RISMEDIA, July 25, 2007–HomePoint.com has introduced a new option for consumers who want to participate in selling their own homes, but who don’t want to (or can’t) handle the entire process alone.
According to the company, HomePoint.com, a resource that informs, counsels and empowers home sellers, is now working with the professional network of ACRE™ (Accredited Consultant in Real Estate) experts to add consulting services to HomePoint.com’s menu of readily available home selling resources. HomePoint.com’s popular marketing packages for home sellers are now available with an initial one-hour “no strings attached” session with a local real estate consultant. These consultants can provide specific assistance to home sellers without taking a full commission on the transaction.
“Real estate consulting allows home owners to decide what services they require and lets them work with real estate professionals who are willing to provide those selected services on an ‘a la carte’ basis,” said Chad Pinson, Managing Director at HomePoint.com. “With HomePoint.com’s new consulting packages, sellers have options, creating a happy medium between ‘going it alone’ as a seller, and being forced to pay full commissions when only in need of limited or specific real estate agent services.”
Real estate consulting connects skilled agents with involved home sellers to maximize the motivations of both. Agents are fairly compensated for their time and expertise and home sellers pay for only the services and guidance they need to successfully complete their transaction. New trade organizations such as ACRE™ are finding that consulting services, while outside the traditional full-commission model, are a valuable and helpful addition to many agents’ service offerings. ACRE™ members go beyond the traditional model to make themselves available on a consulting basis to home buyers and sellers, who pay the agent on an hourly basis or as a pre-negotiated fixed fee. This method, which can be far less expensive to the consumer, is not widely known or utilized in the U.S.
“HomePoint.com provides a whole arsenal of weapons to home sellers who want to fight the home sales battle and emerge victorious,” continues Pinson. “Sellers can order the marketing products they need and combine those with the specific services they want from an ACRE™ real estate professional, or work with a full service agent to fight the battle for them – whatever they choose. Most consumers today have no transparency into, or understanding of, the home-selling process. That’s just wrong – your home is likely your most valuable asset, and many industry professionals are unwilling to explain how the process works and how fees are structured.”
“Though controversial, HomePoint.com is creating dynamic new ways for consumers and agents to work together to end the stranglehold that real estate giants have around the neck of the process,” said Kyle Cascioli, real estate professor at the University of Denver and Manager of Real Estate Services at HomePoint.com. “With this new real estate consulting option, agents are paid for their expertise as they provide it, and sellers receive the information they need without any strings attached. HomePoint.com combines these tools in an easy-to-use online resource that every consumer should explore before they choose how to sell their home.”
HomePoint.com is also introducing a new “Home Selling Advisor” tool (http://www.HomePoint.com/sellhome/home-selling-advisor.aspx) which allows consumers to compare and analyze all of the elements involved in selling a home. Home sellers can objectively explore which selling method and level of service is best for their individual needs.
Looking beyond the intimidating complexity of real estate transactions, HomePoint.com shows consumers how to sell their home on their own to eliminate “forced” commissions, work with trusted real estate consultants to manage only specific portions of the process, or sell or buy a home through a full-service, full-commission agent of their choosing. Home sellers can easily move between HomePoint.com’s For Sale By Owner (FSBO), real estate consulting and full-service packages to customize their level of involvement and know exactly what they are getting for their money.
More information on HomePoint.com can be found at http://www.HomePoint.com.
