Reinvention of RE wheel- Flat fee brokerage (cheapest, appraisal, agents)

[Katana49]

This is a cutthroat market right now, for buyers AND sellers. Any agent who is given the chance to list a home in halfway decent condition in a good location (like any of the northern suburbs right now) is going to have that house under contract, in 2 weeks or less.

Given that, people should be negotiating commission with realtors. We sold our last home and our realtor got 1%, not 3%. The stipulation was that we agreed to buy our next home through them, and so they got 3% on the buy side... but it wasn't us paying it. I've seen a lot of homes for sale where the listing specifies a lower commission for any buyers agent, like 2% instead of the standard 3%. Of course, agents try to steer clear from showing those homes.

It's all a sign that people are fed up with paying exorbitant commissions to someone when the house and the overall market is selling the home, not the agent. It's the same amount of work to sell a $300k home as it is a $1mil home. The agent might have to take more pictures and upload more pictures for the listing, but that doesn't equate to earning tens of thousands more just for listing a home.

[CookieBoss80]

If sellers don't have to pay 6% every time a house sells, homes would be more affordable. It's time to take down real estate mafia's hold on listings. With Internet and social media on hands more sellers should go FSBO route.

[dallas_cowboy]

Originally Posted by CookieBoss80

If sellers don't have to pay 6% every time a house sells, homes would be more affordable. It's time to take down real estate mafia's hold on listings. With Internet and social media on hands more sellers should go FSBO route.

Agree

RE agents are mostly overpriced considering their skills. Flat fee should be the norm. I would definitely reach out to this guy if I will ever have to do RE transaction in future.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by dallas_cowboy

Agree

RE agents are mostly overpriced considering their skills. Flat fee should be the norm. I would definitely reach out to this guy if I will ever have to do RE transaction in future.

Me too. I know a couple who may be selling their house soon for the lot value.

[lakeside15]

It will be interesting to see if this model picks up steam. The flat fee model has been tried and never really taken off.

Their model is interesting because you pay the $5k at closing and only if the house sells. I haven't seen that before. Seems like good deal, assuming you have competent representation.

The real estate game is generally a closed system and difficult, if not impossible to change, because the current players have a vested interest in the status quo and control the MLS. Thus, the high 6% commission scheme still exits.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I am a satisfied seller/buyer of 5 houses in different states with the standard way. I never felt I wasn't getting my $$ worth from my agents. I picked good agents, which isn't hard to do if you have a grain of sense. Disclaimer: neither I nor any family members are in the RE business.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by dallas_cowboy

Agree

RE agents are mostly overpriced considering their skills. Flat fee should be the norm. I would definitely reach out to this guy if I will ever have to do RE transaction in future.

Flat fee has been around at least 10 years or longer. There is a reason it is not popular.

Just sell it by owner and pay nothing.

[mSooner]

It will be interesting to see if this model picks up steam. The flat fee model has been tried and never really taken off.

I don't think most people know it is an option. My mom and good friend both sold their homes with Creekside Realty in 2014 (Flat fee) and were very happy with how it went. They knew they had to do the work, but did appreciate being able to call for guidance and get help in the key areas. For the flat fee you really get a lot--access to the MLS for one thing, but they really were part of the negotiations and time under contract. It's not for someone who needs their hand held through every step or needs to market an undesirable property, but for someone who is willing to put in some work and has some knowledge of how it all goes..not a bad option.

At first my thought was, "How is this different?" but I sort of think it is. I was talking about it with someone and she said she thinks it will be the "Uber of Real Estate."

I don't see a lot of people with homes over $400k listing with a flat fee agency like Creekside--they want and need more help/attention. Conversely, I don't see a lot of people with a $250k home like myself going with Room vs a traditional real estate agent--for $5k I can pretty much get a "normal" realtor. I think their target market is the 30-50 age group (technologically saavy) buying and selling in the $350k+ range. $5000 vs $15000 is going to look pretty attractive to someone selling a $500k home. In an area like DFW, that target population is going to rapidly grow as more people age into it. This really might be a good bet.

[TheotherMarie]

Homes listed unconventionally are often boycotted by traditional agents, and are therefore harder to sell.
We listed our first home for sale with a flat fee brokerage (back in 2004) and we were flat out told by a traditional agent that they boycott those homes.
The second home we bought was listed unconventionally, and although our buyer's agent had taken me through the neighborhood twice already, it was the very last house she showed me at the end of my last day with her. It was perfect for us, but she only showed it to me as a last resort.

[MileHi]

We are in the process of moving from Denver to Dallas and used a flat fee broker called Trelora to sell our Denver home. At the time their selling fee was only $2,100 but I think now has been changed to $3,000. Still a big savings on a $400k+ home. They let the seller define the buying agents fee, and if you go small yes some agents will choose not to show the property, but I'd say most still would, and did. After all most buyers are indeed tech savvy and if they see something on the internet they like, they will demand to see it I would think. Other than that it felt like a traditional real estate company.

In the end our buyers negotiated the buying agents commission up from what our offer was, but we still saved thousands which became my equity for a new purchase in DFW. I hope it is a model that grows, as I agree with some of the previous comments on the traditional model, which to me just doesn't make sense anymore.