, so they can see your priorities before writing their offers.

Question 13

What if I want to take my listing down?

Accepted Answer

You can unpublish or close your listing from your dashboard at any time. If you have active offers when you do this, those buyers will be notified that the listing is no longer active.

Question 14

Do I have to disclose known issues with the property?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Utah law requires sellers to disclose known material defects because these are conditions that could affect the value or desirability of the property. Aletheia includes a disclosure checklist as part of the listing process. Aletheia does not verify disclosures; that responsibility is yours as the seller.

Question 15

How do I make an offer on a property?

Accepted Answer

Aletheia makes the offer process as simple as possible. First, find a property on Aletheia, either by browsing listings or entering a listing code that the seller shared with you. From the listing’s page, click ‘Make an Offer’ and fill out the offer form. This form covers your offer amount, financing type, proposed closing date, any conditions you want to include, and your earnest deposit amount. The whole process takes about 10 minutes.

Question 16

Does it cost anything to submit an offer?

Accepted Answer

No. Submitting offers through Aletheia is free. You can submit offers on as many properties as you want at no cost.

Question 17

What is earnest money?

Accepted Answer

Earnest money, also called a good-faith deposit, is a sum of money you put down after your offer is accepted; this deposit shows the seller you’re committed to the purchase. Your earnest money is held in escrow by a title company and applied toward your purchase price at closing. If you back out of the deal for a reason covered by your contingencies, you typically get your earnest money back. If you back out without a covered reason, you may forfeit that deposit. Earnest money is not charged through Aletheia.

Question 18

What are contingencies?

Accepted Answer

Contingencies are conditions built into your offer that protect you as the buyer. Common contingencies include an inspection contingency (which lets you back out if an inspection reveals serious problems), a financing contingency (which protects you if your loan falls through), and an appraisal contingency (which protects you if the home appraises for less than your offer price). Though each contingency has its trade-offs, Aletheia explains each one in plain English during the offer form to help you make informed decisions about which contingencies to include.

Question 19

Can I change my offer after I submit it?

Accepted Answer

Not directly. Submitted offers can’t be edited. If you realize you need to change something and the seller hasn’t responded yet, you can withdraw your offer and submit a new one for no additional cost. Once the seller has responded (accepted, declined, or countered), the offer can no longer be resubmitted.

Question 20

What happens after my offer is accepted?

Accepted Answer

You’ll be taken to a confirmation page that explains the next steps, and then you’ll be able to view your transaction dashboard. On this dashboard, Aletheia tracks every phase of the closing process — earnest deposit, inspection, financing, title, and closing day — with simple explanations of what each step means and what you need to do.

Question 21

Can I make offers on multiple properties at the same time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, there’s no restriction on submitting offers on multiple properties simultaneously, and all offers are free. Keep in mind that if more than one of your offers is accepted, you’ll be under contract on multiple properties, which has legal and financial implications. If you’re in that situation, consult a real estate attorney.

Question 22

What if the seller doesn’t respond to my offer?

Accepted Answer

Offers expire at the date and time you set; the default is 48 hours after submission. If the seller doesn’t respond before your offer expires, it closes automatically. You’ll be notified when this happens, and you’re free to submit a new offer or move on.

Question 23

Do I need to be pre-approved for a mortgage to make an offer?

Accepted Answer

Pre-approval is not required to submit an offer through Aletheia. However, including a pre-approval letter shows sellers that a lender has reviewed your finances. You can upload this letter as a document while filling out the offer form.

Question 24

Is my personal information secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes, all data transmitted through Aletheia is encrypted using TLS, the same standard used by banks and financial institutions. We don’t sell your data to third parties.

Question 25

Are digital signatures on offers legally valid?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Offer submissions through Aletheia comply with the Utah Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and the federal E-SIGN Act, which give digital signatures the same legal validity as handwritten ones. Every offer is signed with a timestamped digital signature that is tied to your account.

Question 26

What is an audit trail and why is it important?

Accepted Answer

An audit trail is an automatic record of every action taken on an offer or a transaction with the exact date and time it happened. This means that every submission, counter, acceptance, message, and document upload is recorded. If there’s ever a dispute about what was agreed to or when, the audit trail is the definitive record. Aletheia maintains this record automatically for every transaction.

Question 27

Who can see my offer?

Accepted Answer

Your offer is visible to you, the seller of the property, and any agent that you’ve connected to your account. Only the seller can see all of the offers for their listing; buyers are not able to see other buyers’ offers. Sellers can also see any supporting documents, like pre-approval letters, that were uploaded as part of the offer.

Question 28

Can I delete my account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can request account deletion from your account settings. Before deleting, be aware that active transactions require both parties to complete or formally cancel the transaction; you cannot delete your account while a transaction is in progress. Completed transaction records may be retained as required by law.

Question 29

Does Aletheia share my information with third parties?

Accepted Answer

Aletheia shares only necessary information with trusted third parties for services such as payment processing, email delivery, and SMS. Aletheia does not sell your personal information. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Question 30

Is Aletheia free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Aletheia is free for all buyers and sellers. There are no fees to list a property, submit an offer, or use any of the negotiation and transaction tools.

Question 31

How does Aletheia make money?

Accepted Answer

Aletheia offers premium tools for home builders through the Builder Pro plan, which includes community management, construction timelines, team access, and portfolio analytics. Individual buyers and sellers use Aletheia at no cost.

Question 32

What does a Builder Pro subscription include?

Accepted Answer

The Builder Pro plan includes the full builder toolkit: community and lot management, construction timeline visibility for buyers, cost tracking, floorplan management, team access, and analytics across your portfolio. Contact us for a quote tailored to your operation.

Question 33

Are there any hidden fees?

Accepted Answer

No. There are no commissions, no closing fees, no per-transaction charges, and no success-based fees from Aletheia. Closing costs, title fees, and other standard transaction expenses are handled separately by your title company or escrow agent.

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