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Have any of you all used Redfin, and if so, how was your experience when it comes to selling? I am planning to sell my townhouse in the next few months and I noticed they charge a lot less for their commission but I don't know how hard they would work to help me sell it. We'd rather move first and leave it empty before putting it on the market, but I don't want to have it sit for months on end without a great agent working hard to get it to move while I'm no longer there. If any of you have used Redfin, how was your experience? Did you sell your place pretty quickly? Was there a higher profit margin than you might've gotten with a traditional real estate agent? Any and all opinions, reviews, etc. welcome.
I recently represented a buyer who was purchasing a property listed by Redfin. At settlement, the Redfin agent pulled out his laptop and was showing me his "flow sheet". At that point, he was directly involved with over 30 properties for sale and was venting to the entire table (including his clients) about how stressed and overworked he was. He told me that was typical for listing agents with Redfin to handle the volume he was doing. And he was literally meeting his clients for the first time at settlement. The whole thing was strange and just really transactional and not relational. So yes, Redfin's model is different. I think like any brokerage it ultimately comes down to the agent you are working with (and with Redfin, it is a bit of an assembly line where you get moved on to another person as your transaction progresses.) Interview a handful of agents and see for yourself if that model will work for your needs.
I hired Redfin to list my house, were closing in less than two weeks. I received 5 offers in 5 days, 19 scheduled appts and an open house! It was exhausting!! So, my experience has been just fine. I choose Redfin because of the cheaper commission rate and awesome photography. I live in a highly desired area, so in my case I knew my house would sell itself. If your house can't, and you need someone to market your house hard...then yes, hire the best traditional agent you can find.
I met face to face with my agent before hiring her, but haven't seen her since- doesn't bother me. I will see her at closing. I speak with her over the phone, text and email- and all paperwork up until closing has been done electronic. Again, fine with me.
There were definitely some bumps in the road, with communication in the beginning. The main agent has a assistant which does most of the coordination. For example.. The lock box showed up, I asked for instructions on getting the key in, in multiple emails. No response. The house goes live..within an hour 2 appts were made for that day (which had also I requested next day showings only). The next day showing instructions were never entered into the system and there were no keys in my lock box because I never received the instructions. This was all corrected within the same day.. and it moved much smoother afterwards- but it was a bit frustrating.
Unlike a traditional agent, Redfin assigns an agent to you! At least in my case. I requested a specific agent from Redfin after doing a ton of research online. I was told it didn't work like that. I was assigned one- from another county that didn't have experience in mine! Yikes, I was nervous!! I wrote the text for the brochure, and the online description for my house. I told her the key features and how I wanted her to market my house- which was the area and school system, I told her about the HOA crap we'd have to deal with, etc. I put in a ton of work-and double checked everything she did!
Redfin has a pretty cool database that you can track all of your house activities, and the comments of potential buyers which was pretty cool. They also offer a "sparkle fund"- reimbursement of up to $250 for anything you buy or do to your house to prep it for the market.. which I loved!
To choose Redfin or not? IDK, that's really is up to you. Is the money you save from a cheaper commission worth the time you may have to put in to help manage the agent and the sale your house? or do you want to be totally hands off? Are you in a tough market? or do you think your house will get attention and sell quickly?
If you have anymore specific questions, let me know.
We listed with Redfin 114 days ago. Its a 120 day contract and the clock is ticking. We fell for the bells and whistles the assigned realtor presented to us. I guess we should have seen the the troubles to come when we had to remind her to send us the contract, twice. We priced our nine year old custom house $200K below what we paid. The first few weeks a family viewed our house 3, THREE, times. The third time they were there over 1/2 hour. (We have a security system and monitor when the front door is opened and closed so we know when we can go back home after a showing.) Our realtor didn't follow through with the buyers agent until a week later. We didn't get an offer. Who doesn't get an offer after a third showing? Our agent is horrifically bad at following through after a showing. She doesn't contact the buyers agent, she doesn't tell us anything. We are the ones to ask for an open house. We chose to drop our price. We put our house on social media. She does nothing. Redfin is all about listing houses, not so much about selling them.
We are looking to list with a new agent. I figure I will go to the nearest grade school and get a second grader, they can't be any worse!
Wow...two totally different experiences shared. I guess it really does come down to the agent no matter which co. they work for. I guess I'll just add Redfin to the list of options and do some more research. Thanks again everyone!
Wow...two totally different experiences shared. I guess it really does come down to the agent no matter which co. they work for. I guess I'll just add Redfin to the list of options and do some more research. Thanks again everyone!
No, I don't think it all comes down to the agent, especially when it comes to Redfin or other limited service agents. If you read carefully, the member who had a fairly positive experience with Redfin did a heck of a lot of work him/herself, and is in a hot real estate market.
The dissatisfied member may not have done any work and is in a difficult real estate market.
In this case, the sellers AND the market probably had more impact than the specific agents. IMHO.
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No communication lost us a sale
