Selling a House
Offerpad Competitors
Today you have many options when it comes to buying or selling a home. It is worth it to look into your options, and review some of Offerpads...
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If you’re thinking about selling or buying a home, you have options. Checking Clever Real Estate reviews is a start, but take time to consider all alternatives.
What is Clever Real Estate?
According to Clever’s website they match home sellers with agents who will list their homes for a commission rate equal to 1% or $3,000. The website doesn’t really make it clear which commission amount you’ll receive, but it appears the way they make money is by matching home sellers with agents, and then taking a cut of that small commissions (called a referral).
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Agent Matchmakers
There are dozens of companies on the internet that claim to pair you with top real estate agents in your area – just like Clever Real Estate. Most of these companies exist to simply generate home buyer and seller leads for the real estate agents you’ll be “matched” with.
There are various types of agent matchmaking companies, and we’ve included a couple others further into this article. That said, finding an agent isn’t all that difficult. Most agents can be found on Zillow, where you can search by zip code, and find public reviews from clients.
It appears that the difference with Clever Real Estate is that it has pre-negotiated rates with agents for either $3,000 or 1%, but it’s unclear how Clever Real Estate reviews the quality of those agents you’re matched with. Also, it seems the $3,000 or 1% only covers the listing agent side of the commission. 93% of home sales include a buyers agent, so don’t forget about that fee. We’ve found that the top selling agents – who are often selling homes the fastest and for the most money – are charging commissions in the ballpark of 5% (covering both the listing agent and buyers agent).
How Is Transactly Different From Clever Real Estate?
Transactly provides real estate technology and services to real estate agents, home buyers, and sellers nationwide. We do not simply match home buyers and sellers with any agent, and then collect fees for doing so.
The core of Transactly’s business is providing real estate transaction management tools and services to everyone. The majority of our users are high-producing real estate agents that come to us for our technology – not leads. Top agents use Transactly technology to organize offers on their listings, the daunting list of to-dos that ensue when a contract is negotiated, and to provide clients with a seamless experience that literally no other technology platform can offer.
Here are there are two things you can do with Transactly:
- You can use Transactly technology and services for yourself (especially if you plan to for sale by owner), or
- You can find one of the the hundreds of real estate agents nationwide who trust Transactly to deliver transparency.
I’m sure Clever Real Estate reviews the agents they send leads to, but we doubt it has the same technology as Transactly to gain the same level of insights we can from the agents on our platform. Transactly lives in every detail of every home sale executed on our platform.
Is a Commission Rate What’s Most Important?
What caused you to look up Clever Real Estate reviews – was it the commission rates? Before interviewing agents, or using a service to find an agent, you have to determine what’s most important to you.
Here are a few key factors when looking for an agent:
- Commission – Is commission the largest factor in choosing an agent? While the saying “you get what you pay for” isn’t always true, it’s a saying for a reason – and many agents cutting commission do so for a reason. It’s worth considering all factors – not just commission.
- Experience – Is the agent’s experience that’s most important to you? One thing in real estate is for sure – every deal is different. Experienced agents have seen a lot, and can navigate the type of curveballs that will definitely be throw at you.
- Best Price – Who wouldn’t want the highest price when selling, or the lowest price when buying? This is where agents charging higher commissions can legitimately justify it – through years of experience, and strategically negotiating literally thousands of deals.
- Professional Guidance – Do you know what happens exactly during the home sale process? How will you know what you’re supposed to do and when? Unfortunately, many buyers and sellers end up losing deals, and money, due to a lack of guidance and understanding. Just because that agent got a great deal for you doesn’t mean they’ll make sure you don’t miss required deadlines.
- Specific Services – Are you looking for specific services such as flat fee MLS or buyer agent commission rebates? These are good options to save money if you have some experience with buying and selling homes.
Clever Real Estate Alternatives
Now that we have a good idea of the types of criteria you should consider, let’s dig into a few alternatives you should consider.
UpNest
UpNest isn’t much different than Clever Real Estate, in that it focuses primarily on agents decisions based commission rates. Agent matchmaking is all this company does, and it’s incentivized by receiving referral fees from the agents that send proposals to home buyers and sellers. It does not appear that UpNest tracks any type of agent performance other than by the number of leads closed, and it seems the proposal are provided by agents who are the highest bidder for the lead (you). However, its process of delivering agent proposals is streamlined, and efficient.
The Pros:
- Agents compete based on commission prices
- Large network of agents
- Easy to read agent proposals
The Cons:
- Limited types of services offered
- Agent proposals based on pricing only
- Nothing beyond agent matchmaking
Transactly
Transactly is a technology company used by real estate agents, homebuyers and sellers nationwide. Transactly’s transparent technology manages all the details from the time an offer is delivered all the way to closing. It’s mission is to simplify the process of buying and selling homes. If you’re looking for an agent to sell your home, you can have agents using the platform compete for your business. Same if you’re looking for a buyer agent – most compete by offering a buyer agent commission rebate. And if you’re a for sale by owner, you can use the platform to to do it yourself.
The Pros:
- Agents compete based on the services you want (full service, flat fee MLS, and more)
- Agents highly-vetted, and ranked based on actual results on the platform
- More than just agent-matchmaking; technology to guide you through the entire process
The Cons:
- Agent matchmaking is a byproduct of technology platform
- New company (went nationwide in October 2018)
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HomeLight
HomeLight doesn’t appear to be much different than Clever Real Estate or UpNest. They also deal primarily in agent matchmaking. Again, it seems the majority of its revenue comes from referral fees collected from the agents that buyer and sellers receive proposals from. However, it is the larger of the these companies, and the agent proposals are not strictly based on commission amounts. Given its large network of agents, it is difficult to tell how HomeLight determines which proposals you’re provided with. It’s likely that proposals are delivered by the highest bidding agents (those that pay higher referral fees), or those that close most of the leads.
The Pros:
- Largest network of agents
- Large database of explainer articles
- Easy to read agent proposals
The Cons:
- Limited types of services offered
- How agent proposals received are unknown
- Not much offered beyond agent matchmaking
A Clever Conclusion
While it may initially feel like a good idea to find an agent through a company that simply does agent matchmaking, it may not be a wise decision. While they can streamline the process of finding you an agent, they’re not as invested in streamlining the actual process of closing the sale of your home – and that’s exactly what we do at Transactly.
Transactly is an unbiased platform that provides you with the resources and tools you need to buy or sell a home. If you’re looking for an agent, you can have top real estate agents compete for your business on the platform. Then, track the entire process, from offer to close, using Transactly technology. Or, if you’re a For Sale By Owner, you can use the same tools top real estate agents do, and truly save thousands.