The Pros and Cons of Selling Your Home with Homie
From Opendoor to Zillow Instant Offers, it seems like technology companies are racing to disrupt the real estate industry. And the latest player is no different.
Homie is a real estate technology company based in Salt Lake City that offers buyers and sellers an online platform that offers tools and services to help make selling a home by owner easier.
What makes Homie different?
Most people decide to sell their home by owner because they're trying to save money on agent commission fees. But when they do that they find themselves struggling to handle things like pricing their house properly, getting great photos, listing their home, and negotiating a deal.
Homie's goal is to help solve that problem by allowing the homeowner to handle the majority of the buying and selling process all within the Homie platform. The seller would get access to tools like a local agent, listing on an MLS, professional photos, pricing assistance, and negotiation assistance, but at a much cheaper price than a traditional real estate transaction.
The pros
Here's where Homie really shines.
Saving money
When you sell your home, you're normally on the hook for both closing costs and your agent's commission, which can be about 6% of the sales price. Paying for an agent's expertise can be worth it for a lot of people, but that fee will really eat into your profit.
Homie can save sellers money by foregoing the typical 6% commission fee. Instead, the seller would pay a flat fee of $199 upfront and $1,299 at closing plus buyer agent fees, which vary depending on the sale price.
Homie also offers up to $5,000 back in closing and loan costs. This money comes from the fee the homeowner would typically pay for the buyer agent's commission, so it's not available if both the buyer and seller are using Homie, also known as a Homie-2-Homie deal.
Homie Loans
Homie also has a sister company, Homie Loans, that provides financing to Homie buyers and sellers, which can be convenient since you only need to work with one company for the entire real estate transaction. With so many moving parts going on during a real estate transaction, knowing you can complete both your sale and your loan process on a single platform can really take some of the stress out of the equation.
Cons
No home buying experience is going to be perfect, right?
Availability
The service is currently only available for homes in Utah and Arizona. However, they do state that they have plans to expand.
MLS Options
Even if you are located in Utah or Arizona, there's a chance you might live outside Homie's MLS coverage. That means although you'll be able to list with Homie, your home might be on a different MLS than other homes in your area.
Buyers Agent Commission
With Homie, you get to choose how much you're willing to offer in a buyer's agent commission. That's both a pro and a con, sure it puts you in the driver's seat when it comes to cost, but it also means some buyer agents might not be as motivated to suggest your home to their clients since they won't make as much money from the transaction.
Personal Touch
Having access to Homie's team of experts is a great benefit. But when you work with local providers you often get to know each other very well through face-to-face interaction. They'll eventually know you well enough to advise you on when something might not be the best idea for you and to suggest solutions that you might have never thought of before. It's difficult to get that same type level of care from an online-only relationship.
So, what do you think? Will you be signing up at Homie or taking a more traditional approach to sell your home yourself?