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Show HN: Find a home close to work
- stephengillie 11y agoVery interesting. The site looks clean and it's fast. Where do you get your data? I used to work for one of the industry dinosaurs; our only competitive advantage was that we had agreements with most of the 674 MLSes to rehost their data for our clients, which were RE Agent companies. Zillow is still using Trulia as a pipe to funnel that MLS data from my former employer. Is that one of the reasons for piloting in CA - fewer MLSes to partner with?
- rgbrgb 11y agoAs a California RE brokerage we join each MLS and get a direct feed from their RETS api. It's a dramatically better data feed than any of the aggregators offer and we get listings the minute they come on market (well our polling interval is more like 5 minutes). So far we have 100% coverage in San Francisco, Oakland/East Bay, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles. We've just joined the San Diego MLS and will have data there soon. And yes, our strategy is to go deep on California, prioritizing data quality over sheer number of listings.
- JoshTriplett 11y agoAny plans to expand to other states?
- rgbrgb 11y agoDefinitely but I can't give you a date. California is a huge diverse market though and we think it's an amazing place to prove out the model and build our offer/transaction system. So we're trying to go really deep here before expanding out.
- encoderer 11y agoYou should check out https://rets.ly/ https://rets.ly/
- rgbrgb 11y agoBeen on their beta list for almost a year. They've since been acquired by zillow so we're not holding our breath.
- encoderer 11y agoMy understanding is that they are working hard to build APIs that will let Retsly power the next zillow, and that there's support for that internally. Time will tell!
- rgbrgb 11y agoCool, if that's the case I hope the API is available soon. In the meantime our internal implementation makes use of this great open source library from estately: https://github.com/estately/rets https://github.com/estately/rets
- ppohler 11y agoNice service! What are the vendor fees associated for the MLSs? Did you go to CRMLS and did you run into a requirement where you had to have a brokerage signed on previously? Running into MLS/vendor issues at my own real estate tech product.
- minimaxir 11y agoWhat's different now than at your launch (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9113240 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9113240)?
- rgbrgb 11y agoGood question. We've done a bunch of transactions, learned more about our customers and built this purpose specific site for our biggest segment (tech workers looking to live closer to the office).
- rgbrgb 11y agoHey HN, I'm a founder at Open Listings and did a lot of the engineering of this project. We got a lot of inquiries from tech workers who really cared about their commute times, so we used Googles Distance Matrix API [0] to sort listings by commute time. I'll be on here with my cofounders today to answer any questions you might have. [0]: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/distancematrix/intro https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/distancemat...
- jboggan 11y agoI clicked on my last company (Factual in LA) and the first listing was for a $18M penthouse. It also said that the buyer would get a $225k+ refund from Open Listings for buying through them - how does that work? But seriously, it is a very neat tool, thanks for making it.
- jschoenholtz 11y agoThanks! We'd love to get you into that penthouse... When you buy a home, your agent is paid a 2.5% commission to represent you in the transaction. As a real estate brokerage, Open Listings replaces your agent and facilitates the transaction on your behalf. At close, we refund you half of the commission we receive, usually crediting the refund against your closing costs. Here's a more detailed explanation plus a fun slider: https://www.openlistings.co/our-commission-refund https://www.openlistings.co/our-commission-refund
- ehhuang 11y agoI've heard from multiple agents about how redfin agents don't know what they are doing. Of course, that is just one side of the story, but I'm curious about how receptive listing agents are towards working with you guys in hot markets like SF Bay area. Anything you can share?
- jschoenholtz 11y agoIt's not just Redfin agents: a surprising number of licensed agents have trouble with basic tasks like communicating via email and filling out contracts. Since we work as a team, we've built a vast amount of institutional knowledge over the past 5 months and there are no individual, inexperienced agents representing our buyers. We're also automating most of the offer submission process. This means that we're more responsive, more articulate and more accurate than the majority of agents. We also have the privilege of working with smart, serious buyers. We can honestly say that most agents have been happy to work with us and treat us like any other brokerage. The most important thing to understand is the seller decides which offer to accept and that decision comes down to price & terms. The best offer always wins. 100% of the time we've submitted the highest offer, it has been accepted. Our offers are clean and our buyers are able to pay more knowing they'll get a significant refund. So far, so good.
- coldcode 11y agoThe site is very nice, but how does anyone afford houses that expensive in those areas? I live in Texas and my nice modern 2000 SF house is only $190.
- mbrutsch 11y agoThis is for the "IT 1%ers", those Bay Area/SV kids that make middle 6 digits 2 years out of college. The rest of the world has to make do.
- rgbrgb 11y agoIt's tough! As a company we're trying to make it cheaper by refunding half of our commission back to the buyer [0]. If you're doing an FHA loan, that can be almost 50% of the down payment. We can also help with the purchase of low income housing if you qualify [1]. We're actually thinking about building some tools to make this inventory more accessible. You might also try checking out our cheekily named list of fixer-uppers, Shitty Listings [2]. As you'll notice, a "fixer-upper" near the California coast can still be pretty pricy but I think there's just a fundamental supply constraint. Incidentally, that's most likely why real estate has been a lasting and valuable asset class. [0]: https://www.openlistings.co/our-commission-refund https://www.openlistings.co/our-commission-refund [1]: http://sf-moh.org/index.aspx?page=262 http://sf-moh.org/index.aspx?page=262 [2]: http://www.shittylistings.com/ http://www.shittylistings.com/
- optimusclimb 11y agoFYI, your links in the footer on shittylistings.com point to localhost:3000 :P
- ryanSrich 11y agoRight? Even with a massive salary and no kids you'd have a hard time paying the mortgage. It's completely absurd to me.
- rconti 11y ago$190k, I assume. Salaries are higher here for one. Say $190k vs 4x as much, $760k. Assuming magic 10% down appears in your pocket, 0% property tax, ignore the differences in state/local taxes, and assume a spherical chicken in a vacuum.... $3200/mo vs $800/mo. 4 times as much! Wow! That's a lot of money. Right? Except.. it's "only" $29k/yr. Most cost-of-living expenses don't scale with income. Now, of course, your salary has to be more than that to cover taxes, but say 20% overall tax rate, you really only need $36k more per year, which you might see straight up on a single salary, based on cost-of-living pay adjustment alone. If you're married, suddenly you only have to make $18k per person per year more. If you follow the "1/3 of your salary" rule, it would suggest that you need to make $86,400 per year more, which is why expensive housing sounds so expensive. One would hope that in a low cost-of-housing market, you're not spending 1/3 of your income on your housing, because then you really don't have a lot of money left over for retirement or food or entertainment. Similarly, in a higher cost-of-living market, you might fudge that a bit and pay more than 1/3 of your salary, which still leaves you more money for your 401k and transportation and entertainment, and all those things that really don't scale with cost of living much at all. You could also look at the high cost of living as a savings plan. As long as you retire before whatever particular housing cycle bubble bursts, you can still retire to Texas (or wherever) -- you can just do so with more money (equity, savings, retirement plan, etc). Also, some tax and expense treatment of housing is pretty regressive. You're probably not getting a mortgage interest/property tax income tax deduction on a cheap mortgage; on a more expensive one you are, so you're immediately paying a lower effective interest rate and property tax rate (if you want to look at it that way). You're not paying PMI for that sub-20% down payment because it's not federally backed. etc. This is not to say it's cheap, or easy, or affordable for everyone, or even smart. It's just saying how it's possible, and how it's probably not as bad as it sounds.
- justizin 11y agoCurious where this number comes from: > It’s sad. The typical car LA or SF commuter spends more than 60 hours each year stuck in traffic. It seems low, it would be an estimate of just over one hour per week, which would be like 10 minutes each morning and evening.
- smt88 11y agoThe average commute in the US is something like 23 min, so the average commute in LA or SF should theoretically be a bit higher. I agree that 10 min seems incredibly low.
- rgbrgb 11y agoGood catch, I'll fact check that number.
- justizin 11y agoIt should be closer to 2h per day off the cuff, I'm sure you can find better sources than my memory. At that rate, though, you save something closer to a hundred hours a year, or more than two work weeks.
- Someone 11y agoWhether 10 minutes is a realistic number depends heavily on your definition of stuck in traffic. You can choose anything from "absolute standstill" to "slower than one would go on an empty road". For a typical definition, those 23 minutes will not all be spent stuck in traffic.
- sp332 11y agoMaybe it's not the whole time commuting, but the time added due to rush hour traffic?
- jschoenholtz 11y agoExactly, comes from this Urban Mobility Report linked in the Medium post: http://d2dtl5nnlpfr0r.cloudfront.net/tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility-report-2012.pdf http://d2dtl5nnlpfr0r.cloudfront.net/tti.tamu.edu/documents/...
- unicornporn 11y agoWhat about reverse search? I want to find a work close to home. :)
- dreamdu5t 11y agoSame here. I don't want to move closer to work as the entire reason I don't live closer is cost.
- nicolewhite 11y agoThe rent explosion article[0] seems relevant. No 1 bedroom apartments for less than $3000 near my San Mateo office. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10050545 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10050545
- rconti 11y agoOdd. Just last year I was renting a 2/1 house in Belmont for $2k, until we bought a house. My buddy's renting a 2/1 in San Mateo for $3k. How close is "close"? I'd expect 1bd apartments to be cheaper than entire houses.
- nicolewhite 11y agoWhatever the default was, I believe it was looking for stuff within a 20 minute drive. I'm currently in a studio in San Mateo for $2.3k, but that's only because I stayed in the same unit I was in last year, so they only raised rent by 10%. If I were a new resident, my studio is around $2.7k.
- jkmcf 11y agoInteresting. One of my short term plans is to display hiking trailheads near homes for sale. Not sure if anything like that exists (also haven't looked...)
- rgbrgb 11y agoThat's an awesome idea, pretty sure that doesn't exist. Definitely drop me a link if you end up building it! My brother in law keeps asking me for a Twitter feed of land near good surf spots. I gave him a bunch of mansions he can't afford :) [0]. [0]: https://twitter.com/openmansions https://twitter.com/openmansions
- noLocalStorage 11y agoAnother website that does not works without sessionStorage enabled.
- rgbrgb 11y agoWill fix.
- blizkreeg 11y agoDoesn't this assume you'll continue working with the same company for a long time? If you work at a company in SF now but 4 years later want to work at place down on MV, or vice-versa, not sure how this helps.
- yellowapple 11y agoWhere does this site get its real estate and/or distance/time data? I ended up doing an address search for my employer (which isn't on the list), but got a "No properties were found within 20 minutes of this location." despite Zillow showing dozens of red dots within 20 minutes walking distance from where I work.
- rgbrgb 11y agoWe get our data directly from regional MLS systems in the SF Bay Area and Los Angeles but we're actively expanding (San Diego is next). If you email the address you're looking for to peter@openlistings.co, I'll try to prioritize your area.
- yellowapple 11y agoNo need, my query is quiet a ways out of any of those cities (Reno/Tahoe), but thanks anyway. Good to know.
- thoman23 11y agoFinally, a website where I can find homes for sale.
- swimfar 11y agoFor people looking for an apartment, padmapper[1] has a similar option where you can give it an address and it will draw a polygonal boundary around it showing the limits for an x-minute commuting distance for walking, cycling, or driving. I imagine the car commute could be inaccurate if there's bad rush hour traffic in that area, but the others should be relatively consistent. I'm not affiliated with the site at all, I just thought it's a really cool feature. [1]: http://www.padmapper.com http://www.padmapper.com You need to click on "More Filters", then "Super-Secret Advanced Features"
- gricardo99 11y agoThere's another solution to this problem: remote work. It's 2015, and with the plethora of Internet technologies that facilitate online collaboration I'm still dismayed to see so many tech companies behaving like it's 1985. The insistence and focus on physical location baffles me. Some companies seem to get it and have embraced an online/distributed workforce but many seem opposed to that model. I'd really like to hear others thoughts on why geography is still such a huge factor in knowledge-based industries.
- d_luaz 11y agoI guess remote work is an option, but not quite a total solution at the moment. 1) not all work could be remote 2) self-discipline/communication is tough Woofoo (about 7 people) did remote, but the founder admit it's tough and challenging even for such a small and motivated company (imagine your workforce > 1000 people), though there are some obvious benefits. It's not just about tools (slack, skype, etc.) and finding a procedure that works, but more about company culture, motivation, discipline, adaptation to remote environment, family at home, etc. Not every employee could survive a remote environment and continue to be productive :( Before everyone could work from home, maybe the idea of multiple office location/work-space (rather than centralized) could be explored, yet it will have many pros and cons.