Redfin — The Anti-Google

Posted on by
30

[photopress:sasha_with_troll.JPG,thumb,alignright]I’m extremely disappointed in the latest direction that Redfin has taken and I’d like to use this post to explain why I’ve completely stopped doing business with them.

For those of you not familiar, Redfin is a company that has developed a really great aerial technology for viewing MLS data. When they came out, I signed up as a “Redfin Agent” because their technology was superior to anything else available for searching the MLS. In previous blog entries I’ve mentioned how great their technology is.

How did they plan to make money? In the simplest sense, their business plan involved displaying MLS information via an intuitive interface using aerial images. When prospective clients would look for a home, Redfin would direct them to local real estate agents. After the prospective clients purchased a home, the real estate agent would send a portion of the closing commissions (20%) back to Redfin. By repacking the MLS data in a new way and getting real estate agents to promote them, they hoped to take the industry by storm. However, their site must not be nearly as popular as they hoped because their newest business venture turns them into a discount real estate company.

However, I wouldn’t write this blog entry if they were just another discount real estate agency. I don’t have a problem with discount real estate agencies and I think they provide a useful service for a subset of sellers (and besides, they keep us full-service agents on our toes!). The reason I write this article is that Redfin went from being a partner with real estate agents to a competitor. I think they assumed they could use the goodwill that they’ve built up with agents to slip a fast one on us.

The worst part is that Redfin didn’t have to go that route. Early on, I talked with them about licensing their technology to display MLS over my site. When the showed only passing interest, I decided to develop the MLS Search Engine myself… And while my technology is still in the infant stage, I’ve found a way to display MLS data over aerial photos (so don’t believe their front-page marketing that says that are the only ones doing this!).

If you are currently a “redfin agent” (like I was!), please join me in severing your business relationship with Redfin until they decide to join us again as a partner. As Redfin doesn’t offer a way to “delete” your account, I recommend doing the next best thing. To delist yourself from their database, go to: http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/my-redfin. Log in using your username and password. Click “edit your profile

Seattle Resource for Gnomedex Attendies

Posted on by
4

[photopress:seattle_center.jpg,thumb,alignright]Gnomedex 5.0 is coming to Seattle this weekend!

I thought I would send out an early welcome to Gnomedex attendees. If you’re looking for interesting Seattle resources, I may be able to direct you to some interesting resources… For those of you who are unfamiliar with this conference, it is a tech event where all-kinds of big-shots will discuss and announce new products and services… I’d be most interested in (1) learning how I can better use the current technology tools and (2) how some of the companies (Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, etc.) are going to work with small businesses (like me).

In terms of events for the weekend, the stranger will list just about anything worth doing! If you’re looking for live music, I would highly recommend the Tractor Tavern which will have the meat purveyors (“bluegrass on booze”) on Friday night and Omar Torrez on Saturday night. (Scoble has also been talking about a camping trip before or after the event, but I don’t know if that is still on…)

If you are a map person and want an overview of the Seattle area, the gHomes tool that I’ve developed can give you an overview of the different neighborhoods. For example, the tool lets you pretty easily zoom in on the million dollar neighborhoods if that is of interest to you! Also of interest is the fabulous new Bus Monster that Chris Smoak developed.

For a different kind of overview of the neighborhoods, simply to browse some of the posts I’ve put together… There is lots of info (and more every day!). There are too many great Seattle bloggers around to put any type of definitive list together, but two of my favorite are Dave Fox and Greg Linden.

Cutthroat Competition of Online Brokers Benefits Consumers

Posted on by
Reply

Cutthroat CompetitionA recent study showed that on-line brokers had an extremely high costumer satisfaction levels:

With an average reliability of 99.5 percent, the brokerage industry’s Web site service levels far exceed other industries, Keynote found. In addition, pages that take more than one and a half seconds to download–a time considered first-rate by other online industries–fell well below the standards currently being set by online brokerages.

Have you used an on-line broker? (I have!) I’d be interested in hearing about your experience. Was their service as good as this survey suggests?

Thanks to Garrett French for the background info…

Seattle ranked as one of the healthiest cities

Posted on by
Reply

swimmersWith all the great bike and pedestrian trails around, I don’t think it would surprise most locals to find out that Seattle ranked #4 in a list of the country’s healthiest cities:

The Seattle metro area had the study’s best scores in the areas of physical activity and lifestyle pursuits. Respondents here reported the highest level of vigorous exercise. Seattlites had high rates of diabetes, hypertension and, yes, sleeplessness.

Another great reason to live in Seattle!

Can things keep going up in Seattle? A Bay Area story…

Posted on by
Reply

[photopress:riley_in_SF.jpg,thumb,alignright]I just thought I would try to put the high prices of the Seattle market in perspective based on a story from a friend of mine from the Bay Area…

This friend (and his wife) moved from Texas to the Bay Area about four years ago. They began by renting, but really wanted to buy a home. After about a year, they were able to buy a home, but they had to move out about an hour away from San Francisco because it was the only way they afford a home due to the ridiculously high prices. Back then (four years ago), the talk of the town from turning from the recent dot-com bust to a coming real estate bust. Well, they purchased a 1,400 sf home in Bay Point (right outside of Pittsburg) for around $310K.

Fast forward to three years later… They are ready to move back to Dallas to be closer to their family. They put their home on the market and receive multiple offers, the best offer at $530K. Take out real estate fees and what-not, and they are poised to make almost $200K in less than three years… In addition, they’ve also bought a home in Dallas for $250K which means that they can use their profits to either lower their mortgage to near nothing, or have a lot of money in the bank to invest.

This young family (both are under 30) has a leg-up for life thanks to one good investment decision. They bought a house.

Of course, it is unlikely that home prices in other places (like Seattle) will continue to see the same time of appreciation, but as the article from the Seattle Times suggests, the lack of housing supply in Seattle is probably going to be around for a long time to come.

Tips for home sale preparation.

Posted on by
Reply

deck The Seattle Times just listed some home preparation ideas worth reading:

Don’t make radical changes without careful consideration…

Talk with a real-estate agent to find out whether major changes should be considered. If it’s something your home desperately needs — a new roof or new exterior paint job, for example — it might be worthwhile…

Maximize curb appeal.This is the impression made by your home when a potential buyer arrives to see it for the first time. That initial impression is worth a great deal. If a home is even halfway decent inside, a good curb-appeal impression will help it sell itself.

Here are some ways to generate better curb appeal:

  • Repair any cracks in the driveway or walkway and resurface if necessary.
  • Keep the landscaping clean and neat.
  • Make sure the home looks freshly painted.
  • Keep the garage doors closed when potential buyers visit.
  • Make sure garbage cans and other paraphernalia are out of sight.

…

Clear the clutter to make the inside of your home look as big as possible…

Speaking of smells, use them to your advantage. Have a small bowl of vanilla warming in the oven or a slow cooker of apple cider brewing and a fresh batch of chocolate-chip cookies baking.

Home equity

Posted on by
Reply

living room 01The Seattle Times had an interesting article regarding home equity building rapidly in our fast moving real estate market and investors using home equity to make more speculative investments:

According to Economy.com, Americans pulled out roughly $705 billion of equity from their homes last year, up from $266 billion in 1999.

The bulk of that money came from capital gains made by people selling houses, and these profits often are used to purchase another residence.

Many people also use some of the extracted cash to pay off credit-card debt, which is widely viewed as a sensible way to use equity. Another large chunk of the equity withdrawn goes into home improvements. Spending on such projects totaled $138.3 billion last year, up 38 percent from five years before, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Bus Monster! WOW!

Posted on by

bus monsterI just ran across the best google map hack yet:
Seattle Bus Monster

and the more I browse the site, the more impressed I am.

Some of the things to notice:

  • real time bus location information with estimated arrival times!
  • real time traffic cameras
  • bus stop information
  • the ability to search for a bus top and/or route
  • route markers drawn over google maps!

Everything about the site is professionally done. For example, try typing in “2nd and Spring” when searching for “bus stops”. The site will return all the 2nd and spring locations in King county!

Play around and I think you will find that Chris Smoak has made the life of Seattle transit commuters MUCH easier.

When Lawyers Steal the Escrow

Posted on by
4

The NY Times has an article today describing the experience of people whose real estate lawyers have been caught stealing their escrow money. The most extreme example they give was from Jay Rosen who would intentionally create problems with the transaction in order to hold onto his client’s escrow money:

A dispute over the home’s title or its certificate of occupancy would stymie the deal, making it impossible for Mr. Rosen to release his clients’ money from an escrow account he controlled. An ancient property-line dispute would rise from the dead. Checks would get delayed. Cash transfers wouldn’t connect.

It was as if money just didn’t want to leave Mr. Rosen’s hands, clients said.

While there will always be a bad apple in the bunch, I’m actually surprised to hear of this problem. (Granted, the article makes a big deal of the problem, but then goes on to say that there were only 100 reported real estate thefts in 2004.)

I’ve yet to hear that this is a problem in Seattle, and considering that the industry relies so heavily on referrals, it would seem the bad apples would be quickly rooted out… However, if you’ve ever been taken advantage of by a local agent, broker or lawyer, I’d be interested to know so that I can adjust my recommendations appropriately.