The real estate market in the United States is on an upward mode with no signs of slowing down over the last two years. Also, post-pandemic, real estate trends have changed. There is increased digitization in the way in which business is conducted. It is not just millennials but in general sellers and buyers of all ages are heavily dependent on technology to conduct a successful property deal.
The market is now dynamic and sellers and buyers do not need to stick to just one method of going for a traditional full-service real estate agent. If you are looking forward to selling a house there are low commission agents, discount brokerage, and Flat Fee MLS services at the disposal of the sellers and buyers today. It is interesting to note that people from all age groups are now using the digital medium to sell or buy a property.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality have made it possible for real estate companies to set up a virtual home tour and digitize the documentation needed to conduct a transaction. All this happens with a few clicks from the comfort of your own home. While Flat Fee MLS services like Houzeo are preferred for their technical support and savings on the deal, there are discount real estate brokerage options like Clever Real Estate which give real estate agent services at a discounted rate.
Here are Clever Real Estate reviews and how it works in detail. Based on this information, one can decide if a discount brokerage service like Clever Real Estate is for them or not.
Table Of Contents:
1: Why is discount real estate brokerage required?
2: How does Clever Estate work?
3: What are the advantages of Clever Estate?
4: What are the disadvantages of Clever Estate?
5: Clever Estate: The reviews you need to know
6: Conclusion
1: Why is discount real estate brokerage required?
With the real estate market on a continuous boom, real estate agent commissions have increased manifold. Therefore, with a 3% seller commission with an additional 3% buyer commission the seller has to do away with about 6% of their savings which is quite a lot. Hence, there are many discount real estate brokerage services available. These services either charge a flat fee or work on a pre-decided commission which is much less than the market rate of 3%. They are promoted as an effective method of saving thousands of dollars while getting a great price for the sale. All the services like showing, pricing, staging, and closing assistance are provided to the patron either online or offline, depending on the package taken.
Flat Fee MLS services like Houzeo, RedFin, etc. accept pre-decided fees beforehand as you sign up for one of their packages. A-la-carte services are provided according to the package taken. This works for FSBO sellers in saving up on their precious bucks while enjoying complete autonomy over the sale.
2: How does Clever Estate work?
Apart from the Flat Fee MLS services and low commission agents, there are discount brokerage services at play like Clever Estate whose offer is that the sellers pay a $3000 flat fee or 1% commission on the total deal. For buyers, they offer rebates up to $1000 or 0.5% on the deal. Clever basically is the link between the sellers or buyers and the real estate agents in the area. They claim that they connect their clients with the best real estate agents locally at a flat fee, thus helping sellers and buyers save up considerably.
Clever real estate reviews on Trustpilot enjoy a 4.9 rating. But despite that, there are several factors to be considered before signing up for services like Clever Estate.
3: What are the advantages of Clever Estate?
A: As claimed by the company, Clever Estate is the cheapest real estate service available anywhere in the United States.
B: It has a large network of agents at the disposal of its clients. There is a pool of experienced agents and the sellers can choose who they want to work with.
C: Also, Clever Estate claims that their agent matching service is totally free.
D: In addition to the sellers getting the service at the best price, buyers also get a rebate worth $1000.
E: Clever’s concierge service has licensed real estate agents on board which ensures great customer support.
4: What are the disadvantages of Clever Estate?
A: Clever Estate charges $3000 to sellers up front but they also in the end have to pay for the buyer agent commission which is roughly 3%. So, for the homes priced at $100,000 or less the sellers end up paying for the amount worth full commission anyway. So, in the hindsight, this becomes an expensive affair as the discount is marginal. With Flat Fee websites like Houzeo, you can successfully close a deal in a few hundred dollars.
B: Clever essentially only plays a role in matching with an agent. Post that, they do not oversee the sale. The seller is left at the complete device of the agent which is risky.
C: Also interviewing hordes of agents and then finally choosing one can be a taxing, arduous and ineffective process, especially for the FSBO sellers as the agents they end up zeroing on may not be up to the mark.
D: Clever Estate fixes the seller fee and buyer commission beforehand. But it essentially does not have any direct role to play in the transaction. As a result, the buyers and sellers have zero negotiation power which breaches the laws set by the National Association of Realtors.
5: Clever Estate: The reviews you need to know
Clever Estate is perceived to be the cheapest full-service real estate service that is available but customer reviews say something else. The majority of the reviews claim that there is a discrepancy in the advertising and the actual service provided by the clever estate company. While it is advertised that there is a flat fee of $3000 for sellers but apart from hidden fees, the seller also has to pay for the buyer commission which is 3% of the total savings in addition to the $3000 paid to Clever. This is not economical as other Flat Fee MLS listing options like Houzeo are much cheaper and more effective.
Also, many sellers who opted for Clever complained about the breach of their private listing information. The agents that the clients get to work with are not necessarily competent and Clever has no control over the transaction.
Having said that, Clever Estate might be an option for high-end sellers and buyers, only then can it be truly cost-effective.
6: Conclusion
Discount real estate brokerage services like Clever Real Estate could be confusing to the FSBO sellers as they pan out much differently in practice as opposed to how they are marketed. In other words, buyers and sellers can end up paying more instead and be completely dissatisfied with the service provided. It is important to actually calculate the upfront fees + hidden costs in dollars and not rely on the percentage estimate given by the company.
There are other alternatives to discount brokerage firms if Clever Estate does not work for you. Houzeo, Redfin, and a bunch of other services give you a-la-carte options on a pay-per-service basis. You end up saving more plus there is transparency and control over the transaction. You can check out Houzeo reviews to learn more about them.
