Boston

[Bostonbuyer]

I'm interested in both successful sellers and buyers-- did you use Redfin in a successful transition? How was the experience, good and bad?

[woodgardener]

My experience so far is not encouraging. I had pretty much decided to list with Redfin, but my efforts to raise anybody in Boston by e-mail produced no reply.

[Sox]

I have used Redfin in Boston, as a buyer.  My first experiences were a little bit frustrating, as are most things when you are new to them.  However, I stuck with Redfin and am very pleased with the experience so far.  The business model is so appealing, I was drawn to it like a fly to honey, and was reluctant to give up on it quickly.  I am very pleased with my experience thus far (not quite all the way done yet!).  The biggest wild card for Redfin in Boston is going to be the response of the listing agents.  That could be problematic - but sticking to open houses will alleviate those issues for buyers.  And, the biggest issue that local listing agents have with Refin is that they don't understand it.  If they are informed enough to realize that the Redfin process does not change their end result (or payout) in any way, they can see that it is in their best interest to be amenable to Redfin buyers!  However, any time you throw a monkey wrench into a process where people are VERY stuck in their ways, it's going to take some time to smooth the bumps in the road.  I do hope that everything continues on the up and up for Redfin in Boston - b/c it's expensive enough to live here, the least we deserve is a break on realtor fees!

[Glenn]

Hello there,

We apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mail. We try to be very diligent and professional with all correspondence but somehow must have goofed in your case.

Recently, the volume of questions became so high that we hired a full-time team to respond to electronic inquiries about open-house times, pricing and other private issues; one reason we offer these Forums is that so public questions can be addressed in a more open, scalable way for everyone.

My e-mail is glenn (at) redfin (dot) com; please let me know the details of your experience with Redfin so we can better address the problem. Again, I am sorry that we let you down, and glad that you let us know about this in the Forums.

And thanks to the other customer on this thread who commented on his happier experience with us in the busy early days of launching the Boston market.

Regards,
Glenn

Glenn Kelman
Redfin CEO

[NY-er]

I used Redfin as a buyer recently with the help of Alex Coon. My experience was excellent! I mean come on....what other realtor agency is going to give you cash back after closing??!! I contacted Alex before making an offer through the website. He answered all my questions and to be honest, was the most thorough and detailed agent we have come across. We attended several open house and did a few drive bys on some homes since we had the address on the redfin website. I called one listing agent directly and told her we were using a internet company and did have an agent and our own attorney to represent us (so she didn't fear she would be doing all the work) She happily gave us a tour of the home the next day and we made an offer via the website that same day. Everything was done by email and Alex confirmed what the steps were in order over the phone. The inspection went very well and Alex was there with many great tips and advice. The final walk through was done by another Redfin agent Sean. He was equally knowledgeable and friendly. ** Alex was able to negotiate a closing credit after the inspection which was effortless. I can't complain about anything- Alex always answered his cell phone and responded to email- sometimes minutes later. I would recommend Redfin to everyone!!! Hello Boston...we just got a nice check for $4,700 back!! da NY'er in MA

[FirstTimeBuyah]

My husband and I just completed the purchase of our first home using Redfin, and we were very pleased with the process - and the refund check we just received! Quite honestly, we weren't in the immediate market for a house, but we went to Open Houses to better understand what we might want in a home when the time came.  We had seen a cute place in the western 'burbs, and fell in love with it - but given our financial situation, knew that we'd have to wait a bit longer before being able to make an offer. After seeing the 60 Minutes piece on Redfin, we immediately went to the website and checked the service out... When we learned we could get a refund of nearly $7k after purchase, we decided we should give it a whirl! We contacted the listing agent, did a showing with her, and told her we'd be in touch. We made an offer via the Redfin on-line tool late that night... Alex Coon called us the next day and got the ball rolling. Only snag we encountered was that the listing agent assumed we were using her as our buyer's agent as well. Given that we'd never purchased a home, we were slightly un-informed about the seller's agent's role - and I would say there was some slight animosity on her part, but ultimately, we found the house without any help from her.  Otherwise, Alex was always readily available - quick to respond to emails/calls. When it came to negotiating some concessions on the property after inspection, Alex drafted a well argued case to the sellers on why they should make the improvements before the close. I think his note to them was critical to us getting nearly $12K in improvements to the home before we closed. I would recommend Redfin highly - particularly if you know an area, and know where you want to buy.

[rcap]

Yes -  it was a great experience.   I had just seen the 60-minute segment on Redfin that was done in May (i think ?)  The concept sounded great. Wow I can save 10 to 15,000  just by using this Broker called REDFIN ! 

 I went onto their website and started browsing at various locations and properties  looking for something that would satisfy our needs.  We were looking for a condo for our daughter.  Hopefully we would find something in need of repair something old  perhaps an old 2 family that we could buy with her and we live in one section and help her fix-up the other section.  It was easy to search thru various towns looking for our particular house needs using their  web-site.  Within an hour I had found 2 properties that looked like good prospects.  I called the redfin office and was immediately in contact with Alex Coons.  Alex walked me thru the simple concepts that I needed to understand.  Alex became my broker.   He was very knowledgeable and easy to work with. I could ask him any questions about the buying process and how to make offers and the appropriate bidding that can be expected.  His suggestions saved me many thousands of dollars in addition to the initial $ 12,000.

   My wife and I fell in love with the first prospect that we saw. Alex guided us thru the whole process -  He was great to work with and highly recommend him to anyone in the search of property within the Boston area!  Within one month  we were the happy owners  of an old old home in need of some tlc  that was big enough for us and our daughter!

[boston_buyer]

We would like to buy in Quincy - Braintree area. Our experience with Redfin is great.
We are working with Sean Valiton and we cannot see any problems. Sean answers all our questions quickly. We worked with a "typical" agent before and we did not like the pressure - we had to sign a lot of papers and sometimes houses our agent took us were far away from what we were looking for. We did not understand what our agent was going to be paid for! We decided to give a try with Redfin and we are very happy. We like our freedom to find the houses on our own and ask Redfin our questions. Sean never left our email without a response and always answers exactly what we need to know. We appreaciate that Redfin accepts our own pace and time to make decisions. We know that we can reach Sean when we need him. So far we didn't have to sign anything and he doesn't call us to know if we want to make an offer. We would recommend Redfin to everyone.

[amandainma]

Have you bought in Quincy/Braintree yet?

Has anyone sold using Redfin in Boston?

[Bill_F]

I did not use Redfin for an actual transaction, but I went and saw a couple of listings that I had found here. Never signed anything or even talked to a Redfin agent. I just called up the listing real estate agent and told them I am interested in buying the house. It was no problem - they asked if I had a broker and I said Redfin or sometimes none and they were OK with this. Basically they are so happy to get a showing that they are not difficult. At the showing they usually ask again who is representing me and I explained them in two sentences what redfin is, etc. None had ever heard of Redfin but again it was no problem.

I am still searching though...