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1. The "Top 50 Agents" in NC is a bad joke.
Plenty of actual "Top NC Agents" greatly out-produce many who agree to pay Homelight 25% referral fees to be listed on the site.
2. The claim that "agents don't pay for placement" is questionable in its integrity, when agents absolutely do agree to pay referral fees to garner business and ad spots.
3. What I cannot find is disclosure that Homelight is a licensed firm.
4. I cannot find any notification on their site to consumers that consumers bear the cost of the 25% referral fees that Homelight collects from agents.
In NC, such disclosure is required by licensees who take referral fees. Is that disclosure to consumers ever made? Is it buried deeper in the documents? Why not do that upfront?
5. New questions that all cost-conscious consumers should ask of potential listing agents or buyers agents:
"Do you owe anyone a referral fee for my business?"
If yes: "Who and how much?"
This is the "quality" that too many naïve consumers are willing to settle for. OTOH, within the decidedly UNrevolutionary real estate milieu of plucking consumers, these guys may be brilliant.
A la Zillow.... A glitzy site, with pretentious vague claims, and misleading information. It seems to be the path to success for some.
I'm not defending them but if you read the ToS, the 25% is for business referred and closed, not to be listed on the site. Happy to be corrected as always. Imprecise language can undermine your point.
for point #4, their ToS says explicitly,
"There is no charge to you"
Sounds like this conflicts with NC's disclosure????
1. The "Top 50 Agents" in NC is a bad joke.
Plenty of actual "Top NC Agents" greatly out-produce many who agree to pay Homelight 25% referral fees to be listed on the site.
2. The claim that "agents don't pay for placement" is questionable in its integrity, when agents absolutely do agree to pay referral fees to garner business and ad spots.
3. What I cannot find is disclosure that Homelight is a licensed firm.
4. I cannot find any notification on their site to consumers that consumers bear the cost of the 25% referral fees that Homelight collects from agents.
In NC, such disclosure is required by licensees who take referral fees. Is that disclosure to consumers ever made? Is it buried deeper in the documents? Why not do that upfront?
5. New questions that all cost-conscious consumers should ask of potential listing agents or buyers agents:
"Do you owe anyone a referral fee for my business?"
If yes: "Who and how much?"
This is the "quality" that too many naïve consumers are willing to settle for. OTOH, within the decidedly UNrevolutionary real estate milieu of plucking consumers, these guys may be brilliant.
A la Zillow.... A glitzy site, with pretentious vague claims, and misleading information. It seems to be the path to success for some.
Ahhh... There IS a vague reference.
https://www.homelight.com/terms
Under "Terms for Buyers and Sellers":
#4.
You understand that for our services we may receive payment (a referral fee) that may be a percentage of the commission received by the real estate professionals involved in the real estate transaction. There is no charge to you. Any payment is due based on a separate agreement between us and the real estate professional involved. Your use of our services constitutes your acknowledgment of, and agreement to, this compensation arrangement."
I question the adequacy of that intransparent "disclosure," as it does not clearly specify any amount, i.e., the 25% referral fee that they specifically quote to agents.
And, I will not register as a consumer, so don't know if they ever fully disclose.
https://www.homelight.com/terms
Under "Terms for Buyers and Sellers":
#4.
You understand that for our services we may receive payment (a referral fee) that may be a percentage of the commission received by the real estate professionals involved in the real estate transaction. There is no charge to you. Any payment is due based on a separate agreement between us and the real estate professional involved. Your use of our services constitutes your acknowledgment of, and agreement to, this compensation arrangement."
I question the adequacy of that intransparent "disclosure," as it does not clearly specify any amount, i.e., the 25% referral fee that they specifically quote to agents.
And, I will not register as a consumer, so don't know if they ever fully disclose.
I never did more than enter my address as a seller. I was emailed 3 recommended agents and called by 2 more. I never received any additional disclosure that I recall.
I never did more than enter my address as a seller. I was emailed 3 recommended agents and called by 2 more. I never received any additional disclosure that I recall.
Interesting. When I entered my address to see how it worked on the consumer end, I got a call from someone at Homelight wanting to chat more about what kind of agent I was looking for. I didn't get any emails from agents.
I believe that the NAR also requires this of realtors. This includes social media as well. Guidance seems to be that whenever Realtors do anything online related to real estate, they should properly identify themselves with the information below to avoid falling foul of the rules.
Happy to be corrected.
the firm's name as registered with (name of real estate regulatory body, commission, board etc.) or the d/b/a (doing business as) name it has registered with the appropriate state/province agency, commonly recognized abbreviations are permitted;
the city and state/province in which the firm's office is located; and
the regulatory jurisdictions in which the firm holds a real estate brokerage license.
You focus too much on NAR. State licensing is much more important since they actually issue the license.
Interesting. When I entered my address to see how it worked on the consumer end, I got a call from someone at Homelight wanting to chat more about what kind of agent I was looking for. I didn't get any emails from agents.
I did get several calls from a homelight rep also. The agents that called me after that were actually both good agents. If I were a member of the general public I probably wouldn't have even known to question anything.
You focus too much on NAR. State licensing is much more important since they actually issue the license.
Aren't rules, just rules? Don't you have to abide by NAR rules if you are a Realtor and state laws based on your state licensing? Sort of like state and federal law (not exactly I know). Maybe I'm naive. I think I get why state rules can be more 'feared' because if your license is pulled, you are out of business. Anyway, this is a national (well really international) board and NAR rules are the only common denominator across the country (assuming you're a Realtor). But aren't NAR rules important to abide by?
Not all licensed real estate professionals are NAR members.
Have we seen the logo prominently displayed on this homelight site to indicate they are NAR members? (I haven't.... I don't want to register to look around in it)
Not all licensed real estate professionals are NAR members.
Have we seen the logo prominently displayed on this homelight site to indicate they are NAR members? (I haven't.... I don't want to register to look around in it)
I don't think anyone has seen a reference to Homelight being a member. I was simply referring to the comment that I focus too much on NAR rules. Any of my comments about the NAR were general in nature.
Aren't rules, just rules? Don't you have to abide by NAR rules if you are a Realtor and state laws based on your state licensing? Sort of like state and federal law (not exactly I know). Maybe I'm naive. I think I get why state rules can be more 'feared' because if your license is pulled, you are out of business. Anyway, this is a national (well really international) board and NAR rules are the only common denominator across the country (assuming you're a Realtor). But aren't NAR rules important to abide by?
NAR is just a trade organization that many agents are forced to join it not because they want to but because their MLS use requires it. As such, I think expecting all REALTORS to abide by its rules is naive. So is it important to abide by the rules? I guess it depends on how much the individual agent values being a member. It doesn't impact licensing.
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