When we decided to try Redefy, we were a little skeptical, and many of our neighbors or former agents we had used were, too. We were kind of shamed by them somewhat, saying we were being "too greedy" or "cheap" by not wanting to pay the full 3% instead of the flat ~$3k fee. But with technology becoming so advanced, and the way home buyers shop for homes being so different now (shopping on sites themselves like Zillow, RedFin, Realtor.com), we'd be stupid not to try it. We needed as much money as we could to put into our new home that we were buying. If it didn't work out, we could always let our listing expire, and go with a traditional selling agent agreement.
The key requirement was that our listing needed to appear on the MLS and the sites mentioned above like any traditional listing, and that requirement was definitely met. The rest of the tasks that Redefy did for us was the same as traditional selling agents, including the sign, getting professional photographs made, giving us the "ShowingTime" app that notified us when potential buyers wanted to see our home during a certain time (which we'd approve 100% of the time), changing the price, replacing photos, and even negotiations. Our agent Kirstin was amazing and was available anytime we needed her, and we had just as many conversations with her as we've had with other agents who've charged us 3%.
We had a condo we were selling that had similar listings in the same complex, and there was no difference in how our home appeared in listings compared to the others. When we got discouraged our home wasn't selling as quickly as we thought it should (nor were our neighbors' listings) because of a weird time of year (and interest rates rising), we went through a period where we thought things might be better if we had a traditional agent who knew the area better or "had buyers." But after talking things through with Kirstin, she made an excellent point: if other agents "had buyers," they would be bringing them to us so they can collect their 3% on the buyer side, not try to get our listing so they could also collect 3% on the seller side as our agent. In other words, there is no incentive for an agent to withhold collecting 3% as a seller's agent -- and withholding their "buyers" in the process -- with the hope of getting our listing as a seller's agent. The 3% incentive as a buyer's agent is enough.
So anytime you hear that an agent "has buyers," that's more of a marketing ploy in this age where people use the Internet themselves to find potential properties, then contact their agent when they want to see them.
The other marketing ploy that other agents might use to poo-poo Redefy is that they will hold more open houses. Redefy did hold a couple of open houses for us, but hardly anyone showed up. There are probably two reasons for this: 1) alot of homes in the Scottsdale area are in gated communities (like ours), which really puts up a mental barrier for people to want to go through the hassle of punching in a code at the gate, or talking to a security guard at a gate house, and 2) the importance of open houses has diminished over the years since so many great photos of a property are online, and it's so easy to schedule a showing with an interested buyer using the ShowingTime app that Redefy gave us.
It turns out the reason many agents like to have open houses is because it gives them an opportunity to meet potential clients who aren't represented by an agent yet. That's what has happened to me in the past where I'll get lots of follow-up emails from agents who knew I was looking for a new home, but didn't have an agent yet. So open houses are really another marketing ploy for agents to get new clients!
Thanks again to Kirstin at Redefy for making the selling experience such a great one, and for helping us save money we could put into our new house. A few years from now, I have a feeling just about everyone will be selling their homes this way, to the chagrin of many traditional real estate agents. read more