Baron Briefs

An anonymous real estate agent in the comments of Realty Thoughts’ blog pens three things you should avoid doing when selecting your real estate agent:

1. do not choose an agent because they have 8 on a widget on their blog.

2. do not choose an agent based on what strangers have said.

3. do not choose an agent based on how much commission they give back to you before you even enter into a transaction.

Put another way:

1. do not pay attention to the real estate agent’s website or blog. Especially avoid any type of message that summarizes the agent’s track record and differentiates him/her from the hundreds of other agents in your market.
2. do not speak with any of the agent’s previous clients about his/her performance during a transaction. Because they are strangers, their input has zero value.
3. do not negotiate with the agent regarding how much of your own money you get to retain before you hire him/her.

Since launching RealtyBaron.com, our auction platform has only been introducing homeowners to Realtors®. Today, we start helping the other side of the real estate transaction with Buyer Rebate Auctions.

Basically, anyone who has taken the home search into their own hands using vertical search tools such as Realtor.com, Trulia, or Propsmart can use this new feature to connect with a Realtor® who will represent them in the transaction. Realtor® bids are based on what sales commission (or flat fee) they’d accept as compensation. The rebate is the difference between the co-broke fee listed in the MLS and the Realtor’s final bid. For example, a co-broke fee of 3% minus a final bid of 1% = 2% rebate for buyer.

Like RealtyBaron’s current Listing Auctions, bidding on Buyer Rebate Auctions will be controlled by the gatekeeper algorithm, AgentRankâ„¢. As the name implies, AgentRank(TM) ranks agents and prevents underperforming agents from bidding. By specifying a minimum AgentRankâ„¢, buyers can ensure they meet a Realtor who has a proven track record.

For Realtors®, this feature is an easy way to connect with clients who have already absorbed the most costly part of representing buyers–the prolonged home search.

UPDATE: Inman News writes about our new Buyer Rebate Auctions. Thanks, Glenn!