May 1A Home Equity Card in Every Wallet.In late 2017 I made a huge mistake. My wife was accepted into an accelerated nursing school program. I owned my home and the real estate market was hot. I thought the odds of it cooling down were better than half. So, I began the act of juggling opportunities and…Heloc4 min read
Mar 5Fractional Residential Real Estate Ownership: Home Equity Without a Mortgage.Jackson is a high earning 23 year old renter who is feeling the effects of the inflation. Since 1978, the cost of college tuition increased by 1,120% and housing costs have increased by 380%. Saving for a down payment and closing costs feels impossible. Cyndi is successfully self-employed but lacks…Fractional Ownership7 min read
Jul 28, 2021Are Realtors Going Extinct?Realtor bus bench ads, cheesy head shots on for-sale signs, grocery store shopping cart ads, brick and mortar offices and six percent commissions are as anachronistic as VHS players, late fees and the big blue and yellow Blockbuster sign. Yet, this antiquated middle-man-driven industry has prevailed.Proptech9 min read
Jan 19, 2021Zillow just royally screwed REX Homes.Zillow recently made a switch to an IDX feed, to consolidate the thousands of MLS’s they were integrating with. www.REXhomes.com is not a member of any MLS, nor do their sellers offer the buyer agent any commission. As a consequence, their listings are only displayed on Zillow and Trulia who…Real Estate2 min read
Jan 10, 2021The National Association of Realtors is a Cartel, “NARtel”.The National Association of Realtors is a trade group, like the American Bar Association, American Nurses Association, or The National Auto Dealers Association (NADA). Associations use dues from their members to lobby, to protect the industry. It gets questionable when politicians start passing bills that undermine a free market, by…Proptech4 min read
Jan 9, 2021Real estate brokerages do not have UVPsOn a Tuesday, Mike McCann, Berkshire Hathaway’s #1 agent, can be seen in a Berkshire Facebook advertisement, enthusiastically praising the firm for its back-end support, incredible culture, etc. Next Tuesday, he is with Keller Williams.Proptech4 min read
Jan 7, 2021Realtors are not worth the priceOver millions of generations, precarious environments selected for cognitive attributes that were advantageous to our australopithecine ancestors, but are not at all helpful when encountering 21st century snakes and bad deals. Perhaps you’ve noticed the banks own the tallest buildings in our cities. They are making a fortune that would…Proptech4 min read
Dec 23, 2020Why flat fee brokerages struggle1. The national presence effect No flat fee brokerage has a national presence yet. The category isn’t officially installed in the minds of consumers, they are stuck in the introductory phase, only appealing to early adopters, not the mass market. 2. Flat fee firms salary agents, traditional brokerages don’t pay…Proptech6 min read
Dec 22, 2020Realtor commissions expressed as an hourly wageI was inspired to write this after seeing this Twitter post:Real Estate5 min read
Dec 16, 2020Why should homeowners have to leave for showings?They shouldn’t. Can you identify the issue with the following reasoning? Realtors when working with sellers: “Sellers should really leave the house for showings.” The same Realtors negotiating their commission when working with buyers: “I deserve a 2.5% commission as the buyer’s agent because I had to show them a…Proptech3 min read
