How would you like some insight as to the different business models available to sell your home and how these models can affect you? There are a few new real estate business models that are swooping into our market and some question who will their services truly
benefit, you or them?
1) Can you imagine a real estate office that is cloud based? Meaning, they don’t have an office where you or a potential buyer for your home could meet the agents. The agents are rewarded by recruiting other Realtors to join the company. This creates what’s referred to as a “down line”. When one of the recruited agents sells a home, the agent that did the recruiting receives a residual. I have been bombarded by many of those agents who want to have my team and I in their down line so that they can benefit from our hard work. It’s sort of like a multi-level marketing plan. If these agents spent as much time on real estate as they are on recruiting, they wouldn’t need to try to stack
other agents under them to earn a living.
2) The second model to discuss are the companies that are heavily promoting that they’ll buy your home quickly with no strings attached. They try to push the fact that you will not have to prepare your home for the market or be bothered with showings. Remember that saying, “if it sounds to go to be true, then it probably is”? What these companies don’t tell you is that in the contract to buy your home, there are substantial charges you will have to pay, so they can make improvements and have money to cover the company’s holding costs once they own your home. They are going to “flip” your home. They’re going to make some basic improvements and sell your home for considerably more than they paid you. With these quickly inflated prices they are also contributing to making housing in our area unaffordable. Basically, these companies are after your equity by claiming to offer convenience in the selling process.
3) Another model of real estate company coming into Charlotte is called an expansion team. Many agents across the country are making impressive amounts of money in the current real estate market. To make even more money, these agents are opening offices and teams in other areas such as Charlotte. When expanding to a new town, the first step is to flood the market with advertising to give the impression of success and trustworthiness. The problem with expansion teams is they don’t have the knowledge of the area. Many of these company owners couldn’t find the intersection of Trade and Tryon or Bank of America Stadium without a GPS. An agent being successful in one market doesn’t mean they will be able to serve clients in another market well. Additionally, the real estate market will soften one day. These expansion teams will likely retreat home and abandon the client relationships they started.
The Ford Pinto, the Sony Walkman, and IBM typewriter were all great ideas at the time, but not around today. Other products and ideas stand the test of time. Coca-cola, Apple, and Frigidaire have been around forever. They constantly change and adapt.
A homeowner wanting to sell needs a Realtor with proven track record and the experience to handle any situation. A seller needs an agent that can get the best terms and price – but most
importantly one that can get to the closing table with the least amount of turbulence.
My team has proudly served the Charlotte area for over 20 years and helped thousands of
families move – through the good times and the bad. We are happy to serve you.