

Show HN: Software is eating real estate commissions - throwawaynov29
http://www.insaana.com

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throwawaynov29
Hi, I'm a long time lurker and an infrequent contributor on HN. When I bought
my first house, I was shocked to learn that the seller has to pay a 6%
commission to agents, its 1-2% in other countries. This sounded outrageously
high to me. I believe there is a huge opportunity in connecting sellers to
buyers directly and that we don't really need agents. The app I built is an
experiment to see if the idea is valid (I and my cofounder are convinced that
it is) and if we can build a business around it. I know the kind of resistance
I'll encounter, but I firmly believe this can be done.

Your comments are appreciated!

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tlb
You're not the first person to have this idea. Be sure to look at the various
FSBO marketplaces that have failed to disrupt the industry in the past, and
try to understand why they failed so you can at least avoid making the same
mistakes.

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throwawaynov29
Absolutely! We have seen many startups veering towards real estate agent
model. Always helps to keep that in mind. No repeat businesses, less viral
effects, urge to turn to brokers/agents and become a lead generation engine
for them are all difficult issues to surmount. Thanks for the reminder.

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msoad
If you take care of legal stuff I am really interested in such service. I just
don't want to sign the papers myself. I don't understand many of the legal
matters with selling a house and afraid of being in trouble if I do it all
myself.

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throwawaynov29
You hit the nail on the head. When I bought my house, I found the house, but I
was scared of the paperwork and a realtor did that for me. And we plan to
change that for both buyers and sellers, by using better, simpler software and
real estate attorneys. We will soon be in a position to take care of end-to-
end details of the transaction - inspections, tours, contingencies, mortgages,
escrows. And, if someone does not want to use these services from us, they can
go on their own too. Freedom of choice

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ds2014
You might want to reach out to the folks at Reesio. They were doing something
very similar a couple years back but now seem to have pivoted

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faridabadi
How's it any different from zillions of fsbo sites our there?

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throwawaynov29
That's a question we asked ourselves several times. Here are some differences

# There is not one that gives the seller a list of pre-approved buyers

# Most FSBO's are still focused on listing - which in turn leads sellers to
the Zillows of the world- back to square one.

# We are all about empowering sellers with a curated buyers list and
tools/services to handle the transaction.

~~~
nerd77
That sounds convincing from the seller's perspective. I bought a house a year
back through a buyer agent. I don't see any difference as a buyer using this
service.

~~~
throwawaynov29
As a buyer you get an opportunity to connect with sellers before they have
publicly list their house and sign on the dotted line to pay 6% commission. So
not only you get access to off market listings but there is good chance you
are going to get a good deal.

