Redfin experience?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'm looking in fairfax. The top end of my budget is $1M, so that's why I'm trying to save on commissions if possible, and we'll be stretched pretty thin as it is. Also, I noticed the Redfin agents in the fairfax area have closed on homes mainly in a lower price range. Should I just get a regular agent then? Will the stigma of using redfin really put me at a disadvantage in this somewhat competitive market?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm looking in fairfax. The top end of my budget is $1M, so that's why I'm trying to save on commissions if possible, and we'll be stretched pretty thin as it is. Also, I noticed the Redfin agents in the fairfax area have closed on homes mainly in a lower price range. Should I just get a regular agent then? Will the stigma of using redfin really put me at a disadvantage in this somewhat competitive market?

If you'll be stretched thin by paying a realtor commission at that price range, you should really think about looking at cheaper houses. Not that you shouldn't try to save money, but it shouldn't be a make or break thing in that price range.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't be shocked if sellers resist Reffin agents (as a seller). They now post comments on their website after they view a house. Some of the comments are purely subjective but can really damage a person's listing. Things like "dated" "busy street" (but without defining what they mean by "busy street," because there are really different definitions.

So it seems to me in a hot area, sellers could just refuse redfin agents from viewing (by making it difficult for them to schedule when the listing service calls, as the listing service always states the name of the real estate agent who will be showing your house).

So, with that in mind, I would hesitate to use a Redfin agent as a buyer, because I would fear that other agents would avoid the Redfin agents and it would make it harder for me to view and then bid on and then win bids on houses.

Just my opinion, though. I like to peruse listings on Redfin from time to time, and I've been SHOCKED at the kind of comments that Redfin agents make on listings.

[Anonymous]

I enjoy the Redfin agent's comments. It gives balance to the listing agent comments, that use words like "charming" and "lovingly maintained by the original owner" and so on.

It's not fair that only the seller's agent has a monopoly on descriptive information about a property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The agent I used really looked down on them. I'm sure it's because she's protecting her territory, but I would be worried in a competitive market that your offer could find it's way to the bottom of the pile and get little attention if your realtor feels like mine did.

We bought using Redfin. We were the first to see the house, first with a full-price offer. Our agent was very careful to steer us through the process, trying to fend off a multiple offer situation, which we didn't want. We were very impressed with the speed and efficiency of Redfin. Everything is done online, very fast. I highly recommend Redfin, but read the reviews of each agent on the website, meet them in person or call them. Our agent was great, but not all are as experienced. We had an excellent experience, and got a huge chunk of money back. No complaints here.

FWIW the seller's agent was hostile to Redfin, but our agent was used to that, and ignored it! Redfin has a great business model, and they are making inroads into the outrageous fees that traditional realtors charge.

We're using a traditional agent to sell our house, though. Redfin does not have a seller's agent in our area that we feel has enough experience to manage selling our house, even though we're in a hot market. I'd love to use them, to save money, but I also want to sell our house quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be shocked if sellers resist Reffin agents (as a seller). They now post comments on their website after they view a house. Some of the comments are purely subjective but can really damage a person's listing. Things like "dated" "busy street" (but without defining what they mean by "busy street," because there are really different definitions.

So it seems to me in a hot area, sellers could just refuse redfin agents from viewing (by making it difficult for them to schedule when the listing service calls, as the listing service always states the name of the real estate agent who will be showing your house).

So, with that in mind, I would hesitate to use a Redfin agent as a buyer, because I would fear that other agents would avoid the Redfin agents and it would make it harder for me to view and then bid on and then win bids on houses.

Just my opinion, though. I like to peruse listings on Redfin from time to time, and I've been SHOCKED at the kind of comments that Redfin agents make on listings.

Whoaaa! I think this might be just a little bit ILLEGAL! If this were to happen, there would soon be legal action.

The realtors are trying desperately to hang on to their gigantic and completely ridiculous commissions, but they will lose in the long run. You can't stop progress by doing something illegal!

More and more people are using Redfin where I live, and the company is expanding daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm looking in fairfax. The top end of my budget is $1M, so that's why I'm trying to save on commissions if possible, and we'll be stretched pretty thin as it is. Also, I noticed the Redfin agents in the fairfax area have closed on homes mainly in a lower price range. Should I just get a regular agent then? Will the s[b]tigma[/b] of using redfin really put me at a disadvantage in this somewhat competitive market?

If you're worried about the "stigma" you'd best stay with a traditional agent. They are the ones putting a "stigma" on Redfin!

Ha ha ha. Don't mind me as I laugh while I'm running to the bank to deposit the check Redfin refunded to me for the commission on my nearly $1M house!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be shocked if sellers resist Reffin agents (as a seller). They now post comments on their website after they view a house. Some of the comments are purely subjective but can really damage a person's listing. Things like "dated" "busy street" (but without defining what they mean by "busy street," because there are really different definitions.

So it seems to me in a hot area, sellers could just refuse redfin agents from viewing (by making it difficult for them to schedule when the listing service calls, as the listing service always states the name of the real estate agent who will be showing your house).

So, with that in mind, I would hesitate to use a Redfin agent as a buyer, because I would fear that other agents would avoid the Redfin agents and it would make it harder for me to view and then bid on and then win bids on houses.

Just my opinion, though. I like to peruse listings on Redfin from time to time, and I've been SHOCKED at the kind of comments that Redfin agents make on listings.

You are obviously a Realtor!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be shocked if sellers resist Reffin agents (as a seller). They now post comments on their website after they view a house. Some of the comments are purely subjective but can really damage a person's listing. Things like "dated" "busy street" (but without defining what they mean by "busy street," because there are really different definitions.

So it seems to me in a hot area, sellers could just refuse redfin agents from viewing (by making it difficult for them to schedule when the listing service calls, as the listing service always states the name of the real estate agent who will be showing your house).

So, with that in mind, I would hesitate to use a Redfin agent as a buyer, because I would fear that other agents would avoid the Redfin agents and it would make it harder for me to view and then bid on and then win bids on houses.

Just my opinion, though. I like to peruse listings on Redfin from time to time, and I've been SHOCKED at the kind of comments that Redfin agents make on listings.

Whoaaa! I think this might be just a little bit ILLEGAL! If this were to happen, there would soon be legal action.

The realtors are trying desperately to hang on to their gigantic and completely ridiculous commissions, but they will lose in the long run. You can't stop progress by doing something illegal!

More and more people are using Redfin where I live, and the company is expanding daily.

It's not illegal to decline a showing or say a showing time doesn't work for you. It's illegal to refuse to sell to someone based on race, religion, gender. But it's not illegal to say "no, I can't show the house at 1pm on tuesday." And given you wouldn't know anything about the potential buyer (you're only given the name of the agent), it absolutely couldn't be interpreted as discrimination against the buyer.

That said, in certain real estate circles, I've heard of agents avoiding showing certain listings to their buyer because the commission split was off or was low. I've also heard of some agents blacklisting other agents. But such things are very difficult to prove.

I'm not a seller and not listing my house anytime soon. But if you go to the redfin forums, you'll see people already suggesting these things. There's a lot of frustration about the comments thing hurting sellers.

I'm not suggesting trying to stop progress. I'm responding to the OP about possible issues with using a redfin agent. And these are issues I've seen raised on forums here and elsewhere.

If I were a seller, I wouldn't care about the commission thing. I would care about a redfin agent potentially sabotaging my house by giving a negative subjective review to dissuade buyers from even looking at the house, and then the same agent coming back in a month with a buyer and underbidding (because they've essentially pushed away the competition).

I don't have a dog in this fight, though. As I said, I'm not looking to buy or sell any time soon. I only follow real estate out of concern for what happens in my neighborhood. And these are observations I've made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be shocked if sellers resist Reffin agents (as a seller). They now post comments on their website after they view a house. Some of the comments are purely subjective but can really damage a person's listing. Things like "dated" "busy street" (but without defining what they mean by "busy street," because there are really different definitions.

So it seems to me in a hot area, sellers could just refuse redfin agents from viewing (by making it difficult for them to schedule when the listing service calls, as the listing service always states the name of the real estate agent who will be showing your house).

So, with that in mind, I would hesitate to use a Redfin agent as a buyer, because I would fear that other agents would avoid the Redfin agents and it would make it harder for me to view and then bid on and then win bids on houses.

Just my opinion, though. I like to peruse listings on Redfin from time to time, and I've been SHOCKED at the kind of comments that Redfin agents make on listings.

You are obviously a Realtor!

No, I'm not a realtor. I was a seller and a buyer over a year ago, and I intend not to be one again for the foreseeable future for the specific reason that I intensely dislike realtors and the entire process.

But I'm not, never have been and never will be a realtor. I love how people make assumptions on here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I enjoy the Redfin agent's comments. It gives balance to the listing agent comments, that use words like "charming" and "lovingly maintained by the original owner" and so on.

It's not fair that only the seller's agent has a monopoly on descriptive information about a property.

Personally, I find the comments unhelpful and sometimes actually inaccurate.

I've noticed a couple of listings in my neighborhood where the redfin agent made some comments that were wrong but also failed to mention some pretty big things. But again, it's subjective. I would be fine with redfin agents posting comments if they allowed *all* buyers' agents looking at a property to post comments. But whatever. They're a business, too.

I'm just glad I'm not in the market right now (either buying or selling). It was enough of a nightmare when I went through it. I hope not to go through it again for a long time.

[Anonymous]

I sold my home through a traditional agent because I needed help staging and calling in repairs. I needed someone dedicated to selling my home quick. The redfin agent we met for selling seemed disinterested. For selling, traditional agents seem to do more than traditional agents for buying.

So if I were buying, I would use redfin. Selling, use a traditional agent.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if Redfin is better for submitting lowball offers. Some buyers agents in my experience try to discourage lowballs because 1).they want the commission and lowballs rarely work, and 2) the buyers agent doesn't want to offend other agents and ruin his reputation by sub,opting lowball offers.

It all comes down to traditional agents looking out for their own interests rather than the Client's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Redfin is better for submitting lowball offers. Some buyers agents in my experience try to discourage lowballs because 1).they want the commission and lowballs rarely work, and 2) the buyers agent doesn't want to offend other agents and ruin his reputation by sub,opting lowball offers.

It all comes down to traditional agents looking out for their own interests rather than the Client's.

Well, I think the redfin agents do a lot of negative reviews *so* that they can do low-ball offers and increase their numbers (and it helps them market themselves as successful buyers agents). Just a thought.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the redfin model, nor am i a fan of the traditional model. I think the whole process needs to change.

[Anonymous]

We had an issue about 5 years a go with an agent refusing to show us a listing because we were using an internet rebate realtor.

We just called up the seller and ended up seeing the home and didn't bid on it LOL on them.