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.

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 does Aletheia make money?

Accepted Answer

During the beta, it doesn’t. Buyers and sellers pay Aletheia nothing, and Aletheia takes no commission and no referral fee from anyone. Pricing after the beta hasn’t been set; when it is, it will be on the pricing page.

Question 6

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 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 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, every other open offer on that property closes, and the buyers who made them are told in their Aletheia notifications.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Yes. On your listing’s page you can pick up to three priorities, such as a quick closing or certainty of close, and write a note to buyers. Buyers see your note before they make an offer. The priorities themselves aren’t shown to buyers.

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

Does Aletheia verify who I am? Does it verify that I own the property?

Accepted Answer

It verifies who you are, and it does not verify ownership. The first time you list a property or make or accept an offer, and before a co-buyer or co-seller signs, you verify your identity once with a government ID and a selfie. It runs inside the page you are already on and takes a couple of minutes. Our verification provider handles the documents; Aletheia never receives or stores your ID images. It keeps whether the check passed, the date, and the provider's reference number for the check. Ownership is a separate thing entirely: the seller attests to it under penalty of perjury, and the title company confirms it before closing.

Question 15

What happens if my identity check is still under review?

Accepted Answer

Your work is saved, and sending waits. A review usually takes a few moments, and occasionally up to a day if a person has to look at it. Anything you were working on is saved as a draft and nothing is lost. Sending is what waits, and it goes through as soon as the check clears. Your account page always shows where the check stands. If it does not pass, that is usually a blurry photo or an expired ID rather than anything serious, and you can try again with a different document.

Question 16

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 17

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 18

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 19

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. Under the financing condition, the contract splits the earnest money the way Section 8.3(b)(i) says: whatever amount is filled in there goes to the seller, and the rest comes back to you. If you back out without a covered reason, you may forfeit that deposit. Earnest money is not charged through Aletheia.

Question 20

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 21

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. Once the seller has responded (accepted, declined, or countered), the offer can no longer be resubmitted.

Question 22

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 23

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 24

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

Accepted Answer

Offers expire at the date and time you set. 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 25

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, a pre-approval letter shows sellers that a lender has reviewed your finances. The offer form asks whether you have one and for your lender’s name.

Question 26

Is my personal information secure?

Accepted Answer

All data transmitted through Aletheia is encrypted in transit using TLS. We don’t sell your data to third parties.

Question 27

How are signatures captured on Aletheia?

Accepted Answer

Signatures are executed under the federal E-SIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001) and Utah’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Utah Code § 46-4-101). Each is captured with the signer’s drawn image, IP address, and timestamp, tied to their verified account. The signed document is immediately frozen with a cryptographic hash. If it were altered afterward, the alteration would be provable. E-SIGN and UETA mean electronic signatures and contracts cannot be denied legal effect solely because they’re electronic; whether a specific agreement is enforceable depends on its terms and applicable law.

Question 28

What is an audit trail and why is it important?

Accepted Answer

An audit trail is an automatic, timestamped record of activity on the platform. Aletheia logs significant actions as they happen, along with the account that took them, and keeps that log with the transaction. Entries are hash-chained, meaning each entry stores a hash of the one before it. You can open your transaction’s activity feed to see what has happened and export it as a PDF or CSV. Offer submissions and counters appear in the offer’s own history, and once an offer is accepted, in the transaction’s activity feed as well. Your signed agreements and documents remain the authoritative statement of what you agreed to.

Question 29

Who can see my offer?

Accepted Answer

Your offer is visible to you, anyone buying with you as a co-buyer, the seller of the property, and anyone selling with them as a co-seller. Only the seller’s side can see all of the offers for their listing; buyers are not able to see other buyers’ offers.

Question 30

Can I delete my account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can delete your account anytime from Account Settings (Profile & Security). If you have an active transaction, you'll need to complete or cancel it first; any pending offers are withdrawn automatically. Your personal information is removed, though completed transaction records are kept for six years (Privacy Policy, Section 6). No law requires this. We chose it.

Question 31

Does Aletheia share my information with third parties?

Accepted Answer

Aletheia shares only what’s necessary with the service providers that run the Platform, such as hosting, email delivery and identity verification. Aletheia does not sell your personal information. See our Privacy Policy for the full list.

Question 32

Is Aletheia free?

Accepted Answer

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

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.

Frequently asked questions

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