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Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

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Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#261

Post by jdross »

probe wrote: post #105
jdross wrote: post #67

Having completed thousands of home sales at Opendoor, I believe a system will works better for most home sales, but local expertise works better for high-end homes. An agent always make you feel like their differentiation matters. Redfin advertises their refined process across thousands of homes to sell faster for more money. Your neighbor advertises their local expertise and awareness to get you an edge. We joke tha…

Does Opendoor primarily work with high-end homes or your "average" home (relative to the area of course)? Also thoughts on Ben Thompson's analysis on your company ( https://stratechery.com/2016/opendoor-a-startup-worth-emulat... )?

Our average purchase price is in the low 200,000's. We work with the middle 80% of homeowners.

Huge Ben Thompson fan, and waking up to his analysis that morning was a joy and big surprise.

Rob Hahn has also done some solid analysis on his blog: http://www.notorious-rob.com/2016/12/forest-for-the-trees-op...

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#262

Post by intrasight »

jrs235 wrote: post #243
cgh wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Those sound line legal questions and issues, not realtor issues. Your lawyer will charge you hourly for their time.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#263

Post by vbs_redlof »

realestateguru wrote: post #252
rgbrgb wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With Open Listings we started flat fee on the buy side but had a couple problems. First, it was very hard to communicate the value prop to customers. We went to market with something like "we refund the buyer's commission minus our flat fee". This brought up all kinds of questions and often buyers thought we were more expensive than realtors. Saying that we're 50% the price of a traditional realtor ended up being a m…

Easyknock takes it a step further and will be the next big thing

The website seems like pure marketing at this point in time. Account created today, with every post promoting the company.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#264

Post by wjamesg »

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…

You clearly don't live in a hot market

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#265

Post by just4themoney »

opo wrote: post #247
just4themoney wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

>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.

You should ALWAYS be there when inspection is done. Always. You're paying for it after all. Research? Yes, you should regardless. I couldn't imagine not being there and/or not researching. Real estate agents are useless in this step. How does this have to do with an agent other than "can use the phone?"

Anything about the contractor, lol, yeah, doesn't happen in real life...

>it takes time to get bids and to be at the house to let them in, etc.

Nothing about a real estate transaction has anything to do with this.

> you can also take the time to look at a number of listings and write the ad copy if you choose

???? !!! ????? Wat!? LOL

How old are you!?!

>A good agent can save you time here.

LOL!!!! Yeah, this doesn't happen. Have you ever talked to a sellers agent??? LOL!!! Asking a basic question of a sellers agent = idk. I would laugh if it wasn't sad... Actually, I laugh anyways. If it isn't on the MLS, they don't have a clue.

>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.

PROTIP - Your agent doesn't schedule an open house for you, she schedules an open house for her. Open houses are a lead generator, nothing more.

>agent meets the person at the house.

Wat!? At closing the keys are hand over. There isn't any other way. You're there anyways. Give me a break that agents try to justify their cost that ways??!!

$5,000+ comes from 3% of 200,000, which is $6,000.

Come on!! Give me a break!! I don't even hate agents but, for Christ sake, try harder!!

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#266

Post by bacontacos »

jrs235 wrote: post #248
bacontacos wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Thats what I'm saying. It's rare at that late stage of the process (at least according to my real estate agent friend) for the appraisal to come in off the mark. Nobody wants to see the deal fall through in the last stages.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#267

Post by conanbatt »

rgbrgb wrote: post #59
notadoc wrote: post #3

I'm still waiting for someone to completely eliminate the realtor and charge a reasonable flat fee ($1000?) to buy/sell a house and handle all the related details. Why do we need realtors at this point? Everyone finds houses themselves online nowadays. Why does anyone need to pay a whopper commission to some middle-man?

With Open Listings we started flat fee on the buy side but had a couple problems. First, it was very hard to communicate the value prop to customers. We went to market with something like "we refund the buyer's commission minus our flat fee". This brought up all kinds of questions and often buyers thought we were more expensive than realtors. Saying that we're 50% the price of a traditional realtor ended up being a m…

This is a great answer.

I was also going to say that from an economic standpoint, agents tend to make a rather low median income even if the commission is really high, simply because the realtor job is very accessible. (There is a tight correlation, if not simple causality, between home prices variations and the variations of the amount of realtors)

Acquisition becomes proportionally harder the bigger the commission is because of the amount of people it attracts.

Conversely, if you reduced the commission by law to half, you would lose a lot of realtors, which could reduce liquidity and thus the value of the homes.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#268

Post by just4themoney »

opo wrote: post #238
just4themoney wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you get a mortgage without a lawyer? Our bank required the lawyer to do the title search, title settlement, and title recording - according to my closing disclosure, which I just consulted.

Might be different in different areas. In places I've lived, the title company handles all of this - the seller doesn't hire a lawyer - a large title company likely has a corporate lawyer in case something comes up, but otherwise they have people whose job is it to do the search and put together the closing documents.

Aren't you paying for it ultimately though?

http://imgur.com/Zc4t0to

Title company? Blah, blah. Still goes through lawyer! I'm paying for this at the end.

SRSLY! I hate to be a dick but.... come on...

cooperate lawyer? Who cares?

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#269

Post by kelukelugames »

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.…

Haha, I actually bought my house through Redfin while working there. My place was new construction and I felt I learned so much about real estate that I probably didn't need an agent :P

Which part of Seattle did you buy in? Was it somewhere hot like cap hill or Fremon/Ballard?

Were your agents well reviewed or new? I suspect they don't let loose the rookies in the more competitive areas.

Re: Real estate site Redfin files for IPO

#270

Post by kelukelugames »

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.

Sort of, you can always find someone to write you an offer for a flat fee.
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