41–50 of 63 posts
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Thats easy to say, once you learned to hack the system. But many brokers do take money to simply show you the apartment and nothing else.
They are the "1-click" brokers. The experience doesn't mean that they aren't a part of a complex system. We usually applaud efficient systems don't we? 15% is justified because people pay it.
Hey, this is Lee from RentHop. One thing that isn't very clear from the writeup: we went through a LONG trough of sorrow before finding our current pivot. That's a story for another day...
To me, broker fees in NYC seem so crazy. Can someone justify them? Is opening up a few doors really worth 3k?
My mother is a real estate agent and worked in both NY (westchester county) and NC (raleigh) and I grew up helping my mother with myriad activities necessary to list and sell a house You'd be surprised how much work is required to keep the real estate market liquid. I'd say half the work is necessary, some automatable, some not so much. However, a lot of the work doesn't even have much to do with work necessary every…
To me, broker fees in NYC seem so crazy. Can someone justify them? Is opening up a few doors really worth 3k?
My mother is a real estate agent and worked in both NY (westchester county) and NC (raleigh) and I grew up helping my mother with myriad activities necessary to list and sell a house You'd be surprised how much work is required to keep the real estate market liquid. I'd say half the work is necessary, some automatable, some not so much. However, a lot of the work doesn't even have much to do with work necessary every…
Hey, this is Lee from RentHop. One thing that isn't very clear from the writeup: we went through a LONG trough of sorrow before finding our current pivot. That's a story for another day...
Thanks for the article and the insight, Lee. I'm planning on building something for real estate as well and have some target users working with me but I probably might not have enough insight on the pains of the process. I'm tempted to go your route and get a broker license as well.
One thing I immediately noticed: If you are looking for 2br apartments, you will get a lot of results that are not actually 2br, but 1br that could possibly be converted into 2br. They are not yet converted, the renter has to do all the work himself.
Is there a way to filter out such listings? They usually mention it in the listing description. Maybe a fine-grained selection of apartment types would help: studio, junior 1br, 1br, "1br big enough to convert", 1br converted, 2br, etc.
Hey, this is Lee from RentHop. One thing that isn't very clear from the writeup: we went through a LONG trough of sorrow before finding our current pivot. That's a story for another day...
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That's an outstanding list of problems that are all amazing start up ideas. This is where real estate can really be disrupted. These guys, http://bermanvc.com/ are really smart. They invest in real estate related technologies and even invested in YC alum 42floors.
Most real estate startups are complete and utter crap. I've used dozens of pieces of software targeted at real estate agents and I can't think of a more broken software market. It's truly shameful. Usability is among the worst you will find. This is particularly egregious since RE is filled with some of the most technically incompetent people you've ever met. Some real estate agents are fantastic and have found their…
Hey, this is Lee from RentHop. One thing that isn't very clear from the writeup: we went through a LONG trough of sorrow before finding our current pivot. That's a story for another day...
It's really great to see an HN article with an emphasis on the importance of domain expertise. As someone who has worked in the real estate industry for years, managing ~1,000 units, personally owning rental property, having a real estate license and partially completing a M.S. in Real Estate, I can say with confidence that there is plenty of room for disruption in the industry.
After teaching myself front-end development and the LAMP stack, lack of domain expertise in programming is probably my biggest concern as I prepare to launch my next startup (even after a successful exit from my prior venture).
Best of luck to you!
No. The best way to disrupt an industry is to do something unrelated - something crazy and something different. You'll never break the mould and explode by copying incumbent industries line of thought. For example the real estate industry has been upset most in New Zealand by trademe, a company started by someone who wanted an easier way to buy a used toaster. The industry here is still scrambling to catch up, instea…