Anonymous wrote:

This looks interesting. Does the website charge sellers to search?

Thanks! It's all free right now.

Anonymous wrote:

You realize you are brokering without a license, right? There are all sorts of implications of risk with what you're doing. Someone will sue you eventually.

We do not broker real estate. Multiple lawyers, our real estate broker, and DPOR investigations have confirmed our operations are legal - thanks for your concern!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which site is yours?

+1 it seems like the pp is writing from zillow's perspective?

Zillow lets buyers search for homes but
Knockity.com lets the homes search for buyers.

Anonymous wrote:

Steve wrote:The DANGER report seems to indicate 3-5 years, but 14:36's guess of within 7.5 years seems more realistic. (https://www.dangerreport.com/)

When you combine the generations of a single method for an infrequent transaction with the large body of licensed salespersons out there, you can see why it's such an uphill battle.

I think we are the key to solving the current inefficiencies by turning the industry on its head since we let homeowners search for buyers, especially pre-market.

RedFin is just a cheaper brokerage.

Zillow can change the entire game tomorrow if they wanted to. Half or more of the buyers and sellers already use them.

You mean like Zillow's "make me move" pre-market listings?

No, I think that's a different market segment of people who want unrealistic prices for their home. Our audience is more like people who know they need to move in a few months or years (jobs, retirement, etc) and would like to find the right buyer and cut down on unnecessary showings and even the prep and staging work that happens months before listing.

We also wanted to make our homeowners feel safer so we hid their homes from searches and don't even show addresses. Owners get alerts when buyers pop up in their area. Sellers can then review the buyer profiles to see if there's a good match (timeline, financing, wants/needs/dislikes/personal background) before reaching out to discuss/set up showings.

It's been satisfying to hear that pre-market showings are actually occurring on our site. We want to make real estate more open, friendly, and sensible. That doesn't mean agents need to be eliminated. It means that people need to be empowered.

The DANGER report seems to indicate 3-5 years, but 14:36's guess of within 7.5 years seems more realistic. (https://www.dangerreport.com/)

When you combine the generations of a single method for an infrequent transaction with the large body of licensed salespersons out there, you can see why it's such an uphill battle.

I think we are the key to solving the current inefficiencies by turning the industry on its head since we let homeowners search for buyers, especially pre-market.

RedFin is just a cheaper brokerage.

Zillow can change the entire game tomorrow if they wanted to. Half or more of the buyers and sellers already use them.

My wife and I rented month-to-month, even with a newborn, so that we'd be ready when the right home came along.

Anonymous wrote:I am pre-qualified at my credit union but am realizing that I can probably do better with closing costs. They have an almost 5K origination fee, for starters!

Looking to borrow about 400K, and have excellent credit/good income/many existing assets.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Start at Zillow Mortgage Marketplace to understand what rates you could get: https://www.zillow.com/mortgage-rates/

Be sure to factor in rate buy downs, lender fees, closing credits, etc into your comparisons to get a true baseline rather than the low number magic they might try to trick you on.

Rates can vary at lenders day by day based on the volume of work they're doing and what risk they want to assume. They will also match each other depending on the current mood. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Steve wrote:In the $1m+ range we've been able to get some of our users 2.25% cash back, and they've all been pleased with the results.

Are you a brokerage? What are you? I don't understand.

No, we are not a brokerage. We are two Hokies with Computer Engineering degrees and a DC-based startup where sellers can search for buyers. In the past year+ of growing this company I've met lots of agents and I realize that most people want to use agents, so when someone asks, we request bids from our network of partner agents to help our users save money. Given that it's slow season buyers/sellers in the $1m+ range could probably get a 2.5% rebate from eager, experienced agents. (No, I am not an agent, and, yes, it's perfectly legal.)

In the $1m+ range we've been able to get some of our users 2.25% cash back, and they've all been pleased with the results.

Anonymous wrote:

Steve wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my realtor fails to sell my house I'm going to de-list, wait a while, then post as a Make Me Move (using pictures other than the one my realtor took). I'll think put an asking price 6% less than it currently is and say "buyer's agent welcome: add buyer's agent commission to offer price." Has anyone done this?

You're probably better off leaving the price as is or only dropping 3% since buyers are programmed by agents to believe that sellers pay all of the commission.

You can also note that the price is $x lower without agents but the fact is that most people are represented thanks in part to what I mentioned above. If you don't offer commissions, buyer agents will may steer their clients away from your property since you may be keeping them from a pay check. If you lived in a hot area none of this would matter, but then again, you also wouldn't be worrying about de-listing.

If you choose to list with a phone number, use a Google Voice number so you can screen and easily block calls without fear of endless harassment. If you are harassed, you can just press "4" and Google gives out an audible alert saying, "This phone call is now being recorded."

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for the tips! Who would be harassing? Angry agents?

You're welcome. They're not so much angry as they are eager to get a large paycheck. They generally only get angry once they realize there's no chance of getting your listing.

"Make Me Move" and FSBOs are a hunting ground for agents chasing leads, so that's why you've got to protect your contact information. Examples of prospecting calls you may receive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnLqp_ol7R4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwuxejEl_48
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vmAobzxVZk

Feel free to PM me for more tips.

Anonymous wrote:If my realtor fails to sell my house I'm going to de-list, wait a while, then post as a Make Me Move (using pictures other than the one my realtor took). I'll think put an asking price 6% less than it currently is and say "buyer's agent welcome: add buyer's agent commission to offer price." Has anyone done this?

You're probably better off leaving the price as is or only dropping 3% since buyers are programmed by agents to believe that sellers pay all of the commission.

You can also note that the price is $x lower without agents but the fact is that most people are represented thanks in part to what I mentioned above. If you don't offer commissions, buyer agents will may steer their clients away from your property since you may be keeping them from a pay check. If you lived in a hot area none of this would matter, but then again, you also wouldn't be worrying about de-listing.

If you choose to list with a phone number, use a Google Voice number so you can screen and easily block calls without fear of endless harassment. If you are harassed, you can just press "4" and Google gives out an audible alert saying, "This phone call is now being recorded."

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't use a traditional realtor and save yourself $18k through reduced commissions.

Thanks but how? We have never sold a house before.

I've spoken to Paul Thistle who does 3.5% listings instead of 6%: http://www.take2realestate.com/
He seems passionate about helping people and his listings have good pictures: http://www.zillow.com/profile/take2realestate/

I've also spoken to i-agent and GlassHouse. I think they'll both bring down their listing commissions to 1% if you ask.
http://i-agent.com
http://www.glasshousere.com

Redfin also does 1% listings but it sounds like you're looking for more personal attention than you'd get from them?

Unfortunately there are no buyers registered here in your price range YET:
http://www.knockity.com/DearOwner/Andrew_22/Share/438d41d1-6fcd-4b5c-b417-45a94674f2ac
http://www.knockity.com/DearOwner/Gaby_59/Share

I wonder if Curb Call works for rentals? I'm guessing it doesn't because the leads may not generate enough revenue to interest agents. But perhaps you can try and let us know? http://curbcallapp.com/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Sellers don't read the letters, FYI, OP. We are in a close in suburb, and the sellers not once have read a letter. Don't waste your time.

The only thing you can do is offer above market rate - but then, wouldn't you buy a nicer house with that money????

Uh, a letter just won me a house over a developer. We offered $3K less and didn't waive any contingency. It happens. Some sellers do care what happens to their home after they leave.

Nice work!

I'm a big proponent of buyers and sellers getting on the same page prior to ratification.

You also want to get out ahead of the investors and reach homeowner directly.

One of my broker partners found his own tear-down home in N Arlington by knocking door to door.

One of our own buyers has received multiple pre-market callbacks from a few door hangers we placed last week.