“Sell your home for a $2,500! Flat fee, full service!” That’s just what Redefy says they are bringing to Dallas.
Redefy, a new kind of discount real estate brokerage, is trying to redefine options for selling your home. According to their website, “Redefy helps real estate sellers save thousands by replacing a single real estate agent with a highly efficient and technology-enabled team of experts.”
The company is based in Aurora, Colo., and has branched out into Phoenix, Arizona. Working with title companies and lenders, they found a handful of local agents that are ready to give simplified selling a try and opened their Dallas base in January. Heck, they will even train you to be an agent. It appears the idea is to get as many listings as you can, then build up a database to generate a lot of potential buyers. The buy transaction fee is 3 percent, so it seems the theory is to make up in sales volume what you lose in listing fees.
What does that $2,500 flat fee get a home seller? Jump to find out.
The website says in-home consultation, contracts, staging, professional photos, lock box, yard sign, online visibility, and negotiation. Separate people perform all these duties, so the business model is completely different from the standard brokerage with a Realtor that holds your hand throughout the process. The Redefy agent lists the house and never has anything to do with it again. It’s not a personalized transaction. So is this like fast food vs. fine dining? Maybe, but fast food has its place in the food world, so Redefy may just have found a niche.
Let’s say you have no equity and no money or you have a property that is teetering on that possibility of being a tear-down. Redefy may be the answer in these situations. It may also be an option for those multi–million-plus homes, because face it, they just don’t move quickly. We just noticed a home we featured, the opulent southern Dallas estate at 5656 Cedar Ridge, listed on their site at $3,495,000, as well as the Glen Abbey jewel box at 40 Braewood Place listed with Redefy for $8,975,000. If it works, and if it works in Dallas, this could be interesting. Dallas is a different real estate market to be sure, because we like getting to know each other! (UPDATE: We’ve received word from some Realtors that Redefy is actually using listings from other area agents in their “Our Listings” page. They don’t offer credit to the listing agent except in small print once you click-through to the listing.)
Real estate has always been a personalized business and in Dallas we take it to another level. Realtors spend a lot of time with their clients. Your Realtor may end up being your best friend. When you’re purchasing they don’t just sell you a house, they sell you a community, find you a school, a church, great restaurants, dog groomers, child care, hair salons. They hook you up! They are also embedded into the community with ties that run deep. Those ties mean their network is large and the network is what really brings buyers.The Internet may pique interest, but the Realtor’s network brings the buyer to the table. This is why we see so many hip pocket sales.
Still it’s an interesting prospect. Realtor Elaine Harper was recommended by a title company and decided to check out what Redefy had to offer. Although it was an interesting business model, Harper is very much at home with Clay Stapp + Co. and could not imaging leaving. “I know for sure, it’s a personal experience if you are buying or selling,” Harper said. “ It’s emotional. Dealing with one person is the best way in Dallas, and frankly you get what you pay for.”
Is the one-size-fits-all brand of simplified flat-fee selling going to work in Dallas? Let us know what you think!
