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Raffi, my cofounder, is an attorney himself along with having a Realtor license. Most Realtors are not attorneys. You said you needed to talk to an attorney bu

Raffi, my cofounder, is an attorney himself along with having a Realtor license. Most Realtors are not attorneys. You said you needed to talk to an attorney but what if your realtor.... was an attorney? So we have more ability to handle edge cases, not less!

mattw2121 2y ago
Raffi doesn't scale. Are you going to hire more Raffis?
- Raffi_Isanians 2y ago
  There is only one Raffi. -Raffi Edit: AI is currently being coded up to mimic my behavior/tone/advice/etc.
  - Gerardo1 2y ago
    > Edit: AI is currently being coded up to mimic my behavior/tone/advice/etc. You, as a licensed attorney, are training an LLM to give your clients legal advice?
  - hansonkd 2y ago
    > AI is currently being coded up Said every failed half baked AI startup the past year. Show the results when done. Saying that you are working on AI is barely a step beyond saying you have a concept of a plan.
  - replwoacause 2y ago
    So like AI Gilfoyle
  - bastawhiz 2y ago
    An AI with your behavior/tone/advice/etc isn't going to call title companies.
rpearl 2y ago
I mean the premise of your product appears to be that I'd be interacting with an AI. If I were to use it, I would not be hiring Raffi---would I? I was in a situation where the seller of the house, after signing our contract, halfway through closing, decided to try to accept another offer that would close faster. The seller attempted to get out of our contract when we wanted to enforce it and close. An AI wouldn't be calling escrow companies for us. An AI may have a recommendation about whether lis pendens is necessary but it wouldn't be personally taking it to the courthouse before close of day on a Friday. An AI would not be able to watch the property in case the other buyers showed up. Obviously with a smooth transaction none of this is necessary. Most transactions are smooth, and that's great. But ALL the value of a real estate agent is in the edge cases. I'm asking what would happen to me if I would've used a tool like this instead? When abruptly this sort of work becomes necessary but I've never spoken to a person. In such a time, I don't just want advice, I want an actual agent to help me make a real decision, quickly, and then act on my behalf. Is that Raffi? How many people is Raffi helping? Is this just Raffi's fancy tech driven real estate office that will be slightly larger than the usual due to leveraging tech?
- greenfish6 2y ago
  The vast majority of agents communication is over text and email. It is quite rare that it is required that a realtor must make an in person appearance somewhere, usually that's just for first meetings. But yes, when stuff like this happens, we'll have a person do the required representation. Put it like this: if 90% of realtor time is spent on communication that is done over text an email, then each realtor will be able to serve 10x the clients. But that still leaves time for them to show up at a courthouse on a Friday, as you mention
  - in_cahoots 2y ago
    How many residential houses have you personally bought or served as a realtor for? In my experience everything other than rote paperwork and sending over information is done via chat or in person. No realtor is going to walk a first-time buyer through an inspection report via text message or email.
poulsbohemian 2y ago
>Most Realtors are not attorneys. You said you needed to talk to an attorney but what if your realtor.... was an attorney? You are kinda leaning into an observation I've made as a Realtor... whether I should go get a law degree. In many states, the real estate agent really is just a marketing person, and once it's time for a contract the lawyer gets involved. In those cases, the challenge I see is that lawyers are not real estate people - it has been my experience that they know nothing of zoning, land use, water rights, fencing, schools, soils, construction, and the myriad of things I'm expected to know about or find resources for my clients about. on the other hand, when I look at the risks to my business and the ever-increasing regulatory environment, it sure looks to me like the future belongs to lawyers. Better to get a law degree and then become an expert in real estate than be a real estate expert beholden to whatever the lawyers are making us do now.

mattw2121 2y ago

Raffi doesn't scale. Are you going to hire more Raffis?

Raffi_Isanians 2y ago
There is only one Raffi. -Raffi Edit: AI is currently being coded up to mimic my behavior/tone/advice/etc.
- Gerardo1 2y ago
  > Edit: AI is currently being coded up to mimic my behavior/tone/advice/etc. You, as a licensed attorney, are training an LLM to give your clients legal advice?
- hansonkd 2y ago
  > AI is currently being coded up Said every failed half baked AI startup the past year. Show the results when done. Saying that you are working on AI is barely a step beyond saying you have a concept of a plan.
- replwoacause 2y ago
  So like AI Gilfoyle
- bastawhiz 2y ago
  An AI with your behavior/tone/advice/etc isn't going to call title companies.

rpearl 2y ago

I mean the premise of your product appears to be that I'd be interacting with an AI. If I were to use it, I would not be hiring Raffi---would I? I was in a situation where the seller of the house, after signing our contract, halfway through closing, decided to try to accept another offer that would close faster. The seller attempted to get out of our contract when we wanted to enforce it and close. An AI wouldn't be calling escrow companies for us. An AI may have a recommendation about whether lis pendens is necessary but it wouldn't be personally taking it to the courthouse before close of day on a Friday. An AI would not be able to watch the property in case the other buyers showed up. Obviously with a smooth transaction none of this is necessary. Most transactions are smooth, and that's great. But ALL the value of a real estate agent is in the edge cases. I'm asking what would happen to me if I would've used a tool like this instead? When abruptly this sort of work becomes necessary but I've never spoken to a person. In such a time, I don't just want advice, I want an actual agent to help me make a real decision, quickly, and then act on my behalf. Is that Raffi? How many people is Raffi helping? Is this just Raffi's fancy tech driven real estate office that will be slightly larger than the usual due to leveraging tech?

greenfish6 2y ago
The vast majority of agents communication is over text and email. It is quite rare that it is required that a realtor must make an in person appearance somewhere, usually that's just for first meetings. But yes, when stuff like this happens, we'll have a person do the required representation. Put it like this: if 90% of realtor time is spent on communication that is done over text an email, then each realtor will be able to serve 10x the clients. But that still leaves time for them to show up at a courthouse on a Friday, as you mention
- in_cahoots 2y ago
  How many residential houses have you personally bought or served as a realtor for? In my experience everything other than rote paperwork and sending over information is done via chat or in person. No realtor is going to walk a first-time buyer through an inspection report via text message or email.

poulsbohemian 2y ago

>Most Realtors are not attorneys. You said you needed to talk to an attorney but what if your realtor.... was an attorney? You are kinda leaning into an observation I've made as a Realtor... whether I should go get a law degree. In many states, the real estate agent really is just a marketing person, and once it's time for a contract the lawyer gets involved. In those cases, the challenge I see is that lawyers are not real estate people - it has been my experience that they know nothing of zoning, land use, water rights, fencing, schools, soils, construction, and the myriad of things I'm expected to know about or find resources for my clients about. on the other hand, when I look at the risks to my business and the ever-increasing regulatory environment, it sure looks to me like the future belongs to lawyers. Better to get a law degree and then become an expert in real estate than be a real estate expert beholden to whatever the lawyers are making us do now.