After a few too many REDFIN "says" I decided I had better educate myself on this ominious know all Real Estate enity! So I punch it in the old PC and start reading. MMMM wow so first thing I get a feeling that is this is another "you don't need a Realtor, and you definately don't have to pay a commission when buying!" Same echoes of the FSBO website, save money do it yourself.Redfin like Realtor.com has access to the local MLS, buy like most that have access, the information is spoty and NOT accurate! I know I looked up few of my listings past and present and found the last sale amount was not there? And the worst offense was when a bank puts a property through the TD sale the minimum bid the bank would accept was listed as the last sale date! It is not the last sale price and no you should not offer less when it is now listed at a third more and it comps out to this price, in fact it is under priced and there is going to be a bidding war, because of the location and the fact it is clean and needs minimum repairs!
So now I am understanding why I look like a liar to my clients. And I can back up my information with MLS print outs and county records. But they argue that's where REDFIN gets their information. Maybe it is but whoever is transferring the data is leaving some of it out, like the important part. My favorite is when I tell my clients a property is sold after looking it up on the MLS or currently in escrow and they say but it is still listed available on REDFIN!
With this information the buyers have all they need to make a educated offer! Right? Wrong! So who will they believe? Me with the comparable area sales prices or REDFIN? They read it on REDFIN so it must be true. Everyone likes to save money, me included. So here is the kicker for REDFIN, they offer there own agents to help take you around and show you homes and they will write your offer, but the best is REDFIN will give you "half" of their (agents) commission back (Not true). What this really comes down to, they sign up agents who kick back REDFIN a 30% referral fee. But the math just didn't add up. Buyer gets half of the 30% referral fee and guess who gets the other half? Are they really helping the buyer? Or are they helping themselves?
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