Uber for Real Estate .... the latest real estate disruptor!

[HoustonRealtor]

So many Realtors out their struggle to make ends meet. It is also a seasonal job, and nobody would compensate the agent's time and effort should a deal doesn't close. What if there's an App where it all the homes listed for sale are there? All the client needs to do is pick the house and the time they want to see it. Then a message will go to a nearby agent who will either accept or reject the job. The realtor will show up in 20 minutes and regardless of if they proceed with the house or not, the agent to get paid a flat showing fee. Something Like $30 and the more house, the less the agent to get paid for example $20 thereafter. If the agent ends up closing the deal, then he pays the App a referral fee and pays back the fees the buyer paid him. What do you think guys? Does it sound feasible?

 

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[No.1]

A friend of mine told me that the cash flow can come from the companies listing the properties; since these companies will save on hiring realtors.
Makes sense to me, it could be another source of income.

I have a few questions about the processes:

What about the property keys?

What about the realtor's investigation to give insight into the property? I mean, these that know about the specific good things about the property are closer to closing a deal. I suppose.

What about trusting an "unknown" to go into your property?
"Unknown" cause you always can add some authentication methods to evocate confidence.

Are there enough realtors in the areas to supply the demand?
How easy it is to become a realtor?


I like the idea; It is thought-provoking, at least for me.

 

[Kak]

So many Realtors out their struggle to make ends meet. It is also a seasonal job, and nobody would compensate the agent's time and effort should a deal doesn't close. What if there's an App where it all the homes listed for sale are there? All the client needs to do is pick the house and the time they want to see it. Then a message will go to a nearby agent who will either accept or reject the job. The realtor will show up in 20 minutes and regardless of if they proceed with the house or not, the agent to get paid a flat showing fee. Something Like $30 and the more house, the less the agent to get paid for example $20 thereafter. If the agent ends up closing the deal, then he pays the App a referral fee and pays back the fees the buyer paid him. What do you think guys? Does it sound feasible?

I wouldn’t pay to see a home. Realtors already make too much of the transaction value, and there are ample agents willing to fight over my business for “free.”

I think you turn this around and struggling agents would PAY $20-30 for the lead. Maybe if they invested in marketing like this it wouldn’t be as much of a struggle.

Realtors in Houston take out full page magazine ads, billboards, they go to card slinging events constantly, to me, paying $20-30 for a lead is worth it, heck I’d pay $100 to not have to do any of that, but I’m not a realtor.

 

[HoustonRealtor]

A friend of mine told me that the cash flow can come from the companies listing the properties; since these companies will save on hiring realtors.
Makes sense to me, it could be another source of income.

I have a few questions about the processes:

What about the property keys?

What about the realtor's investigation to give insight into the property? I mean, these that know about the specific good things about the property are closer to closing a deal. I suppose.

What about trusting an "unknown" to go into your property?
"Unknown" cause you always can add some authentication methods to evocate confidence.

Are there enough realtors in the areas to supply the demand?
How easy it is to become a realtor?


I like the idea; It is thought-provoking, at least for me.

When someone decides to sell his/her home, they will most likely use a realtor. That realtor will list the home on the local MLS services (<---this is where the App will get the list of homes for sale) and place an electronic lockbox that is accessible by other realtors. The Realtors who will be on the APP will have a complete profile including their license number and any reviews and will be screened before being added. Eventually, the client accepts or rejects working with that realtor, and the same thing with the realtor. You would be shocked at how many realtors are out there. The latest number by NAR shows over 500,000 realtors in the US. There might not be enough realtors to cover all areas, but the App could start with one city and expand as it grows. To become a realtor, it takes about 2-3 months for online courses. To make sure all parties follow through with their end of the agreement, a one-page agreement detailing the agreement will be required to be signed.

 

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[HoustonRealtor]

I wouldn’t pay to see a home. Realtors already make too much of the transaction value, and there are ample agents willing to fight over my business for “free.”

I think you turn this around and struggling agents would PAY $20-30 for the lead. Maybe if they invested in marketing like this it wouldn’t be as much of a struggle.

Realtors in Houston take out full page magazine ads, billboards, they go to card slinging events constantly, to me, paying $20-30 for a lead is worth it, heck I’d pay $100 to not have to do any of that, but I’m not a realtor.

Remember, realtors agree to work for free until a home is found or liked. If neither happens, nobody will pay the realtor for their time and effort. There's driving, setting up appointments for each house, gas, and after closing at least 20% of the commission goes to the sponsoring broker, and of course, we cannot forget Uncle Sam's share!

All working for free hoping the buyer will eventually close. Realtors already spending a ton of money with Zillow and other avenues to get leads and are already out of pocket. Redfin currently has what they call "Associate Agents" and all they do is open the door for their clients. Redfin pays those agents per door because they work part-time only. The concept already exists but it could be expanded and be beneficial for both the homebuyer and the realtor. Also, the App could include other vendors who will be needed in the process of purchasing a home such as loan officers, inspectors, and appraisals. Those would either pay a flat monthly fee or pay a fee per transaction because their services will be displayed on the App. The agent could also offer a kickback that not only will cover what the buyer spent for showings but then some. Also, people will be responsible for not wasting the agent's time and only request viewing for good potential homes and also making every effort possible to finalize the deal.

 

[Kak]

Remember, realtors agree to work for free until a home is found or liked. If neither happens, nobody will pay the realtor for their time and effort. There's driving, setting up appointments for each house, gas, and after closing at least 20% of the commission goes to the sponsoring broker, and of course, we cannot forget Uncle Sam's share!

All working for free hoping the buyer will eventually close. Realtors already spending a ton of money with Zillow and other avenues to get leads and are already out of pocket. Redfin currently has what they call "Associate Agents" and all they do is open the door for their clients. Redfin pays those agents per door because they work part-time only. The concept already exists but it could be expanded and be beneficial for both the homebuyer and the realtor. Also, the App could include other vendors who will be needed in the process of purchasing a home such as loan officers, inspectors, and appraisals. Those would either pay a flat monthly fee or pay a fee per transaction because their services will be displayed on the App. The agent could also offer a kickback that not only will cover what the buyer spent for showings but then some. Also, people will be responsible for not wasting the agent's time and only request viewing for good potential homes and also making every effort possible to finalize the deal.

I do understand that, but it is the line of work they chose.

Honestly, @HoustonRealtor I feel entitled to shop all I want until I find the perfect property, even if that pisses off a realtor. It’s my money. It’s usually a larger than average investment. And… Ultimately, if a realtor stays with me until the end, they and their listing counterpart are responsible for 6% of inefficiency to my transaction.

I think of my choosing of a realtor as a gift. A couple of people who went to school for 3 months get to make tens of thousands of dollars off my real estate transaction for unlocking a few doors with a little gadget, speaking in adjectives, and spending some gas money in their leased G wagon. They should take me to a nice dinner while they’re at it.

 

[Antifragile]

I don’t know what it’s like to be a realtor.

I do think the bar for becoming one was set low enough and the commissions “imagined in the future for every newbie” are large enough to be attractive. This created this problem: instead of realtors being used to help find the best properties and negotiate the best deal for their clients, they became a commodity.

Even still… I would refuse this service for my own properties. Why?

Because if I stage my property for sale, I don’t want a barrage of random “not buyer, but just a curious neighbors” walking through in droves. I want at least some semblance of knowledge that the one “commodity” realtor I chose to list it is someone I’ve met and chose.

An idea I see already working in office leasing space is virtual tours. That I could see having a future in cutting out at least half of the realtors.

 

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[BizyDad]

Does it sound feasible?

No.

The amount of money needed to code this and to overcome the byzantine realm and rules that is a state by state patchwork for poorly designed api's guarded by egoistic gatekeepers who lack 2 forward thinking brain cells to rub together means you'd likely have to raise Uber like money and I doubt there is an appetite for that in light of competitors like homie or open door or Zillow already in this (or at least similar) space with a huge head start. Your revenue model needs to be mucho more grandiose to attract the capital you need.

Bootstrapping an effort like this will be difficult at best and will likely require a brokerage as an ally. But what brokerage will want you sending leads to other realtors?

I could go on, but I'll wrap up by saying if you are capable of pulling something like this off, then there's probably a lot easier and better ways for you to create value in the world and develop a fast lane business.

Like starting your own real estate brokerage for example that embraces technology and makes it easier to get leads for your agents.

 

[HoustonRealtor]

No.

The amount of money needed to code this and to overcome the byzantine realm and rules that is a state by state patchwork for poorly designed api's guarded by egoistic gatekeepers who lack 2 forward thinking brain cells to rub together means you'd likely have to raise Uber like money and I doubt there is an appetite for that in light of competitors like homie or open door or Zillow already in this (or at least similar) space with a huge head start. Your revenue model needs to be mucho more grandiose to attract the capital you need.

Bootstrapping an effort like this will be difficult at best and will likely require a brokerage as an ally. But what brokerage will want you sending leads to other realtors?

I could go on, but I'll wrap up by saying if you are capable of pulling something like this off, then there's probably a lot easier and better ways for you to create value in the world and develop a fast lane business.

Like starting your own real estate brokerage for example that embraces technology and makes it easier to get leads for your agents.

thank you for the awesome feedback!

 

[HoustonRealtor]

thank you for the awesome feedback!

another one bites the dust

 

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[BizyDad]

another one bites the dust

Sigh. If you let random, smart sounding people dissuade you from your goals, you won't make it in business.

I said bootstrapping would be difficult, not impossible.

My critique is at least close to accurate, and you can address this with 2 easy tweaks.

1. Start with one state. Better yet, one city. Houston perhaps.
2. Start with one brokerage.

If you have the requisite skills and the proper backing (You're a realtor, talk to your broker) you could build something like this as a software that you can offer a brokerage. Your brokerage.

Make it a site for Houston real estate, throw some SEO on top of it to get it ranking, and commit that your brokerage will have a realtor there in 20 minutes (maybe an hour would be more reasonable)...

There is going to be a lot of hoops to jump through... It's not going to be easy. You'll have to be persistent and you'll often get answers that you don't like. But you can't let that stop you.

But much like Uber tried to sell their software to cab companies first, you should sell this as a software platform for a brokerage. It needs to be a decent sized one with agents who live all over the city.

Once you have it built you have a proof of concept.

There's any number of ways you can go from there. Expand into other cities. Sell the software separately to other brokerages out of state. Start your own brokerage and keep this for yourself. Raise capital for an app. Etc. Etc.

Or you can do your best Freddie Mercury impression.



Either way, that's as far as I go in writing your business plan... Lol.

 

[HoustonRealtor]

Sigh. If you let random, smart sounding people dissuade you from your goals, you won't make it in business.

I said bootstrapping would be difficult, not impossible.

My critique is at least close to accurate, and you can address this with 2 easy tweaks.

1. Start with one state. Better yet, one city. Houston perhaps.
2. Start with one brokerage.

If you have the requisite skills and the proper backing (You're a realtor, talk to your broker) you could build something like this as a software that you can offer a brokerage. Your brokerage.

Make it a site for Houston real estate, throw some SEO on top of it to get it ranking, and commit that your brokerage will have a realtor there in 20 minutes (maybe an hour would be more reasonable)...

There is going to be a lot of hoops to jump through... It's not going to be easy. You'll have to be persistent and you'll often get answers that you don't like. But you can't let that stop you.

But much like Uber tried to sell their software to cab companies first, you should sell this as a software platform for a brokerage. It needs to be a decent sized one with agents who live all over the city.

Once you have it built you have a proof of concept.

There's any number of ways you can go from there. Expand into other cities. Sell the software separately to other brokerages out of state. Start your own brokerage and keep this for yourself. Raise capital for an app. Etc. Etc.

Or you can do your best Freddie Mercury impression.

View attachment 45958

Either way, that's as far as I go in writing your business plan... Lol.

Appreciate the amazing feedback. Join me for the journey