Seattle

[sna]

I closed on a home purchase today with Redfin.  This was the fourth time I've bought a home and it was by far the most organized and supportive experience of them all.  

Kevin was my agent and Dorcas provided support once the offer was accepted.  At each step in the process they both kept me informed, were easily accessible, provided great advice, and answered all my questions promptly.  Even the stupid ones.  In past buying experiences, my agents seemed to push me to get an agreement and then fade away once the offer was accepted.  Not this time.  

Here's my experience in detail. 

Home Tours

We had been gone to over 50 open houses throughout Seattle by the time we scheduled our first home tour.   Of those 50 we probably liked five but seeing all those houses really helped us figured out what we wanted and we also developed a good sense for what was a good deal or overpriced.  

In October, we got serious about buying and scheduled a tour with a field agent.  I suppose we got lucky because we really liked one of the homes we toured.   Around 11PM that night, the field agent emailed me a bunch of additional information about the house we were interested in.  After sleeping on it, we decided to make an offer the next day.

The Offer

Using Redfin's site, I reviewed just about every comparable property I could find that was for sale or had sold in the past year.  Since the property was an older house in Seattle in an area without a lot of similar sales, it was tough to nail down a concrete number.  But based on my research, I decided to offer 10% off list price.    

That night I filled out the offer online and the next day I got a call from Kevin.   He talked me through the typical process when making an offer that far off list and noted that there would probably be a lot of back and forth.   He also predicted we may need to take a pause from negotiations at some point and give the sellers some time if they aren't willing to move on price.  He was correct.

The "back and forth"

We ended up with seven offers and counter offers before reaching an agreement.  As Kevin predicted, at one point we had to "walk away" to move the sellers on price.  This was one area where I think Redfin really separated itself from the commission based brokerages.  Since Kevin wasn't going to earn a commission on the sale, I felt he was more willing to advise me to not accept a counter offer that wasn't a good deal.  Unlike some of my past buying experiences,  I really felt like he was looking out for my interests and not a commission check.   I hadn't really put much thought into how Redfin compensates their agents before, but it really mattered when Kevin was advising me on such a big purchase.  

I should also give Kevin credit for a good negotiating style.  I don't think this deal would have happened without it. 

Inspections, Financing, etc..

Once the offer was accepted, Kevin and Dorcas were very good about keeping me informed on the process and what needed to be completed.  Dorcas send me a detailed email after offer acceptance that outlined all the outstanding tasks, contingencies and their deadlines.  They both checked in regularly and responded quickly to any questions.   In no way did it feel like "discount" service to me.

The closing

The escrow company pretty much handles the closing, but this is where I saw the financial advantage of Redfin.   The commission refund paid for all my closing costs and then some.    1.5% of the purchase price was a lot of money.   Kevin picked up the keys and handed them to us the afternoon of closing.   

Kudos to Kevin, Dorcas, and Redfin!  

[Pratt]

Great post, congratulations!!!

[Muppet]

Did Kevin drop the 32 inch LCD off with the keys or did he just give you an extra remote control for your garage?  j/k

Glad to hear that things worked out for you.  I went to Redfin's buying class a couple weeks back and they mentioned that Redfin's reputation/perception has turned from negative (these guys are just reducing the commission so agents were blackballing them) to positive.  Redfin is seen by many selling agents to have motivated clients because Redfin will walk away from representing you if they determine you aren't making progress.

Totally innovative approach to the real estate sector.  Love to hear that your agent actually advised you on how to get a lower price.  I imagine if the agent I used on my 1st home a few years back were in that position, they would have said, you have two options, either you can accept the 1st counter offer, or, you can walk and we can start all over again.  You really love this house, and I have negotiated the lowest they will go, so I recommend that you accept.

I haven't heard of a buying agent recommend to let the sellers "percolate" on the offer for a while to get them off their position. Experience no doubt taught him that, and glad Kevin advised you correctly.  Since it is a buyers market they probably freaked out when they didn't hear from you for a couple of days...lol  Sounds like Redfin's compensation for employees based on reviews and personal satisfaction is working as they designed.

Honestly, I wasn't planning on using Redfin because I had planned on getting my real estate license and self represent myself as a buyer.  But after hearing your story, you changed my mind.  I wouldn't have thought about letting the sellers sit on an offer for a while and the fact that Redfin advised it is huge to me.  Finally, there is something of value a buying agent can offer and not just trying to facilitate in getting a transaction completed at any cost like the standard commission based agents. 

Hearing your story, I believe they will negotiate a better deal than I can because they have a lot of experience in doing so, and they will know all the tricks in the book.

[seattlegal]

I wanted to use Redfin, after some disasterous experiences with "Full Service Agents"--but that was in September, and we could only get a field agent scheduled a week in the future. Two houses we had wanted to see out of 5 went pending in that week while we were waiting for the Field agent, and then when we did not make any offer on one of the 3 still left, the Field agent was again "booked up" for the next 6 days. I decided that I needed to look more often than once every 6-8 days, as homes in our price range were moving fast at the time. I'm sure that the hullabaloo with the tax credit probably impacted things, but Redfin simply did not seem to have enough employees to service the number of clients that wanted to use the service.

I loved the website for searching, though, and I learned a lot from the forums. I kind of felt like I was "cheating" on Redfin because I was using so many of the services, but in the end they did not end up getting paid for any of it.

I do tell other people to go to Redfin, and that "Full Service Agents" are absolutely not worth what they get paid.

[Matt]

Hi Seattlegal,

I'm so sorry we weren't able to get you into homes sooner. As you surmised, the FTHB credit kept us pretty busy through the end of September. We've since been hiring like mad and we're now meeting our goal of having weekend touring spots still open as of Friday at noon.

Thanks for spreading the word about us even though we weren't able to work together.

[MarkeyMarc]

sna, I would like to hear your thoughts on using Refin as a first home buyer. We are FHB and my hesitation/perception is that Redfin agents do a little less hand-holding than a regular agent but this may not be the case.  Since you are on your 4th purchase and have worked with Redfin, you may have some thoughts on this.

Message Edited by MarkeyMarc on 12-03-2009 02:24 AM

[sna]

MarkeyMarc,

I wouldn't hesitate to use Redfin as a first time buyer.  Go on a couple of home tours with them and if you're not happy with their service you can always switch to a normal broker.   Using Redfin, I didn't get to ride in the back of an agent's new Lexus during home tours, but every other aspect of the transaction was top notch.  Your hand will be held, you calls will be returned, and your silly questions will be answered.  And I have new hardwood floors installed with the rebate I got. 

But, you should do enough research on your own to determine neighborhoods, price range,  and what's important to you in a house.   This is true with any agent, not just Redfin.  A lot of people think they can use a "full service" broker and not have to do any research at all.  I think that's a really bad idea because you need to discover what YOU value in a home and neighborhood.  Those are personal decisions you can't rely on someone else to make.

Drive around potential neighborhoods and go to a lot of open houses.  Track the houses you like online -- do they sell quickly or sit?  Basically, get a feel for the market before you start making offers.   It's not like those house hunter shows on HGTV where you look at three houses and buy one.  Look at at least 15 houses.  Also, you call Redfin directly and ask questions and/or attend one of their home buying classes.   

[Muppet]

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sna wrote:

But, you should do enough research on your own to determine neighborhoods, price range,  and what's important to you in a house.   This is true with any agent, not just Redfin.  A lot of people think they can use a "full service" broker and not have to do any research at all.  I think that's a really bad idea because you need to discover what YOU value in a home and neighborhood.  Those are personal decisions you can't rely on someone else to make.

---

Couldn't agree or have said it better.  It is imperative you know what you want when you work with a full service agent.  The reason is most agents will do whatever it takes for you to sign on the dotted line and make the sale.  If you don't know what you want, or worse, you don't know the value of what you want, then you will likely overpay.

Buyers agents will try to get their clients (buyer) to pay more and selling agents will attempt to get their clients (seller) to accept less.  They just want to complete the transaction.  Some are better than others, but at the end of the day, their paycheck is earned by facilitating the deal.  If they can't come to terms and close, they don't get paid.  The fastest way to get a deal done quickly is get your client to pay more than the properties is worth, and if you don't know the true market value, you are going to overspend by exclusively listening to your agent.

The only way I would consider using a traditional agent is if I were in a market that I have zero experience in (if I were looking for an investment property in another state).  Since I know the Seattle market well, I will be using Redfin.  But I would love to hear if others think that full service agents can offer a service that Redfin can't that to make up the 1.5% commission.

[Matt]

Few folks know this, but half of the people who use Redfin to buy a home are first-time home buyers. Also, we looked to see if our level of customer satisfaction was different for first timers but turns out it's at roughly 97% making it equal to repeat purchasers.

To see how we do from other people just check out the reviews of our Seattle area agents. You'll see that we flag which reviews are from first-time home buyers.

[w00tw00t]

I am just getting started with the process and am a FTHB but plan to definitely go with Redfin based on everything I've read so far along with all the positive reviews! Keep up the great work Redfin!