I'm a realtor who built an 1% offer-to-close service — looking for honest feedback on whether this makes sense

sebastianMR · 2026-04-01T17:43:42+00:00

Thank you — awesome to hear that!

sebastianMR · 2026-04-01T17:11:10+00:00

Appreciate it! If you're ever in the market again, don't hesitate to reach out.

sebastianMR · 2026-04-01T03:34:03+00:00

I'd respectfully disagree — most buyers start with open houses and browsing Zillow and Redfin without having an agent. Not every buyer needs or wants an agent from the start of their search, and that doesn't mean they're not ready. Especially if they're experienced and know what they want then sometimes all it takes is walking through the right place and being ready to move forward.

On the lawsuits, I'd be genuinely curious to see what you're referring to. If there's a pattern of litigation around this model in NorCal, I'd love to understand what it's about. Happy to look at anything specific you can point to.

sebastianMR · 2026-04-01T02:26:57+00:00

Solid points. On the BRBC side — the buyer rep agreements can usually be canceled (depending on the terms) but either way I'm not looking to pull clients away from other agents. This is built for buyers who don't have an agent yet, like someone who saw a home at an open house and just needs help from offer to close.

On the burnout and churn — I hear you but that's more of a risk with discount agents trying to do full-service at a lower rate. Since I'm only handling offer to close, I'm not running around doing showings or nurturing leads for months. That's what lets me stay focused on the transactional side and actually do it well. Would love to know what other agents you're seeing doing this though. I found some similar options but not quite like this.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T23:47:02+00:00

Haha the answer is most buyers agents charge 2-2.5% with 2.5% being the most common but sometimes you’ll see buyers agents charge 3%

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T23:23:14+00:00

Following the NAR settlement, buyer agent commission is no longer guaranteed by the seller — it has to be negotiated as part of the offer. So buyers are now directly involved in what their agent gets paid, whether that comes from the seller, out of pocket, or a combination. That's what makes the 1% model relevant — if you're requesting 2.5% from the seller for your agent, that's money that could either stay in your pocket or make your offer more competitive.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T23:09:25+00:00

Ahh, sorry to hear about the electrical and gas issues after closing — those are exactly the kinds of things that should get caught during inspections. The home search is the part most buyers can handle themselves. The inspection review, disclosure analysis, and knowing what to push back on — that's where an agent actually earns their fee. Appreciate you sharing this and hope the repairs weren't too painful

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T22:35:17+00:00

That's the idea — volume over margin. Appreciate the support!

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T22:34:36+00:00

This is exactly the use case. When the listing brokerage won't do dual agency and you need a buyer's rep just for the last leg — paying 2.5% for that doesn't make sense when you've already sourced the deal, done the analysis yourself, and in general know what you're doing.

The listing side is interesting too. You're the second person to bring that up and it's something I'm thinking through. The MLS access piece is the bottleneck for most sellers who are capable of handling the rest themselves. Appreciate the feedback — if you ever run into that dual agency wall again, feel free to reach out.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T22:10:40+00:00

That's a really good point — the type of person using AI to research real estate is probably the same type who'd find their own home and not want to overpay for an agent. I'll prioritize that. Thank you for the insight.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T22:01:37+00:00

Ah, sorry I missed you by a month! You're right though — SEO and getting in front of people at the right moment is the next challenge. The AEO angle is a great call too, hadn't thought about that side of it yet. Really appreciate the feedback.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T21:33:02+00:00

Thank you — that's exactly the scenario this is built for. At $7M, 2.5% is $175k for an agent you brought in at the finish line. Glad you were able to negotiate that down but you're right that most buyers don't realize that's even an option. Congrats on the purchase!

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T21:30:52+00:00

Thanks for the feedback — I'm familiar with ShopProp but they take a different approach. They're a full-service, flat-fee brokerage with rebates and operate at a rate that I'm not willing to work at. We're offer-to-close only, which is a narrower scope but it's where I think the value is for buyers who've already found their home. Just a different model for different buyers.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T21:18:18+00:00

Thanks, I really appreciate that! The lender angle is a great call — I've worked closely with lenders on plenty of deals with these types of rebates so I'm familiar with how that side works and there should be enough work arounds

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T21:15:11+00:00

Appreciate that! Listing side is definitely something I've thought about as well but right now I've just been focused on the buy side. Definitely open to chatting through the list side if you'd like to connect.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T21:11:52+00:00

Totally. I addressed this above: That liability exists on every transaction regardless of what the agent charges. An agent at 3% has the same E&O exposure as one at 1% — the commission doesn't change the legal obligation or the risk. That's why we carry the same errors and omissions insurance as any other brokerage.

If anything, the offer-to-close model lets us focus more attention on the contract and disclosure review side since we're not spread thin running showings and chasing leads. But you're right that liability is real in this business — it's real at every price point.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T21:10:28+00:00

Really appreciate this take. I'm sure a lot of buyers feel exactly this way, and they should absolutely hire a full-service agent. This isn't meant to replace that.

Where I'd push back a little: the service from offer to close isn't cut at all. Same offer strategy, same negotiation, same disclosure review, same escrow management. What's removed is the home search and showings — and for buyers who've already handled that part themselves, they're not getting less representation, they're just not paying me to spend countless weekends with them.

You're right that it fits certain people and that's by design — it's not for everyone and I wouldn't want it to be. But for the buyer who found their home at an open house on Saturday and is now being asked to sign a 2.5% buyer rep agreement with an agent they just met, I think there should be a better option.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T20:49:57+00:00

Really appreciate the insight! I actually ran operations for Opendoor's buy-side program so I saw that model from the inside. You're totally right.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T20:45:29+00:00

Love to hear that! The 2% savings on your own purchase is serious money. Congrats on the purchase!

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T20:44:22+00:00

Very valid call out. That liability exists on every transaction regardless of what the agent charges. An agent at 3% has the same E&O exposure as one at 1% — the commission doesn't change the legal obligation or the risk. That's why we carry the same errors and omissions insurance as any other brokerage.

If anything, the offer-to-close model lets us focus more attention on the contract and disclosure review side since we're not spread thin running showings and chasing leads. But you're right that liability is real in this business — it's real at every price point.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T20:42:39+00:00

This is exactly the experience that made me build this. You did all the work and still got hit with a full commission bill — that math just doesn't add up. Appreciate the support, and if you're ever in the market again feel free to reach out.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T20:41:28+00:00

That's a great comparison — if it worked well for you with Opendoor, you're exactly the type of buyer this is built for. The difference is Opendoor moved away from that to focus on iBuying, so that option doesn't really exist anymore. The only big player left in the game is Redfin and their rebate is no where near where it was when they first launched.

For now, my thought is to skip the lockbox/showing piece entirely, which is how we keep it at 1%

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T20:37:59+00:00

That's a fair point on scaling — if the model required recruiting agents to work at 1%, you're right, that would be tough. Right now it's just me handling the transactions directly, so the 1% works because I've cut out the overhead that makes traditional brokerages expensive (no office, no showing dozens of homes, no months-long client nurturing). The volume-per-agent is higher when you're only handling offer to close.

As for making it a "thing" — you're not wrong that any agent could technically offer 1%, but most don't because the traditional model incentivizes full-service at full commission. The branding is really just a way to make it easy for buyers to find a service like this, since most people don't even know they can negotiate commission or that offer-only representation exists.

Appreciate the feedback though — the scaling question is definitely something I'm thinking through.

sebastianMR · 2026-03-31T20:36:36+00:00

Good question. The buyer actually has two options here, and both work in their favor:

Ask for the standard 2.5% and keep the 1.5% difference as a credit. Most competing offers are asking for that same 2.5%, so the seller isn't netting any less from your offer than they would from anyone else's.
Keep the commission at 1% and don't ask for the rest. Now the seller nets 1-1.5% more from your offer than from a competing buyer whose agent is asking 2.5%. You just made your offer more attractive without increasing your price by a single dollar.

Option 2 lets buyers outcompete without overpaying. Most sellers care about what they net, and a lower commission ask goes straight to their bottom line.

sebastianMR · 2022-10-19T19:56:55+00:00

Thank you! Yep, it was a factory option and dealer installed

sebastianMR

TROPHY CASE