RedfinReviews 15

My Redfin experience: Anything we asked our agent to do, he did. Except for well-announced and therefore expected vacations, he was accessible 7 days a week, well into the evening. Those aren't hours I would want to work, and I appreciate it. On the other hand, at all times it felt like we were the ones solely responsible for all decisions and actions. How should we price the house? Any number we threw out, he agreed with. Placing an ad in the local printed real estate magazine was our idea - which he did. But when that issue expired, was it renewed? No, because we didn't ask for it. During the more than a year the house was for sale, there was not one suggestion made regarding how to get it to sell. Lowering the price? Our idea. Installing a well? Our idea. Removing the purple-barn-bathroom photo from the featured photos on Redfin? Our idea. (That one REALLY ticked me off.) Re-writing the generic AI-generated property description to actually highlight what made the property unique? Our idea, and my re-write. When we did get an offer and were trying to see the sale to completion: Contractual deadlines would come and go, including some where the contract was legally cancelled, and nobody would say or do anything. An agent should be monitoring those things and making sure they happen - and keeping the people he represents well-informed about what's happening. When the buyers' appraisal wasn't high enough, even after an appeal, writing a fact-based paper on why the appraisal was too low was our idea and our execution - and it worked. It's no mystery why it didn't feel like making our house sell was a high priority for our agent - it wasn't! To him, just another transaction, which he said he completes about once a week. To us, the biggest transaction of our lives, well north of a million dollars, for which we expected but did not receive really engaged, proactive marketing, advice, and quarterbacking.

They do not give you all the information and trap you in a 6 month penalty if you fire them. Horrible.

This site is easy to use compared to many other sites out there. I added my email notifications to notify me anytime a new house came on the market. This was great because I was the first one to usually see a new place I liked.

Redfin is a great website where you can find your dream house! You can look at the prices, claim a house, and even find a selling house! I personally haven't used this website that much, but from a little experience, I can tell that this is an amazing website!

It's a great search engine when it's available on your area. But buying real estate is complicated and there's a lot of forms and processes and inspections and other options you might not consider unless you have a dedicated agent's advice and undivided attention. If you've bought a house before maybe they're a good tactic to save some money on closing costs and fees. But I'd say if you're inexperienced an actual agent can hold your hand more. Up to you though. I've had no experience with them in the selling department so can't say for sure in terms of that.

Redfin
Has some very good agents and some very poor agents. Read reviews
Before you choose an agent.

My beef with Redfin is their online computer generated value for my home
I have for sale is over 10% lower than comparable sales around my home.
I have called in to customer support and they say "nothing we can do
Because the computer algorithm determines home prices" When I tried to
Do an 'Owner's Evaluation' of value the comparable sales prices are all
Adjusted downward by about 10%. I called in about that and was told the
Sale prices are adjusted for different locations and square footages. I
Then told them my home had the EXACT same square footage, more upgrades,
And in a BETTER location - their response "Huh, interesting". Nothing
Has been done to rectify the situation or research the problem. A person
Came to my open house and said my home price is too high and when I
Asked why they said that their reply was 'I looked up your home on
Redfin and it says your almost $80,000 too high!"

The whole point of this is 1) there is no way to contact upper
Management or corporate, 2) the front line people have no knowledge or
Control over how the computer evaluates home values, 3) if you DO list
Your home with Redfin, I have read that they block your house from
Showing on Zillow, Trulia, etc., 4) they say they care but the person I
Talked to in customer support got very snippy and when I reminded her
That all calls are recorded she hung up on me!

This really has been a sore subject for me as I do like the Redfin
Agents I have met and have several rental properties I will be selling
In addition to the one I currently am now selling myself. Because of
The technical issues with their website, I will not be taking my
Business to Redfin. In addition, everyone that comes in contact with us
Has something negative to say about Redfin. Oddly enough it is with the
Management rather than particular agents. Go Figure.

Anyway, they have a great sales idea but they lack follow through with
Real customer service. I do NOT recommend Redfin.

If you want tons of details updated frequently on homes for sale it's a great site. You may find it frustrating to wade through so much data. Do you really need to know the name of the township, that parcel identification number or that the condo's lot dimensions are common before you see a property?

Don't get lured into using their agents. A scheduler will schedule your showing. A driver will accompany you on the showing. Another agent will handle the contract, etc. You're put on an assembly line. Good luck if there's an issue after you've signed a contract.

Our realtor in purchasing our home was Royce Stringer of The Zona Team in Prescott, AZ. We put this poor man through more than any realtor should have to endure. He smiled, laughed, and remained perfectly professional through it all. Three contracts on three houses within a month. Had to cancel the first two due to undisclosed situations with each property. The third one was our "meant to be" house though, and we have been in it for almost a month now. Royce is as accommodating as a realtor can be. Great communication, prompt action on addressing issues, and a skillful negotiator. Highly, highly recommend.

I have been using redfin.com for the last few months to research houses to purchase. This site has the most up-to-date information; it will tell you DAYS faster when a house comes on the market, and if/when one goes under contract so you don't waste time imagining life in a house that's already been sold. Like other real estate sites, it also has information about the demographics of the neighborhood, crime rates, schools, etc... I've tried the app on my Windows phone, but for me it is easier to maneuver back and forth on the full website. I would highly recommend this site to anyone on the market for a new home.

I found out about this site through good friends who recently bought their home in the Bay Area and found their new home using Redfin. I'm not sure it's the premiere source for serious buyers, but it's a fun source for looking at homes.

Typically, I use the app rather than the website. It's useful for getting an overview of what's available. If you're traveling and want to see what the local real estate averages are, you can easily and quickly get a sense of that particular local market.