Say goodbye to agents and hello to ‘personal mentors’
Posted by
Matt Hale
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Speak to anyone who has sold or is in the process of selling a property and no doubt they will have something negative to say about their real estate agent.
There are a number of things that real estate agents are known for, including not being upfront about the fees they’re going to charge or manipulating the asking price to attract more buyers. The most common complaint, however is simple and widespread: the commission that agents take is disproportionately high compared to the amount of effort and work they actually put in.
The fact is that if you’re house goes for 50K more than expected, it’s unlikely to have anything to do with the agent and more to do with the state of the market.
An Australian startup, Hello.com.au is seeking to disrupt the commission model that the real estate industry has relied on for so long.
Hello.com.au doesn’t have agents but rather ‘Personal Mentors’ who guide you through every step of your home’s sale. The best part? They have the exact same licenses as agents but their fees are fixed. That means that any extra sale dollars go straight in to your pocket.
Dubbed the ‘Uber of real estate,’ Hello.com.au charges a flat fee of $9900 to sell a house from start to finish. For you’re $9900 you get an independent home valuation, conveyancing and legal services right through until the end of the sale. Not bad hey?
So what does this mean for the property industry? We hope it means more power to the seller.
With this new option emerging, out prediction is that agents will need to be open to negotiating their fees if they are to stay in business.