Susan Ouimette

I have a few questions about using a service like Redfin. First of all I am a full service Real Estate agent. I have extensive website marketing tools. I can send my clients listings myself, have them automatically sent based on the individual buyer's criteria or give my buyers access to listing searches on their own. So they can shop in their pj's until they find things they are interested in at which point I can take them to the homes personally for them to make their final decisions. Many traditional agents have the same tools. So what's so special about Redfin or others like them having internet search? It sounds to me like they just leave out the legwork & let the selling agent take care of that part?
Secondly, I can say that I currently have some first time buyers, we close on their home tomorrow, that originally went through a referral company that offered them a hefty rebate after the sale from the commission referral the buyer's agent would pay them. They weren't pleased with the agent, a traditional full service agent, that the referral company paired them with & they ultimately found me. As a traditional agent I can't give rebates, it's against the law in our state & against ethical rules & they understood that. They have told me that after all the details that had to be worked out with their purchase they feel that I was worth the rebate they gave up & then some. They know that I negotiated an excellent deal for them & handled situations & problems that may well have gotten overwhelming & lost them the home they wanted.
I feel that my job as a full service Real Estate agent is, first & foremost, one of relationship building & I don't believe that is possible when dealing exclusively on the internet. And I still don't understand how one buys a home without actually seeing it!!!
I often deal with out of town clients & start their search on the internet, locals also, but ultimately it's meeting face to face, building trust & seeing future home possibilities personally! Maybe investors who are going solely on the bottom line don't care about seeing the house they are purchasing, but it the buyer is going to actually live there........
I just don't think that these types of services will ever put the traditional agent model out of business. I do agree that perhaps the truly good traditional RE agents will be the ones left standing, but I think that's the case regardless of the presence of these internet models. - Mon Oct 1 2007, 06:32