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Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

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Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#241

Post by jrs235 »

clamprecht wrote: post #106
gist wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> where any buyer can view photos of a house for sale online real estate agents still expect to receive 6% It's not the same as buying a car as you have to gain access to the property to look at it which involves another agent and much work even after an offer has been accepted or negotiated. The only thing that is 'absurd' is that the commission generally stays the same whether the house is 1.5 million or 150,000. A…

Can I just pay a real estate agent per hour instead? That solves the problem of me deciding to not buy a house from them later.

That's dependant on your state (state laws) and the broker. I know of a broker that offers showings at $50 per hour.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#242

Post by duderific »

ovulator wrote: post #94
rhodysurf wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to think the same way, but then I bought my first house and my realtor was insanely helpful. The entire process is filled with random quagmires that I would have never known how to manage otherwise. Someone with more experience may be more able to go it alone obviously, but my realtor was invaluable.

As someone who bought my first house without a realtor involved at all. I don't know what value they could have added. Thanks to Zillow, Redfin and the like it was a piece of cake to locate a house. I found one that was for sale by owner that I liked, we negotiated on a price and came to an agreement. There was a lot of paperwork, but I'm literate and can read. Most of the complex stuff was with the loan and the titl…

> I found one that was for sale by owner that I liked, we negotiated on a price and came to an agreement.

Sounds like you don't live in a very competitive market. Here in the Bay Area, you don't even talk to the owner of the house, as they will have a seller's agent. Generally if a house is desirable, there will be anywhere from 5 to 20 offers on a house. The only way to get your foot in the door is to have your buyer's agent go to bat for you. Ideally they will have a prior relationship with the seller's agent, and have insight as to what kind of offer to make to make you competitive with other offers. I can't imagine buying a house around here without having the expertise that an agent can offer.

> I really have no idea what tens of thousands of dollars extra would have bought me.

As a buyer, you are not paying anything extra. The commission comes out of the seller's fees.

> I don't need someone to hold my hand and look at cars with me either.

Buying a house is an order of magnitude more complex and expensive than buying a car. Not really a fair comparison.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#243

Post by jrs235 »

cgh wrote: post #181
gist wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> where any buyer can view photos of a house for sale online real estate agents still expect to receive 6% It's not the same as buying a car as you have to gain access to the property to look at it which involves another agent and much work even after an offer has been accepted or negotiated. The only thing that is 'absurd' is that the commission generally stays the same whether the house is 1.5 million or 150,000. A…

We bought our house with no agents at all, buyer or seller. We used a notary public to do all the legal paperwork. Savings: $20,000 (Canada). If you can possibly avoid using a real estate agent, then do so. They may bring some value but it is not nearly commensurate with their commissions.

Until you find yourself in a situation with contingencies that aren't properly dealt with. One could lose their earnest money or be liable for damages for breach of contact. Or possibly worse finding yourself in a situation where the deal falls through and your have no remedy or recourse because the "contract" you came up with is inside or not enforceable and are now homeless or scrambling to find housing.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#244

Post by jrs235 »

bhandziuk wrote: post #175
jjppott wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I generally have a different opinion. I am somewhat in the industry (construction side) and I feel that generally most realtors dont really have much knowledge of what they are selling. Furthermore, it is relatively easy to get a real estate license (at least where I live) and the handful of acquaintances that have gotten their license really dont know more than the average person. I actually find the lack of knowled…

This is so true. Not only do they typically not know anything more about nay given home that you, the buyer, do. If they are on the selling side they will also outright lie about home features. I experienced this so many times on houses I visited and even on the house I ultimately purchased. You just have you shrug your shoulders and fix whatever they misrepresented.

In my state you should file a complaint against that agent with the department/office that oversees real estate licensing. And you might be eligible to be compensated for the agents misrepresentations if you can prove them.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#245

Post by marklyon »

existencebox wrote: post #92
bkjelden wrote: post #12

I hope this company sees nothing but success. I bought my house through Redfin last year, and not only did I save ~$5k in commissions compared to a conventional realtor, I also felt the process was much smoother and more pleasant than other times I've interacted with a conventional realtor. It's simply absurd that in an era where any buyer can view photos of a house for sale online real estate agents still expect to…

Let me offer a different viewpoint. Redfin absolutely serves a purpose, but in some markets, notably for my case very hot markets, it's a significant impediment. I really wanted redfin to work, shopping in seattle 2 years ago. I tried for almost a year, but they would consistently be not as contactable or prompt as we wanted, and gave us very erroneous advice when it came to crafting offers on some houses we wanted.…

Strange. I just bought a condo with them in DC. We were in a competitive bidding situation and the speed at which we were able to close (compared to other offers) was the thing that sealed the deal.

I added a lender I hadn't considered at their recommendation and they were wonderful (super fast response, competitive rates, willing to get appraiser to drop everything and knock things out really fast) and their use of online tools made things easy (esign and a digital document repository and deadline tracker).

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#246

Post by jrs235 »

just4themoney wrote: post #165
jasode wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>why should the process of selling a house require "expertise"? At a fundamental level, one could say sellers don't require outside expertise to sell a home. Real estate agents are optional. There is a concept called "for sale by owner" which is a strategy some homeowners use. They can list the house on their own (not on MLS though), vet potential buyers, coordinate the showing of the home (appointments and/or open h…

Most of the time you can list a FSBO house on the MLS for a small fee. Our MLS has plenty of the FSBO houses listed. https://fsbo.com/flat-fee-mls The thing is, a lot of time FSBO houses tend to be overpriced, which is very unfortunate.

To be listed on an MLS you still need to offer a co-broke fee to any agent procuring a buyer.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#247

Post by opo »

just4themoney wrote: post #228
opo wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>... That creates an extra $9k to split between the parties. And there's no way a closing takes a full day for an attorney (and most will be less than $200/hr). Yes, most brokers use standard forms, there isn't much actual expense there for them - which is a good thing because a real estate attorney I know bills at more than $400 per hour. A good realtor does a LOT more than just fill out the contracts for you to sig…

You (the buyer) schedules the inspection, you can ask the real estate agent to do it for you but it's a simple phone call. I don't understand the contractors statement, a contractor is not a usual part of a real estate transaction, at least in my experience? Once again, scheduling photographs is a simple phone call to a photographer. Putting an ad on the MLS can be done yourself for a small fee - https://fsbo.com/fla…

>You (the buyer) schedules the inspection, you can ask the real estate agent to do it for you but it's a simple phone call.

Yes obviously you can do that. But you have to take the time to research the different companies a little to find a good one and you have to be there while the inspection is done.

>...I don't understand the contractors statement, a contractor is not a usual part of a real estate transaction, at least in my experience?

In selling, often there are either things that come up on inspection that need to be fixed or improvements that are done to make the property sell better - new paint, new carpeting, etc. Obviously a seller can do this, but it takes time to get bids and to be at the house to let them in, etc.

>...Putting an ad on the MLS can be done yourself for a small fee - https://fsbo.com/flat-fee-mls

Yes, obviously this can be done, and yes you can also take the time to look at a number of listings and write the ad copy if you choose.

>...Buyer's questions can be better answered yourself, most sellers agents are unable to answer any questions and they'll have to relay most questions to you anyways, once again, my experience.

A good agent can save you time here.

>...Open houses are more about generating leads for the agent then they are about showing your house.

One way or the other, you need someone there during an open house. Either you have to be there or you need to pay someone to be there.

>...Negotiating with buyers can be done yourself easily.

Obviously a seller can negotiate themselves and maybe they are as good at negotiating and know as much about the local market as people who do this everyday and maybe they know the agents to avoid. Though maybe it isn't that uncommon that the seller hasn't sold many properties and is better off having someone else help them.

>...Working with the title company isn't something real estate agents do, not around here anyways. My lawyer handled all the title stuff. Plus what sort of "work" does an agent need to do with the title company?

Different situations in different parts of the country I guess.

>...Handing off the keys? Seriously?

In this part of the country, it is done later - agent meets the person at the house. Again, no reason you couldn't do it, but it is time out of your day.

>...That is done at closing and shouldn't cost $5,000+.

Not sure where the number comes from - there is no need to put words in my mouth. Simply listing some of the the things the agent did when my place was sold. If I had to take time off of work to try and handle all these details, it would have cost me a lot more than the commission the agent got.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#248

Post by jrs235 »

bacontacos wrote: post #196
toomuchtodo wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair point! A realtor can still walk a property to perform a market analysis, which is still more accurate than an automated valuation. I'm exhausted by the never ending comments here "it's easy! Anyone can do this!" when it's clearly not. I'm simply countering the disingenuity, whether the source is ignorance or arrogance.

In markets where anything can happen and buyers overbid on the order of 100-300k over asking price simply because they want it and will do anything to get it, it is very difficult to accurately estimate the value and/or selling price of a home. also, ever wonder why the home appraisal comes in right at the offer price during the loan process? its not a coincidence. the appraised price typically has more to do with co…

The market value of a thing is what someone is willing to pay for it. The appraisal usually comes in at the offer amount because the appraisal is ordered by the bank providing the loan. The appraiser knows/has the offer and works backwards to ensure that other people would likely offer the same amount as the current offer/buyer.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#249

Post by toomuchtodo »

bacontacos wrote: post #196
toomuchtodo wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair point! A realtor can still walk a property to perform a market analysis, which is still more accurate than an automated valuation. I'm exhausted by the never ending comments here "it's easy! Anyone can do this!" when it's clearly not. I'm simply countering the disingenuity, whether the source is ignorance or arrogance.

In markets where anything can happen and buyers overbid on the order of 100-300k over asking price simply because they want it and will do anything to get it, it is very difficult to accurately estimate the value and/or selling price of a home. also, ever wonder why the home appraisal comes in right at the offer price during the loan process? its not a coincidence. the appraised price typically has more to do with co…

I agree with you! That's why you can't automate a valuation, unless you can magically poll through digital means potential buyers in a market on demand. You don't know what the property is worth until it's on the market and you have bona fide offers in hand.
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