Redfin experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of selling our house FSBO in a desirable neighborhood. Held a very busy open house on Sunday. Several agents called us to say tell us how excited their buyers were about the house, tell us specifically what they liked and asked if there was anything they could include in the offer (besides price) that would make their offer stand out (contingencies, settlement timeline, rentback, etc).

Received several offers on Monday with escalation clauses. Received one offer from a Redfin agent that was laughably low, with an escalation clause that topped out at BELOW list and without any attempt to try to sell us on their buyers. This agent was just so out of touch with what would be necessary to get our house for their buyers that it really soured me on Redfin. I previously thought it was a good model and would have considered using them for our purchase had we not represented ourselves. Now, I'd think twice about it.

That's so strange since Redfin specifically states they don't do FSBO as buyers agents.

Agree this above poster sounds like a realtor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of selling our house FSBO in a desirable neighborhood. Held a very busy open house on Sunday. Several agents called us to say tell us how excited their buyers were about the house, tell us specifically what they liked and asked if there was anything they could include in the offer (besides price) that would make their offer stand out (contingencies, settlement timeline, rentback, etc).

Received several offers on Monday with escalation clauses. Received one offer from a Redfin agent that was laughably low, with an escalation clause that topped out at BELOW list and without any attempt to try to sell us on their buyers. This agent was just so out of touch with what would be necessary to get our house for their buyers that it really soured me on Redfin. I previously thought it was a good model and would have considered using them for our purchase had we not represented ourselves. Now, I'd think twice about it.

That's so strange since Redfin specifically states they don't do FSBO as buyers agents.

Agree this above poster sounds like a realtor.

And if not, remember that the BUYER, not the agent, is who drives the offer. It's a business deal. If the offer doesn't meet your needs, just don't take it. But getting all offended that they didn't stroke your ego to your satisfaction makes you sound ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking to buy why are you worried about saving on commissions? The seller pays the commission to the buyers agent. Just be careful on the Redfin rebate, you do have to pay taxes on it. Better way would be to use a traditional realtor and ask them to negotiate you the same amount you would save as a closing cost credit (tax free!)

[Anonymous]

Buyers and sellers effectively pay their own agents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people get too hung up on the possibility of saving on the commission that they don't see the forest for the trees.

If a really good agent at a traditional firm can get you $25,000 more for your home than a Redfin agent, saving $10,000 on commission doesn't seem as appealing.

A "really good agent" cannot inflate the market value of your asset.

A really good agent finds the best buyer for your house, who is often the one who pays more.

There are stats and track records on agents, average length of time from list to close, and average price, among other things. Your assertion that all agents are inherently the same is laughable. And for the record, marketing ROUTINELY inflates the value of assets of all sorts.

With the technology, data and various websites out there the vast majority of buyers run their own comps, schedule open houses and appt themselves and know neighborhoods.

In your world, a "really good agent" needs to find a dumb buyer, who is in a hurry, and who doesn't mind overpaying. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buyers and sellers effectively pay their own agents.

Nope. The buyer brings the money to the closing, the buyer is funding everything on the Hud-1.

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing there are good and bad redfin agents like everywhere else. I'd buy with one if I felt I knew the market and comps very well and knew how to negotiate.

OTOH, I interviewed 4 agents for selling our house. The redfin agent pulled really odd comps that weren't comps and wanted to list the house at 739, showing us some 'scientifically driven' data bs about where it should be priced. We used another realtor and sold in a week at 900plus. I felt he really didn't know the market and was much more interested in a fast sale than anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking to buy why are you worried about saving on commissions? The seller pays the commission to the buyers agent. Just be careful on the Redfin rebate, you do have to pay taxes on it. Better way would be to use a traditional realtor and ask them to negotiate you the same amount you would save as a closing cost credit (tax free!)

You're an idiot, this is completely wrong. Redfin even obtained an opinion from the IRS that the rebate is tax free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing there are good and bad redfin agents like everywhere else. I'd buy with one if I felt I knew the market and comps very well and knew how to negotiate.

OTOH, I interviewed 4 agents for selling our house. The redfin agent pulled really odd comps that weren't comps and wanted to list the house at 739, showing us some 'scientifically driven' data bs about where it should be priced. We used another realtor and sold in a week at 900plus. I felt he really didn't know the market and was much more interested in a fast sale than anything else.

I interviewed RF and they tried to price mine 10-15% over other realtor's estimates. Agents are agents. If you know what you're doing, just use the one that will give you the most cash back. Or better yet, go the flat fee MLS route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking to buy why are you worried about saving on commissions? The seller pays the commission to the buyers agent. Just be careful on the Redfin rebate, you do have to pay taxes on it. Better way would be to use a traditional realtor and ask them to negotiate you the same amount you would save as a closing cost credit (tax free!)

You do NOT have to pay taxes on the redfin rebate. It's considered the same as closing cost help from the seller.

[Anonymous]

For those who have used Redfin, any recommendations for N.VA agents? We're looking to buy and sell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who have used Redfin, any recommendations for N.VA agents? We're looking to buy and sell.

David Le. You won't be disappointed.