Recently I had the opportunity to appear on Bay News 9 to talk a bit about Amazon and Realogy’s new partnership to create Turnkey, a service that they claim will give you thousands of dollars in benefits from Amazon when you buy or sell a home.
Just go on Amazon’s website, they’ll pick out a Realtor for you, and boom, you get the following benefits…
Sounds pretty cool right? But wait, fine print guys – you have to spend $700,000+ on a home to get the $5,000 Amazon benefit.
But the worst part is this. Not all Realtors are alike. You do not get to select your Realtor when Amazon is choosing for you. You don’t know if this is a first year Realtor, or a 25 year veteran in the business they are selecting for you. You don’t know if this person has a fantastic track record of negotiating great deals for their clients, or if this person is a newbie. THIS IS (for most people) THE LARGEST FINANCIAL TRANSACTION OF YOUR LIFE. Do you want to trust Amazon to pick this person for you, as your fiduciary, just so you can get a free Echo Dot?
I promise you – when you are choosing a Realtor – whether buying or selling – you should interview a couple different agents and do your research! Make sure the person you are picking has a great track record and can provide examples of what they’ve helped save their past clients. I guarantee you that a Realtor who is good can save a client tens of thousands vs. the price of one Echo Dot. Heck, maybe they’ll even get you one as a closing gift!
My point is, please do not let the tech offer put stars in your eyes. This is a big decision and one that should not be made for you by an algorithm!
Quick example: Recently I interviewed for the job to list a St. Petersburg home. The sellers had met with 2 other Realtors, both who recommended a listing price over $20,000 lower than the price I had in mind. They said $200,000. I said it’ll sell for $220,000 all day long. So they went with me – also because I was more of an area expert than the other two agents. Guess what it sold for? $220,000, the first day it was listed. Had they gone with one of these other agents, one of whom could have been a Realogy agent sent to them by Amazon, they’d have lost $20,000. See my point?
Thinking of buying or selling a home? Call the experts, and ask us for proof of our results.
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