Re:Real estate site Redfin files for IPO
by duderific on Friday July 07, 2017 @07:44PM
(#14723148)
> I found one that was for sale by owner that I liked, we negotiated on a price and came to an agreement.
Sounds like you don't live in a very competitive market. Here in the Bay Area, you don't even talk to the owner of the house, as they will have a seller's agent. Generally if a house is desirable, there will be anywhere from 5 to 20 offers on a house. The only way to get your foot in the door is to have your buyer's agent go to bat for you. Ideally they will have a prior relationship with the seller's agent, and have insight as to what kind of offer to make to make you competitive with other offers. I can't imagine buying a house around here without having the expertise that an agent can offer.
> I really have no idea what tens of thousands of dollars extra would have bought me.
As a buyer, you are not paying anything extra. The commission comes out of the seller's fees.
> I don't need someone to hold my hand and look at cars with me either.
Buying a house is an order of magnitude more complex and expensive than buying a car. Not really a fair comparison.
Sounds like you don't live in a very competitive market. Here in the Bay Area, you don't even talk to the owner of the house, as they will have a seller's agent. Generally if a house is desirable, there will be anywhere from 5 to 20 offers on a house. The only way to get your foot in the door is to have your buyer's agent go to bat for you. Ideally they will have a prior relationship with the seller's agent, and have insight as to what kind of offer to make to make you competitive with other offers. I can't imagine buying a house around here without having the expertise that an agent can offer.
> I really have no idea what tens of thousands of dollars extra would have bought me.
As a buyer, you are not paying anything extra. The commission comes out of the seller's fees.
> I don't need someone to hold my hand and look at cars with me either.
Buying a house is an order of magnitude more complex and expensive than buying a car. Not really a fair comparison.