Trouble Shooting and Questions
Please read over the following subject areas before requesting technical assistance. When requesting technical assistance, please follow the instructions provided under Requesting Technical Support further down on this page. In particular, please be sure to include as much specific information relating to the nature of your problem as possible, the specifics regarding your computer and your operating system and the exact time at which the problem you are reporting occurred.
Topics
Trouble Shooting
Placing One or More Advertisements
To place an advertisement you must have an open account at USHX.COM. If you wish to post more than one advertisement, you must have a separate account for each advertisement you wish to post. For information on how to open one or more accounts, please read the Create Account section below.
To place each new advertisement, click on ADD AD. At this point a box should appear requesting you to enter your username and password. If this box doesn't appear it may be because you are using an old browser. Users of Netscape 2.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 (and later versions) should not, however, have any problems with this security feature. Enter your username and password in the spaces provided exactly as shown in your confirming message (excluding the quote marks). These items are case sensitive.
IMPORTANT NOTE! Most browsers only require only one logon authentication per session. This means that the box requesting your username and password will not appear if you have already logged on during the current work session. If you only have one username and password, this is unlikely to be a problem. HOWEVER, if you have multiple accounts and you have already logged in under one given account, you will need to shut down and re-open your browser to access a different account.
Assuming you have entered your username and password correctly, once your press the "OK" button at the bottom of the box requesting your username and password, you should go directly to Step 1. Occasionally this will not happen even though you have entered your username and password data correctly. If you don't go straight to Step 1, try pressing the ADD AD button one more time. For reasons we don't quite understand, this will often get you in if your initial attempt fails.
When placing an advertisement, you will first be asked to select the state in which your property is located followed by county, community name and zip code. While you must select a community name from a pre-determined list, you can change your selection if the best name for your community was not available from this list.
You are given the option at Step 7 to display either your e-mail address or telephone number or both. While you must provide both an e-mail address and a valid telephone number, you have the option to select whether one or both of these items will be displayed in the completed advertisement.
When there is an ambiguity regarding your town or community name, we recommend that you include the preferred description of your home's location in your title and/or advertisement body, both of which are fully searchable.
Several users have had problems or questions with Step 7 continued of the ADD AD option. The two most common problems can be answered by reviewing the following instructions which appear on that page:
1. IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ! You will proceed to Step 8 to complete the posting of your ad when there are no errors and no changes in the data on this page. This will require that you press the "ENTER" button again after all of your correct entries have been displayed.
2. HTML is not allowed but you may include an http:// address as regular text if you have a web page providing additional information about your property.
When adding an advertisement, please note that the following message appears at Step 1: "PLEASE NOTE: YOU WILL NOT BE FINISHED POSTING YOUR AD UNTIL YOU GET TO STEP 8." When you get to Step 8, you will be able to review your ad by selecting the button labelled REVIEW. In addition, ALL new ads, updates and ad deletions are CONFIRMED BY E-MAIL. If you do not receive a confirming message, then your request was probably not completed. (Of course, you can confirm this by using the REVIEW feature or by searching through the ads posted in your state to see if your ad appears in its most updated form.)
When finished, your new advertisement will be available at the following Internet address:
http://www.ushx.com/data/[two character state abbreviation]/[your username]/
Please note: This is an automated service which is designed to allow you to add, update and delete your ad yourself. You must delete your ad yourself. (If you insist that we delete your ad for you, we will require payment of a $25 charge in advance of such deletion.)
Placing The For Sale Sign On The Location Map
Map coordinates for your map will be determined by the community name selected from the drop down menu in Step 3 under ADD AD.
When you get to Step 6, a map approximately 4 miles across showing your community name and location will be displayed. If you want to use this map-- and don't want to place a for sale sign at your home's exact location-- just select the DONE button to advance to Step 7.
(If the ESRI Map fails to load in Step 6 and/or if you receive a message about a "socket error", please page back to Step 5 and check the circle next to "US Census Map" and hit the ENTER next to the zip code input again. You will note that two different map options are available at Step 5: the ESRI Map or the US Census Map. The default is the ESRI MAP.)
If you wish to redraw the map to show the location of your home with a For Sale sign, first select the scale (how many miles across) from the drop down menu above the map; then click on the location on the map closest to where your home is located. Repeat this process as many times as you like until the map accurately shows your home's location. When you are satisfied with the map, just select the DONE button to advance to Step 7.
Including A Free Photograph With Your Ad
For detailed information on two different ways to include a free photograph with your ad, please read the instructions provided on the Include A Free Photo With Your Ad page.
If you wish to take advantage of either of the two options for including a free photo with your ad, you must have a scanner or a digital camera. You can include the photograph either by uploading the photo to your own web server and linking to that address or by using the USHX free photo upload service to host your digital photo on the USHX server.
Free photographs may not be submitted via e-mail, except as provided under the heading Instructions for Using USHX Free Photo Upload on the Include A Free Photo With Your Ad page.
Updating An Advertisement
To update your advertisement, select UPDATE AD.
As with the ADD AD sequence, at this point a box should appear requesting you to enter your username and password. If this box doesn't appear it may be because you are using an old browser. Users of Netscape 2.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 (and later versions) should not, however, have any problems with this security feature. Enter your username and password in the spaces provided exactly as shown in your confirming message (excluding the quote marks). These items are case sensitive.
IMPORTANT NOTE! Most browsers only require one logon authentication per session. This means that the box requesting your username and password will not appear if you have already logged on during the current work session. If you only have one username and password, this is unlikely to be a problem. HOWEVER, if you have multiple accounts and you have already logged in under one given account, you will need to shut down and re-open your browser to access a different account.
Assuming you have entered your username and password correctly, once your press the "OK" button at the bottom of the box requesting your username and password, you should go directly to Step 1. Occasionally this will not happen even though you have entered your username and password data correctly. If you don't go straight to Step 1, try pressing the UPDATE AD button one more time. For reasons we don't quite understand, this will often get you in if your initial attempt fails.
When you update your advertisement, you have the option to redraw your map. In most cases, users select the default at Step 1, KEEP CURRENT MAP. In this case, you go straight to Step 3 which allows you to update most of the data in your ad.
When updating an advertisement, please note that the following message appears at Step 1: "PLEASE NOTE: YOU WILL NOT BE FINISHED POSTING YOUR AD UNTIL YOU GET TO STEP 4. WHEN AND IF YOUR ADVERTISEMENT IS SUCCESSFULLY UPDATED, YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE AN E-MAIL CONFIRMATION." When you get to Step 4, you will be able to review your ad by selecting the button labelled REVIEW. In addition, ALL new ads, updates and ad deletions are CONFIRMED BY E-MAIL. If you do not receive a confirming message, then your request was probably not completed. (Of course, you can confirm this by using the REVIEW feature or by searching through the ads posted in your state to see if your ad appears in its most updated form.)
IMPORTANT NOTE! The following fields cannot be updated: Community name, county, state, zip code. If you want to change one of these fields, you must delete your ad and submit a completely new ad.
Your advertisement will remain available at the following Internet address:
http://www.ushx.com/data/[two character state abbreviation]/[your username]/
Your advertisment's address will not change when you update your ad.
Deleting An Advertisement
To delete your advertisement, select DELETE AD.
Please note: This is an automated service which is designed to allow you to add, update and delete your ad yourself. You must delete your ad yourself. (If you insist that we delete your ad for you, we will require payment of a $25 charge in advance of such deletion.)
As with the ADD AD and UPDATE AD sequences, at this point a box should appear requesting you to enter your username and password. If this box doesn't appear, it may be because you are using an old browser. Users of Netscape 2.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 (and later versions) should not, however, have any problems with this security feature. Enter your username and password in the spaces provided exactly as shown in your confirming message (excluding the quote marks). These items are case sensitive.
IMPORTANT NOTE! Most browsers only require only one logon authentication per session. This means that the box requesting your username and password will not appear if you have already logged on during the current work session. If you only have one username and password, this is unlikely to be a problem. HOWEVER, if you have multiple accounts and you have already logged in under one given account, you will need to shut down and re-open your browser to access a different account.
To delete your ad, just select the button labelled DELETE. To be sure you are deleting the right ad, we urge you-- especially if you have multiple accounts-- to use the REVIEW feature first to confirm the contents of the ad you are about to delete.
Create Account
To apply for a new account, you must provide your e-mail address and a unique username. All new usernames must be three to eight characters in length and consist only of digits and lower case letters. No spaces, punctuation or other marks are allowed.
To establish a free account, click on ACCOUNT MGMT and select NEW ACCOUNT from the drop down menu. When establishing a new account, your password is generated and sent back to you via automatic return e-mail immediately once you get to Step 3 of NEW ACCOUNT under the ACCOUNT MGMT menu. You will know that the e-mail has been sent because the screen will say "Account Created Successfully." It will go on to say "Congratulations! The account [your username] has been successfully created. Your password is being sent to you via e-mail at [your e-mail address]."
If your mail server is up and running, you should receive your password in five to ten minutes. However, not all mail servers are functioning all the time. It is reasonably common for messages to take one, two, three, or more hours to get through. If you don't receive your message immediately, be patient. When the message finally does arrive, you will be able to see from the time stamp that it entered the Internet at the exact time you created your account.
One warning: If you type your e-mail address incorrectly, you won't get your password. (This has happened quite a few times...) You can always use the CONFIRM ACCOUNT option under ACCOUNT MGMT (see What To Do If You Forget Your Username or Password below) to confirm that your real e-mail address is associated with an outstanding account. If no account is found when you use this option, just choose a new username and create a new account with your correct e-mail address.
You may have as many accounts as you want. All accounts are free. One advertisement may be posted for each account. To post multiple ads you will need multiple accounts. Each account consists of a username and password associated with a particular e-mail address.
Change Password
To change your password, click on ACCOUNT MGMT and select CHANGE PASSWORD from the drop down menu.
To change your password, you must provide your username, your old and your new password.
Change Username
To change your username, click on ACCOUNT MGMT and select CHANGE USERNAME from the drop down menu.
To change your username, you must provide your current username, your password and your proposed new username.
All new usernames must be three to eight characters in length and consist only of digits and lower case letters. No spaces, punctuation or other marks are allowed.
Change E-Mail Address
To change your e-mail address, click on ACCOUNT MGMT and select CHANGE E-MAIL ADDRESS from the drop down menu.
To use this feature, you must have an advertisement currently outstanding at your current username. In addition, you must have the password for this username. In order to use this change feature, you must first use the NEW ACCOUNT option under ACCOUNT MGMT to establish a new username and new password for your new e-mail address. For this change feature to work, you must not have posted an advertisement at this new account.
To change your e-mail address, enter your current username and current password (for your old account which has an ad outstanding) and also enter your new username and new password (for your new account at your new e-mail address which has no ad outstanding). Then press ENTER.
If successful, the screen will display the message "E-Mail Address Changed" and your ad will have been transferred from your old username to your new username. Since your advertisement will now be displayed at a new location (because your username has changed), you will need to submit this new web address to any search engines which you want to list your ad.
Deleting An Account
To delete an account, click on ACCOUNT MGMT and select CANCEL ACCOUNT from the drop down menu.
If your account remains inactive for more than 90 days and no advertisement is posted, your account will be automatically cancelled by the system and all records relating to your account will be purged.
Access Statistics
Once you've placed your ad, you'll be able to monitor how many times your ad has been accessed, when it was accessed and by whom during the most recent twelve months.
To review the access statistics, click on ACCOUNT MGMT and select ACCESS STATISTICS from the drop down menu.
IMPORTANT NOTE! If you change the username for your advertisement, either directly through the CHANGE USERNAME option under ACCOUNT MGMT or indirectly through the CHANGE E-MAIL ADDRESS option under ACCOUNT MGMT, you will only be able to retrieve access statistics for your current username. Access statistics for your advertisement under its prior username(s) will not be accessible.
What To Do If You Forget Your Username or Password or Are Having Password Problems
Please use the CONFIRM ACCOUNT option under the ACCOUNT MGMT drop down menu to receive confirmation of the username and password for each account established using your e-mail address.
If you are having problems with your password and if the message you received using the CONFIRM ACCOUNT feature confirms that your account details are correct and your account STILL doesn't work, select the CHANGE PASSWORD option under ACCOUNT MGMT. Enter your username where requested and then enter your current password in the last three input fields (Current Password, New Password, New Password (again)). Press ENTER. You should receive a response which says: "Step 3. Password Changed." If there was a problem with your password, this should fix it.
Tips For Searching For Advertisements
To search outstanding advertisements, just select the SEARCH ADVERTISEMENTS button. All searches are conducted within a state. No single search request can produce search results from multiple states.
Advertisements can be retrieved through a variety of advance search criteria including matching various categories, physical distance from your target community and keyword matching.
The default search retrieval returns all properties within a twenty mile radius of the targeted town. This allows individuals searching the USHX.COM database to find all listings in a particular area.
Privacy Issues
In no event will anyone's account details (including your e-mail address) be given to anyone. USHX.COM will not rent, sell or otherwise release your account information (including your e-mail address) to any other party.
USHX.COM periodically contacts individuals who have an advertisement posted. If you do not have a current advertisement posted, you will not receive any mail from USHX.COM.
If you choose to display your e-mail address in your ad there is the possibility, since this is a public advertisement, that you will receive e-mail messages from individuals who are not interested in your property. Publishing your address on the Internet makes it potentially accessible to anyone with access to a web browser.
USHX.COM Welcomes Real Estate Brokers
Real estate brokers are welcome to use this site to post advertisements and to search advertisements for potential business contacts subject to the requirement that no broker may contact any individual whose advertisement states "Broker inquiries on this property are NOT welcome." Brokers violating this rule will be barred from using this service.
Banner Advertising at USHX.COM
USHX.COM targets individuals with a specific interest in real estate and real estate related services. A banner ad at USHX.COM allows you to communicate your targeted message to this select audience. You may purchase one or more banner advertisements at USHX.COM subject to the following conditions:
- Twelve separate rotating banner advertisements will be displayed sequentially on every page at USHX.COM.
- Each individual banner ad may be purchased at a cost of $350 per banner ad per year. (All twelve banner ads may be purchased as a block for a single $3,000 annual fee: this represents a savings of $1,200 per year.)
- The annual fee for each banner ad is payable in advance.
- Each banner ad must be a 468 x 60 pixel image in the gif or jpeg format. Each ad will contain a hypertext link to the advertiser's web site and an alternate text name. (The size for the image file should not exceed 25 kilobytes.)
USHX.COM tracks every hit to every page containing a banner advertisement. To look at a detailed analysis of yesterday's actual access statistics for USHX.COM, just click HERE. (These data are updated daily.)
To indicate your desire to purchase a USHX banner ad, please use the Feedback Page at http://www.ushx.com/feedback/ to contact us.
No One Answered My Ad!
Posting an Internet real estate advertisement is no guarantee that you will be able to sell your property. The Internet is still a relatively new medium for selling property. In addition, there are literally hundreds of individual web sites dedicated to selling real estate on the Internet.
USHX.COM encourages you to use any and all free services available on the Internet to list your property. Doing so will maximize your exposure. We also caution you against paying monthly or other periodic fees to post your ad: you are, unfortunately, likely to be disappointed.
We believe this service offers more for free than any other service currently available. In particular, USHX.COM provides the following distinct benefits:
- Your real estate advertisement can be outstanding indefinitely at no cost. (Please read Our Right To Change or Terminate This Site, a part of The Fine Print page.)
- All advertisements are current within 60 days-- no ancient, dead ads.
- There is no limit to the length of your property description.
- You have the ability to include a photo for free, including free hosting of that photo on the USHX server.
- You can include a free map which you can use to pinpoint the location of your property.
- The advertiser has full and instant user control over adding, updating and deleting his or her ad.
- You can see exactly how many times your ad has been viewed-- and by whom!
This last feature, in particular, is, we believe, unique to any free real estate listing service-- and especially valuable. USHX.COM gives you a free web page with a fixed address which can be listed with any and all major Internet search engines. This is important because it means that folks who have never heard of USHX.COM can retrieve your ad by searching for key words contained in your ad. No other free service gives you access to this kind of exposure-- or automates the search engine listing process for you.
But remember, none of these nifty features is a guarantee that you will sell your house using this-- or any other-- Internet service. And don't forget, some folks have trouble selling their properties because they are priced too high... or described too vaguely!
Special Notice for AOL Users
If you are using an AOL browser or AOL mail software and are experiencing problems with this site, we can't help you. You might want to contact AOL and ask for instructions on how to install the latest version of either Netscape or Internet Explorer. (You'll be glad you did.)
Requesting Technical Support
If, after reading the preceding section, you still need to request technical support, please be sure to include the following details in your request for assistance:
1. Your operating system name and version (e.g., Windows 98)
2. Your browser name and version (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01)
3. Your processor name and speed (e.g., 750 mhz Pentium)
4. The available RAM memory in your computer (e.g., 128 megabytes)
5. The exact time your problem occurred (and, of course, your time zone)
6. The Internet provider you were using to access the Internet
7. Your username and password and the state where your ad is located
Also please indicate the exact nature of the problem and what troubleshooting you have performed with what results. For example, if you are having trouble logging on, you should FIRST try the trouble shooting suggestions outlined above. Please describe the results of this troubleshooting in your request for assistance. WE CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU DON'T PROVIDE BOTH THE DETAILS REGARDING YOUR COMPUTER AND THE RESULTS OF YOUR TROUBLESHOOTING. To request technical support, please use the Feedback Page at http://www.ushx.com/feedback/ to contact us.
We will usually be able to get back to you within 72 hours.
