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You won't get any argument from me. PropBox completely replaces the need for real estate agents and MLS listings. PropBox enables you to sell your home fast wit

You won't get any argument from me. PropBox completely replaces the need for real estate agents and MLS listings. PropBox enables you to sell your home fast with no fees - on a secure platform with a very easy process. It takes about 10-12 hours of your time and the seller saves based on home value $25K to $75K. One point you mentioned is there is an association called the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.[1] They operate similar to your lawyer. What I like about them is that they cannot work in a traditional real estate office that takes listings. That is where the term a"exclusive" has meaning. They only represent buyers so they shun the listing commissions to remove any potential conflict of interest. This is why there are not very many of them. What this suggests to me is that they are of high moral character and their advice can be trusted. The downside is you may not be able to find one near you. If I were buying a home I would definitely interview one. Another tactic I have observed is the number of home buyer that believed they used a buyer agent but did not sign a contract. In my state and I believe many others, this means you were actually working with a sub-agent of the seller, or a transactional agent. Thank you for your input. [1]https://naeba.org/ https://naeba.org/

mooreds 3y ago
> PropBox completely replaces the need for real estate agents and MLS listings. Disclaimer: I worked for a real estate brokerage (as a software developer) for about 8 years, did a real estate based startup in the mid 2000s, and have transacted using real estate agents as well. It has been years since I was deep in the real estate business, but it does leave scars. It is possible that PropBox displaces real estate agents. From what I've seen, there are plenty of crappy agents. Good riddance, get rid of them. Good agents don't just open doors, they: * know the local market and help you price a property correctly. Say it with me, 'real estate is not fungible'. * are known in the market and can help find buyers (when it's a buyer's market and sellers are struggling) * can connect you with trusted people who can help you assess and market the property, including inspectors, engineers, stagers, landscapers, etc * understand how to get a transaction (with all the moving pieces) done. Especially in a difficult market, this can be the difference between selling a home or not, or getting a good price or not, or selling it in a reasonable timeframe or not. Is that worth $35k (or 3% of <home price>)? Depends on what your time is worth and their incremental value, esp in terms of pricing and marketing. What is selling a house one week faster worth? It depends on your situation, stress level, etc. As others in other threads have mentioned, there are definitely other paths if you want to do more work yourself. What drives me nuts about the $35k or other high figure mentioned by people when talking about real estate agents for "just opening doors". No one ever mentions the meetings with people who will never buy, the people you've been providing real estate advice for 5 years, or the lookie-loos who see 50 properties to and then decide "the time isn't right". This is opportunity cost that the real estate agent eats regularly. I don't know if 3% commission is the right number (I suspect it is high, based on how other countries do real estate buying) but that time isn't free. I've also known that several real estate brokerages have tried to do things similar to the NAEBA (Redfin started out with realtors on salary) but that led to a lemons problem since great realtors who could help with the above migrated to brokerages where they could make more money. Brokers have existed for high value, relatively rare transactions for many years because the stakes are high. I found this book very illuminating on the value of middleman like real estate agents: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-137-53020-2 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-137-53020-2 It is simply not possible that PropBox displaces the MLS until there is a critical mass of listings on the site. Zillow took years and years to get there (maybe a decade) and they had the benefit of all the public sector data and a sexy Zestimate. I'm not sure that PropBox has that kind of pull. And it's actually *MLSes*. They each are pretty peculiar fiefdoms that many people have tried to storm, only to be co-opted, because they control the listing data, and the access to the listing data is really the only thing that matters. (Well, maybe access to mortgages too.) Anyway, there's tons of money flowing through real estate, so maybe I'm totally wrong and you'll revolutionize it and make a fortune. Good luck!
- montgomster 3y ago
  Interesting to read your take as working in a real office as a developer. You spent a considerable amount of time and thanks so much for your viewpoint. Your viewpoint is fairly common in the industry. I do believe PropBox completely replaces the need for real estate agents and MLS listings. Replacing the MLS is not the DropBox goal. The goal is to focus on early adapters, technical people, and for-sale-by-owners. There are enough of them build a profitable business and we believe we can do it. I have witnessed many companies fail trying to conquer the industry. My perspective is that not one of them had a product as simple and powerful as PropBox. While I realize the chance of failure is high, we are willing and able to take that chance. No one we are aware of has ever created a total online experience until now. Only time will tell. Thanks again.
unusualmonkey 3y ago
What are those 10-12 hours? Is there any way to get that time from 10-12 hours down to say 0-1 hour... while still maintaining the bulk of the savings? If so, that might be a good value add.
- montgomster 3y ago
  Interesting thought. The breakdown of those hours suggests they are mostly small none repeating tasks. Like, how long does it take to unbox the yard sign and stick it in the ground. It may take less time now that it is fully automated. We will be constantly looking for ways to make it easier for our customers. Thanks for your question

mooreds 3y ago

> PropBox completely replaces the need for real estate agents and MLS listings. Disclaimer: I worked for a real estate brokerage (as a software developer) for about 8 years, did a real estate based startup in the mid 2000s, and have transacted using real estate agents as well. It has been years since I was deep in the real estate business, but it does leave scars. It is possible that PropBox displaces real estate agents. From what I've seen, there are plenty of crappy agents. Good riddance, get rid of them. Good agents don't just open doors, they: * know the local market and help you price a property correctly. Say it with me, 'real estate is not fungible'. * are known in the market and can help find buyers (when it's a buyer's market and sellers are struggling) * can connect you with trusted people who can help you assess and market the property, including inspectors, engineers, stagers, landscapers, etc * understand how to get a transaction (with all the moving pieces) done. Especially in a difficult market, this can be the difference between selling a home or not, or getting a good price or not, or selling it in a reasonable timeframe or not. Is that worth $35k (or 3% of <home price>)? Depends on what your time is worth and their incremental value, esp in terms of pricing and marketing. What is selling a house one week faster worth? It depends on your situation, stress level, etc. As others in other threads have mentioned, there are definitely other paths if you want to do more work yourself. What drives me nuts about the $35k or other high figure mentioned by people when talking about real estate agents for "just opening doors". No one ever mentions the meetings with people who will never buy, the people you've been providing real estate advice for 5 years, or the lookie-loos who see 50 properties to and then decide "the time isn't right". This is opportunity cost that the real estate agent eats regularly. I don't know if 3% commission is the right number (I suspect it is high, based on how other countries do real estate buying) but that time isn't free. I've also known that several real estate brokerages have tried to do things similar to the NAEBA (Redfin started out with realtors on salary) but that led to a lemons problem since great realtors who could help with the above migrated to brokerages where they could make more money. Brokers have existed for high value, relatively rare transactions for many years because the stakes are high. I found this book very illuminating on the value of middleman like real estate agents: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-137-53020-2 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-137-53020-2 It is simply not possible that PropBox displaces the MLS until there is a critical mass of listings on the site. Zillow took years and years to get there (maybe a decade) and they had the benefit of all the public sector data and a sexy Zestimate. I'm not sure that PropBox has that kind of pull. And it's actually *MLSes*. They each are pretty peculiar fiefdoms that many people have tried to storm, only to be co-opted, because they control the listing data, and the access to the listing data is really the only thing that matters. (Well, maybe access to mortgages too.) Anyway, there's tons of money flowing through real estate, so maybe I'm totally wrong and you'll revolutionize it and make a fortune. Good luck!

montgomster 3y ago
Interesting to read your take as working in a real office as a developer. You spent a considerable amount of time and thanks so much for your viewpoint. Your viewpoint is fairly common in the industry. I do believe PropBox completely replaces the need for real estate agents and MLS listings. Replacing the MLS is not the DropBox goal. The goal is to focus on early adapters, technical people, and for-sale-by-owners. There are enough of them build a profitable business and we believe we can do it. I have witnessed many companies fail trying to conquer the industry. My perspective is that not one of them had a product as simple and powerful as PropBox. While I realize the chance of failure is high, we are willing and able to take that chance. No one we are aware of has ever created a total online experience until now. Only time will tell. Thanks again.

unusualmonkey 3y ago

What are those 10-12 hours? Is there any way to get that time from 10-12 hours down to say 0-1 hour... while still maintaining the bulk of the savings? If so, that might be a good value add.

montgomster 3y ago
Interesting thought. The breakdown of those hours suggests they are mostly small none repeating tasks. Like, how long does it take to unbox the yard sign and stick it in the ground. It may take less time now that it is fully automated. We will be constantly looking for ways to make it easier for our customers. Thanks for your question