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Bob Stewart was good enough to bring to my attention (as well as to the attention of others) that Redfin is making some changes in their internet presence.
will be felt by the largest listing agencies. Whomever is the biggest listing company, in the areas served by Redfin, (who works primarily on the Buyer's side) will be seeing comments from the competitions' agents. Be prepared to hear from some of our sellers when they get hurt by comments. You're gonna be soothing some bruised feelings.
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122 Comments on Prepare yourself for "Guerrilla" comments!
Hi Everyone,
Matt from Redfin here. Hope you don't mind me dropping in joining the conversation :).
Instead of responding to individual comments I thought I'd post more generally about what we're doing:
@Gay Rosen, please email me at matt@redfin.com and I'll look into the agents you feel don't meet our standards.
@Glenn, our business model hasn't changed in a few years and we are deeply committed to being first and foremost a world class real estate brokerage known for our customer service and use of technology. And yes, we are expanding and looking for agents to join Redfin or join our referral program. We're not trying to jab anyone in the eye here, we're trying to find a way to share what all our agents are learning about listings with all our customers.
If anyone has more questions for me, fire away or you can reach me at matt@redfin.com.
Isn't there a rule...guideline...set of principles.... about not linking off a comment to another site? Matt....rules keep communities together and living in a community is important for all of us.
Re: "listing agents and their sellers aren't able to control through the mls...?" Many will differ. Loudly.
The intent of sharing listings with IDX based on broker reciprocity is that the seller will be accurately represented on the sites of brokers who participate in that arrangement. Would you change the price of the house on your site....the room count....the cooperative compensation? Presumably not.
If a seller wishes that comments not be allowed on VOW, and it is so indicated in the mls, then the VOW participant must honor that decision. Your "customer" (site registrant) does not have rights that supersede those of the client who's home is listed in an mls by a broker.
Hi Leslie, there are a set of VOW rules that govern commenting on listings. What I believe you're referring to is section 19.7 of the model VOW agreement which covers comments from third-parties. We're not allowing commenting by third parties, what we're doing is showing/sending our customers notes from our agents. This is covered by section 19.8 of the model VOW agreement, "The Participant shall not, however, be obligated to correct or remove any data or information that simply reflects good faith opinion, advice, or professional judgment."
For years agents have been sharing their opinions of homes they've seen with their customers. We're doing the same, just using the Internet to faciliate the sharing.
Now don't get me wrong, we believe very much in being a good member of the community and so of the 32,000 notes we had on already gathered we flagged 18,000 to be hidden from our customers and are only sharing the 14,000 that we feel reflect the good faith opinion, advice or professional judgement of our agents. We'll also continue to keep an eye on the notes and make sure they're high quality. What we're also doing to be a good member is to automatically send our agents feedback and notes to the listing agent so they have a chance to see and give their sellers a heads up.
Glenn - the world of real estate is changing... and someone has to take the lead.... maybe it's redfin?
Matt - your statement of "The notes are only shown/sent to our customers, not the general public." is not correct. I can view those comments on your website (and did) as of today. Unless you're considering anyone who registers on your site as a "customer".
Leslie - good question.
Matt - but those comments that you're sending to your customers... are viewable by the public (me...and potentially any seller who registers on your site).
And, by the way Matt, thank you for entering the Lion's Den conversation... much better to have first hand conversation...
Glenn, glad to be here! I've faced the firing squad on Active Rain many times in the past :).
Now as for who we share our notes to... We only share them with registered users of our site. To register to use our site you're agreeing to our terms of use which clearly state that you're entering into a lawful consumer-broker relationship with Redfin.
I live next to TWO busy streets and LOVE it! Many community events begin/end here, and I love being able to hear the band when on my front porch.
Yet, I may write on my Buyer's site "close to Lewis - busy street," because I know THEY don't want to live next to a busy street. Other buyers may consider it an advantage to be close to the action.
I don't see this as a positive thing, but Redfin does not operate in Oklahoma . . . yet.
As much as Redfin may try to keep it professional and informational, a comment like the one from David Yocum could be very offensive to a Seller. While it is available only to registered users, any member of the public may become a registered user, so it is, in essence, available to the public. It's sort of like allowing another agent at another company to write the marketing remarks for my listing. I understand the intent, but something about it just doesn't feel right...
Sharon
Hi Alan-wow you sure get a lot of comments on controversial subjects
I've been watching the comments and know we all don't agree when it comes to a properties condition. We have had an independent Wiki MLS here in VA for a couple of years that prints agent comments and links to photos that agents take inside a home as well. Redfin isn't doing anything new, it's just making more news.
Matt - (my name is Alan, btw) so anyone who's registered on your website, you're considering your "customer", right! And anyone can register on your website, which means that the comments are available to the general public... I have that right, don't I?.
Lori - we may be buidling a little bit of a tempest in a tea kettle... but that remains to be seen.
Sharon - I think you've parsed it out correctly... and so far, it hasn't passed the "smell" test.
Tim - everytime I write about a "controversial" subect... I get a lot of comments. The "non-controversial", not as many. Go figure. ;-)
Cindy - but is that MLS available only to agents... or can the public view it, as well?
Alan it is available to anyone without a login!
Cindy - much to their chagrin.
@Matt Goyer: You refer to the "model VOW" agreement, I am referring to an actual VOW agreement in the MREDllc MLS (Chicago area) Rules and Regulations. As a Participant in MRED the Redfin brokerage is bound by all it's rules and regulations.
SECTION 37.7: COMMENTS AND REVIEWS; AVMs
(b) .... at the request of a seller the Participant shall disable or discontinue either or both of these features described in subsection (a) as to any listing of the seller. The listing broker or agent shall communicate to the Service that the seller has elected to have one or both of these features disabled or discontinued on all Participants’ websites.
Marking NO to Comments on VOW is specific instruction from the seller by the listing broker to all Participants in the MRED MLS.
Alan, I'm done, thanks for the use of your space. Can we go back to something simple, like discussing commission in public?
Leslie - oh, I don't think you're "done" at all... feel free to pontificate here on RadioAlan any time... you're always a fun and informative guest.
Tune in next week, we'll calm down when we have as our guest, Tom Cruise, and we'll discuss modern psychology in today's strife-filled world! (Where did I put the yellow couch? Whaddya mean you can't find it... now you're just being "glib"!)
I've always enjoyed transparency. But when placed and digested in the wrong hands can have hurtful consequences. We need to be very careful about that.
Loreena - this one requires some care... I agree.
@Leslie, that is referring to 37.7a which is addressing third-party comments not comments by the participant. Further down in section 37.7b it states, "a Participant's VOW may communicate the Partcipant's professional judgement concerning any listing."
Matt - so can you 'splain that for us, and tell us what Redfin feels that means?
Alan, this is the first I heard of this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I dont see Redfin in Florida yet, thank goodness. I signed up for it so I can keep track of whats going on.
- happy to be of service, oh unknown commenter.