[socrattt]

A very interesting topic and one I had the opportunity to visit recently. I actually had two Redfin clients that were on the fence between buying with Redfin or working with me. Redfin has an interesting business model, but they lack in a couple of major areas. Redfin runs a system that many agents don’t agree with and understandably so. I personally think it’s a great business model, but they are committed to quantity not quality, hence the process that buyers have to go through. You tend to work with 3 or 4 different people to get the deal done which can actually make the deal much more confusing.

At the end of the day as sdr and others have pointed out if you are going directly to the listing agent to negotiate you’ll have to keep in mind the fiduciary responsibility of the agent. It’s completely lawful to conduct business with the buyer and seller, but often times can be a conflict of interest. Since you are paying the commission regardless, finding a competent agent is extremely beneficial for you as the buyer. I ended convincing both buyers that my knowledge and understanding would be much more beneficial and I think now that both escrows are closed they would agree.

The biggest problem nowadays is that everyone wants a deal and places Redfin have created a way to make that happen for buyers and sellers. As this market slows the buyers and sellers will continue to weed out what they think is the middle man. Be wise in your buying decisions and make sure you understand what your getting yourself into when working directly with the listing agent.

[socrattt]

A very interesting topic and one I had the opportunity to visit recently. I actually had two Redfin clients that were on the fence between buying with Redfin or working with me. Redfin has an interesting business model, but they lack in a couple of major areas. Redfin runs a system that many agents don’t agree with and understandably so. I personally think it’s a great business model, but they are committed to quantity not quality, hence the process that buyers have to go through. You tend to work with 3 or 4 different people to get the deal done which can actually make the deal much more confusing.

At the end of the day as sdr and others have pointed out if you are going directly to the listing agent to negotiate you’ll have to keep in mind the fiduciary responsibility of the agent. It’s completely lawful to conduct business with the buyer and seller, but often times can be a conflict of interest. Since you are paying the commission regardless, finding a competent agent is extremely beneficial for you as the buyer. I ended convincing both buyers that my knowledge and understanding would be much more beneficial and I think now that both escrows are closed they would agree.

The biggest problem nowadays is that everyone wants a deal and places Redfin have created a way to make that happen for buyers and sellers. As this market slows the buyers and sellers will continue to weed out what they think is the middle man. Be wise in your buying decisions and make sure you understand what your getting yourself into when working directly with the listing agent.

[socrattt]

A very interesting topic and one I had the opportunity to visit recently. I actually had two Redfin clients that were on the fence between buying with Redfin or working with me. Redfin has an interesting business model, but they lack in a couple of major areas. Redfin runs a system that many agents don’t agree with and understandably so. I personally think it’s a great business model, but they are committed to quantity not quality, hence the process that buyers have to go through. You tend to work with 3 or 4 different people to get the deal done which can actually make the deal much more confusing.

At the end of the day as sdr and others have pointed out if you are going directly to the listing agent to negotiate you’ll have to keep in mind the fiduciary responsibility of the agent. It’s completely lawful to conduct business with the buyer and seller, but often times can be a conflict of interest. Since you are paying the commission regardless, finding a competent agent is extremely beneficial for you as the buyer. I ended convincing both buyers that my knowledge and understanding would be much more beneficial and I think now that both escrows are closed they would agree.

The biggest problem nowadays is that everyone wants a deal and places Redfin have created a way to make that happen for buyers and sellers. As this market slows the buyers and sellers will continue to weed out what they think is the middle man. Be wise in your buying decisions and make sure you understand what your getting yourself into when working directly with the listing agent.

[socrattt]

A very interesting topic and one I had the opportunity to visit recently. I actually had two Redfin clients that were on the fence between buying with Redfin or working with me. Redfin has an interesting business model, but they lack in a couple of major areas. Redfin runs a system that many agents don’t agree with and understandably so. I personally think it’s a great business model, but they are committed to quantity not quality, hence the process that buyers have to go through. You tend to work with 3 or 4 different people to get the deal done which can actually make the deal much more confusing.

At the end of the day as sdr and others have pointed out if you are going directly to the listing agent to negotiate you’ll have to keep in mind the fiduciary responsibility of the agent. It’s completely lawful to conduct business with the buyer and seller, but often times can be a conflict of interest. Since you are paying the commission regardless, finding a competent agent is extremely beneficial for you as the buyer. I ended convincing both buyers that my knowledge and understanding would be much more beneficial and I think now that both escrows are closed they would agree.

The biggest problem nowadays is that everyone wants a deal and places Redfin have created a way to make that happen for buyers and sellers. As this market slows the buyers and sellers will continue to weed out what they think is the middle man. Be wise in your buying decisions and make sure you understand what your getting yourself into when working directly with the listing agent.

[socrattt]

A very interesting topic and one I had the opportunity to visit recently. I actually had two Redfin clients that were on the fence between buying with Redfin or working with me. Redfin has an interesting business model, but they lack in a couple of major areas. Redfin runs a system that many agents don’t agree with and understandably so. I personally think it’s a great business model, but they are committed to quantity not quality, hence the process that buyers have to go through. You tend to work with 3 or 4 different people to get the deal done which can actually make the deal much more confusing.

At the end of the day as sdr and others have pointed out if you are going directly to the listing agent to negotiate you’ll have to keep in mind the fiduciary responsibility of the agent. It’s completely lawful to conduct business with the buyer and seller, but often times can be a conflict of interest. Since you are paying the commission regardless, finding a competent agent is extremely beneficial for you as the buyer. I ended convincing both buyers that my knowledge and understanding would be much more beneficial and I think now that both escrows are closed they would agree.

The biggest problem nowadays is that everyone wants a deal and places Redfin have created a way to make that happen for buyers and sellers. As this market slows the buyers and sellers will continue to weed out what they think is the middle man. Be wise in your buying decisions and make sure you understand what your getting yourself into when working directly with the listing agent.

[socrattt]

We could argue this point to we are all blue in the face and the truth is no one has the correct answer. The current market conditions are completely manipulated. Many buyers refuse to touch distressed properties, primarily short sales. That leaves REOs, which move faster than speed of light (when priced right) and a small percentage of positive equity homes. I am seeing a lot of bizarre stuff happening in North County.

I’ve already posted on the fact that there are homes moving in the same price range as 2005 and 2006 prices +/- in 92009 which makes absolutely no sense. I am shocked to see inventory move in that price range $1M+, but I will say it’s a far cry from early 2009 prices where the market was very dry.

The fact of the matter is we have way too much inventory, but the question is will our inventory levels change. I believe the banks and FED are in cahoots and we won’t see inventory levels change for quite some time but come November there will be a ton of changes in terms of buyers, rates and the overall demand. Prepare yourselves for round 2 as we are in the calm before the storm!

[socrattt]

We could argue this point to we are all blue in the face and the truth is no one has the correct answer. The current market conditions are completely manipulated. Many buyers refuse to touch distressed properties, primarily short sales. That leaves REOs, which move faster than speed of light (when priced right) and a small percentage of positive equity homes. I am seeing a lot of bizarre stuff happening in North County.

I’ve already posted on the fact that there are homes moving in the same price range as 2005 and 2006 prices +/- in 92009 which makes absolutely no sense. I am shocked to see inventory move in that price range $1M+, but I will say it’s a far cry from early 2009 prices where the market was very dry.

The fact of the matter is we have way too much inventory, but the question is will our inventory levels change. I believe the banks and FED are in cahoots and we won’t see inventory levels change for quite some time but come November there will be a ton of changes in terms of buyers, rates and the overall demand. Prepare yourselves for round 2 as we are in the calm before the storm!

[socrattt]

We could argue this point to we are all blue in the face and the truth is no one has the correct answer. The current market conditions are completely manipulated. Many buyers refuse to touch distressed properties, primarily short sales. That leaves REOs, which move faster than speed of light (when priced right) and a small percentage of positive equity homes. I am seeing a lot of bizarre stuff happening in North County.

I’ve already posted on the fact that there are homes moving in the same price range as 2005 and 2006 prices +/- in 92009 which makes absolutely no sense. I am shocked to see inventory move in that price range $1M+, but I will say it’s a far cry from early 2009 prices where the market was very dry.

The fact of the matter is we have way too much inventory, but the question is will our inventory levels change. I believe the banks and FED are in cahoots and we won’t see inventory levels change for quite some time but come November there will be a ton of changes in terms of buyers, rates and the overall demand. Prepare yourselves for round 2 as we are in the calm before the storm!

[socrattt]

We could argue this point to we are all blue in the face and the truth is no one has the correct answer. The current market conditions are completely manipulated. Many buyers refuse to touch distressed properties, primarily short sales. That leaves REOs, which move faster than speed of light (when priced right) and a small percentage of positive equity homes. I am seeing a lot of bizarre stuff happening in North County.

I’ve already posted on the fact that there are homes moving in the same price range as 2005 and 2006 prices +/- in 92009 which makes absolutely no sense. I am shocked to see inventory move in that price range $1M+, but I will say it’s a far cry from early 2009 prices where the market was very dry.

The fact of the matter is we have way too much inventory, but the question is will our inventory levels change. I believe the banks and FED are in cahoots and we won’t see inventory levels change for quite some time but come November there will be a ton of changes in terms of buyers, rates and the overall demand. Prepare yourselves for round 2 as we are in the calm before the storm!

[socrattt]

We could argue this point to we are all blue in the face and the truth is no one has the correct answer. The current market conditions are completely manipulated. Many buyers refuse to touch distressed properties, primarily short sales. That leaves REOs, which move faster than speed of light (when priced right) and a small percentage of positive equity homes. I am seeing a lot of bizarre stuff happening in North County.

I’ve already posted on the fact that there are homes moving in the same price range as 2005 and 2006 prices +/- in 92009 which makes absolutely no sense. I am shocked to see inventory move in that price range $1M+, but I will say it’s a far cry from early 2009 prices where the market was very dry.

The fact of the matter is we have way too much inventory, but the question is will our inventory levels change. I believe the banks and FED are in cahoots and we won’t see inventory levels change for quite some time but come November there will be a ton of changes in terms of buyers, rates and the overall demand. Prepare yourselves for round 2 as we are in the calm before the storm!

[socrattt]

[quote=ocrenter]so far we are very happy with our Ooma.

we do pay $10/month for caller ID.

the call quality is excellent, we love the e-mailed VM.[/quote]

OCR, curious to know what ISP you have? We had Time Warner initially and it worked out well with Ooma then got Uverse and the quality seemed to pretty bad. Glad to hear it’s working out for you.

I get caller ID for free, so not sure why you pay $10/month for that. Do you have the Ooma Premier?

[socrattt]

[quote=ocrenter]so far we are very happy with our Ooma.

we do pay $10/month for caller ID.

the call quality is excellent, we love the e-mailed VM.[/quote]

OCR, curious to know what ISP you have? We had Time Warner initially and it worked out well with Ooma then got Uverse and the quality seemed to pretty bad. Glad to hear it’s working out for you.

I get caller ID for free, so not sure why you pay $10/month for that. Do you have the Ooma Premier?

[socrattt]

[quote=ocrenter]so far we are very happy with our Ooma.

we do pay $10/month for caller ID.

the call quality is excellent, we love the e-mailed VM.[/quote]

OCR, curious to know what ISP you have? We had Time Warner initially and it worked out well with Ooma then got Uverse and the quality seemed to pretty bad. Glad to hear it’s working out for you.

I get caller ID for free, so not sure why you pay $10/month for that. Do you have the Ooma Premier?

[socrattt]

[quote=ocrenter]so far we are very happy with our Ooma.

we do pay $10/month for caller ID.

the call quality is excellent, we love the e-mailed VM.[/quote]

OCR, curious to know what ISP you have? We had Time Warner initially and it worked out well with Ooma then got Uverse and the quality seemed to pretty bad. Glad to hear it’s working out for you.

I get caller ID for free, so not sure why you pay $10/month for that. Do you have the Ooma Premier?

[socrattt]

[quote=ocrenter]so far we are very happy with our Ooma.

we do pay $10/month for caller ID.

the call quality is excellent, we love the e-mailed VM.[/quote]

OCR, curious to know what ISP you have? We had Time Warner initially and it worked out well with Ooma then got Uverse and the quality seemed to pretty bad. Glad to hear it’s working out for you.

I get caller ID for free, so not sure why you pay $10/month for that. Do you have the Ooma Premier?

[Author]

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