Rebls

@reblsfounder I feel like we've traded some comments/tweets about Rebls, but can't remember precisely where. My biggest question for this is how is this 10x better than simply putting your home on Zillow as a Make Me Move? That said, hidden inventory is certainly a very real thing, and one I've been spending lots of time thinking about in a travel context. I'd love to discuss in depth in person when I am back in Seattle, likely sometime in February.

@drewmeyers Hey Drew! Thanks for joining the conversation. We did indeed connect via Twitter, Nov 2: https://twitter.com/joewallin/st... To answer your question (in 140 characters!): Why Rebls v MakeMeMove? 1) instantly gauge demand 2) contact buyers directly 3) address privacy 4) save $ if you sell Yep, you said it: hidden inventory is out there. Would enjoy meeting with you when you're back in town, and thanks again for getting in the mix.

@reblsfounder I think this discussion is very relevant to your model: http://geekestateblog.com/topics...

@drewmeyers Agreed! Thanks for sharing that link. Good post/discussion. I'm going to quote one line I found particularly relevant to the discussion of Rebls' unique value proposition: "There are two camps of those trying to lower the costs of buying and selling real estate. Those working on discount brokerage models and those trying to build a marketplace of buyers and sellers, connect them directly, and get rid of the agent entirely." You're correct that real estate technology companies have, until now, taken the stance that changing the status quo in real estate leaves entrepreneurs with the binary proposition you've outlined in the quoted paragraph above. What makes Rebls unique, as Jed E. mentioned in another comment here today, is that we are building a marketplace of buyers and sellers, connecting them directly, but then connecting them with agents to close the deal, and eliminating the agent's role as the matchmaker within our model (the role, we found, which comprises the lion's share of both their time and risk as an agent, since they may work for months in that role and never get paid). We think technology - as a whole, regardless of industry - has proven itself to be an excellent and very efficient matchmaker, but that nothing replaces the reassurance of expert help when facilitating the actual closing of a home purchase, for many of the reasons you stated in your article.

@drewmeyers @reblsfounder Can you expound in more than 140 characters? I have not used MakeMeMove as a seller, but have as a buyer. I was able to directly contact the seller, who noted he had so many direct inquiries he had to pull the listing. Seemed to take care of #1/#2. Address privacy is probably ok as a seller, but as a Buyer kind of pisses me off. I don't want to know generally where the house is, I want to know exactly. Also makes me thing what is seller trying to hide? Again I understand why sellers might be interested, and that it might lessen the window-shopper only crowd, but just doesn't sit well with me as a buyer. How is #4 different on Rebls than MakeMeMove? The above said, I think it's a great start. Even as a person who used Zillow a lot, the MakeMeMove is somewhat hidden in there. As a separate platform I think this makes sense. It will be interesting to see what happens with agent fees. The truth is there is definitely still a need for an agent, or at least a representative. Most people aren't comfortable dealing with home contracts, know little to nothing about post-contract processes, inspections, negotiations post-inspections, navigating title, working with their lender for payoffs, and the inevitable deal that falls through because the appraisal doesn't pan out, or a buyer backs out for whatever reason. A representative fee should clearly be lower than your standard 3% if a buyer is already found, but I wonder if/when fees go down, will the "better" realtors stay away from this type of work given the lower fees and continued (even if lesser) risk of deal not closing? And finally ;), as an aside, I think there's some potential here from an appraisal basis. Probably a ways away from getting banks to agree to change up their appraisal process... BUT, anyone who has seen an appraisal knows they're not exactly amazing work. A quick look at the property, a quick comparison to 3 or 4 comps, and there you go, $250-$750. If you could get a lot of real, crowdsourced opinions of value, I suspect they'd be more accurate than appraisals. I'm not sure who the Zillow Zestimate is made, but know from personal experience they are too far off to be of any meaningful use.

@markgustav Your "What I love about my home" is one of my favorites, Mark. Thanks for sharing, and for your support of Rebls!

@ryannegri Thanks for your support, Ryan!

@kylematthews Thanks for the support Kyle!

@nicksoman Thanks for your support, Nick!