You just can’t make this stuff up. Redfin’s Glenn Kelman:
At lunch with Cynthia and a local real estate baron, we heard about a new tactic for getting a deal on a property. Rather than offering a lower price, ask the seller to handle closing costs, which can run up to $10,000 or more.
How long have they been doing real estate? And today they discovered that they can negotiate the closing costs?
Recall that Kelman claims that Redfin agents are better negotiators. I mentioned closing costs when discussing why that claim might not be true:
A complicated negotiation might result in a higher reported sales price but a better overall deal for the buyers — for example, repairs or even remodeling, seller concessions, no out-of-pocket costs, etc. These are the types of arrangements more likely to be made by more-experienced agents.
A question their clients — and their clients’ attorneys — might ask: What else don’t they know?
In a word: Yikes!
Technorati Tags: disintermediation, real estate, real estate marketing
Jay Thompson says:
Um… wow.
June 6, 2007 — 10:33 pm
br says:
its the blind leading the blind… thats why they have a crack team of legal pros on staff.
June 6, 2007 — 10:54 pm
J. Ferris says:
For all of Glenn’s efforts and exploitation of the media’s insatiable appetite for a new white collar renegade that has made him so popular as of late you would think that he’d exercise a bit more caution before making himself look like a bottom of the barrel greenhorn in the field of real estate.
June 7, 2007 — 12:06 am
Robert Kerr says:
Greg, I don’t quite understand how this is related to Redfin. Did I miss something?
June 7, 2007 — 12:28 am
Phil Hoover says:
Aha ~ it is now apparent why Redfin charges less 🙂
June 7, 2007 — 4:32 am
Michael Krotchie says:
Quite amusing, I see no one is letting him off easy either (as they shouldn’t).
June 7, 2007 — 5:34 am
Kris Berg says:
Good one! Here’s another one I picked up recently – If your client wants the refrigerator, you can ask for it in the offer! Sometimes, the sellers will agree, and the buyer can, like, keep the fridge and everything! Holy cow, this real estate stuff is fun!
June 7, 2007 — 6:58 am
Reuben Moore says:
But Kris –
What if the seller switches out the refrigerator prior to close? And leaves the 15-year-old Kenmore, that the buyer noticed in the garage, instead of leaving the SubZero that was in the kitchen during the viewing. My goodness, whatever should we do?!
June 7, 2007 — 7:35 am
Greg Perry says:
Speaking of Rfin….did you see where their petition for their “Consumer’s bill (bull) of rights” has a grand total of ……. are you ready?……..131 sigs? And this is after a renewed plea for sigs after the NWMLS fined them. http://blog.redfin.com/2007/05/down_dog_and_kennel.html
That one caught on…..
June 7, 2007 — 7:36 am
Doug Trudeau says:
What planet do these guys come from? We’ve been negotiating everything from price to to gold fish in the pond for years. Some people just don’t understand that they can fertilize a large farm with the stuff that spews from their mouths.
June 7, 2007 — 7:36 am
Mark A. says:
Thank god for feed readers. One doesn’t even need a bloodhound to find humorous gems like this, in the blogosphere. I haven’t been able to wipe that smirk off my face since this morning, and it’s lunch time already. 😀
June 7, 2007 — 9:06 am
Shailesh says:
I’m blown away! Even consumers know to negotiate closing costs! I wonder what the reaction will be when he discovers seller carrybacks!
Shailesh
June 7, 2007 — 9:11 am
Jonathan Dalton says:
Does the garage door come with the house, too?
June 7, 2007 — 11:07 am
Charleston real estate blog says:
Perhaps the Redfin agents got their training in negotiation at a no haggle Saturn dealership.
June 7, 2007 — 12:33 pm
Mike Elliott says:
I think that may be his way of “teaching the public”. Great post and blog. Visit me at :
http://mikeelliottsblog.wordpress.com/
June 7, 2007 — 1:08 pm
Agent Scoreboard says:
hmm, I would agree with elliott here. I think his audience is the house buyer… he might even be angeling for the gen x/y folks here (who may not know)… I remember a Lowes commerical where they showed how to fix a stripped screwhole in wood with some matchsticks… well duh… but people loved that…
or who knows… Glenn could just be that dumb?
but if he can get 300 people to read his blog and post negative comments about his post, A… generates buzz, your talking about him right? and B… you’ve reinfoced his position that “traditional real estate” hates Redfin… and the consumer he’s trying to educate…
June 7, 2007 — 1:54 pm