Zip Realty (Ziprealty.com) Sucks

We bought our home with Zip Realty as our agent and we were extremely happy with the whole house hunting/buying experience. From scheduling house showings until the day we closed the deal, our agent helped us along the way. The rebate that we got was a little lower than what was initially shown on their site because of the final commission that Zip received. (I do hope people read the fine print regarding the rebate). As for the inspection, our agent gave us a list of inspectors that I can contact. I did not rely on his list alone but, instead also researched on some of the known home inspection companies in our area. A little homework goes a long way.
As for putting a higher offer for a house, if you really want it, make a better offer. You have to realize that that the buyer's agent can only negotiate up to a certain amount and if the seller won't accept, it's either you increase your offer or withdraw. There are more people that you think who are willing to buy the house at the price the seller wants.
Finding a good home is a combination of hard work and some luck.

RE: Tarugo

I do hope you read the whole thread as everything you wrote has already been discussed to death here already.

I am doing my research on possibly becoming a ziprealty agent. Can any agent tell me is this is a good or bad thing. Is there a huge upside? It seems as though Zip corp makes some big money for itself, while taking on the tax burden...What is a W-2 employee really mean? You can do a flat fee/ limited service brokerage from you laptop at Panera. What do you really get? This is my core question, and a follow up will be: Does zip provide enough support and training to do this part time? Also, can they fire you?
I am in the chicagoland area, and any help would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks to all I await your reply

I left Zip because I recieved too many leads that turned out to be just like you TJ. The rebate is an extra. If a few hundred bucks is so important maybe you should rent for a while. You are probably in foreclosure by now anyway. As REALTOR I can say that I love it when an unrepresented buyer comes to my listing, I can get more for my seller. I pride myself on the best deal for my client, sometimes that is not what the client expects. You have to be trained in the market. Just because it is listed for x amount doesn't mean you should offer %6-10 less. I have been involved with millions of dollars worth of RE transactions and can assure you that without a REALTOR you will be on the short end in one way or another. I hope your next transaction will be a successful one, and you will be more satisfied. Based on your previous responses I anticipate some negative conotation. So let me have it! I will consider the source.

It has been my experience in my previous profession, that any client that is looking to just save a buck, tends to be the squeakiest wheel. At the end of the day, the work it is just not worth the small return. It is like shopping at Walmart and then returning to shop at a high end store... you get what you pay for.

I am looking at Zip Realty and have a question for you (then a comment for TJ, I promise...)... I like that they don't have the upfront fees and monthly technology fees like other agencies. The training they spoke of is free upfront, a little hesitant now that I read about LIstings taken away and given to others... but what other agencies pose a positive option, that don't require an upfront fee or monthly technology/desk fee?

I have been a rather savvy business woman to date, and find it hard to believe that just because of who I work with, that will be stripped from me.

Now for the comment for TJ, as promised. My cousin bought a house using ZIP realty, she read the fine print. She was quite satisfied with her experience and was the one that turned me on to them. So I think possibly, you got a lazy agent or they were just not in a good place when you worked with them.

Kw (i assume Keller WIlliams agent) you mention the leads were too many, but did you find that the leads were just that... leads or just time wasters? How many deals per month were you closing or how many buyers/sellers were you working with each month? Would love more info.

I am in the North Houston market if that helps anyone. So i too am researching the feasability of giving back 20%, because the rebate cap to any non-licensed person in Texas is $25!!!

The funny thing is I did read the fine print and that is where I got that the agents commission ranges any where between 2.5% and 3%, but in my case it was lower then the fine print. A .5% difference in the commissions means I was out $385+. But it wasn't the the money that I care about it's the fact they are dishonest in their promotion that bugs me. I am still a happy home owner despite the bad experience using Zip Realty. Other than the searching phase I didn't get any benefit from using them and overall I think I would of been much better off not using them at all.

I found Zip to have zero interest in negotiation and it felt like they were trying to use their big corporation to bully every body included in the deal to work in their favor (which in this case was to get the deal done quickly not in the best interest of their customer).

We can only hope they will go out of business soon. All of the services they offer can be found elsewhere with more professional Realtors. From people I know who personally know some of the Realtors who have worked for Zip in the past say that Zip Realty banks on first year Realtors before those newbies wise up enough to go to a traditional real estate firm.

TJ,

I feel sorry for you. You are a very negative and combative person. Pretty sad life to have. You complain about getting 20% of 2% commission. Shouldnt have went to re/max and see what they got you... good luck on being happy in life!

Alex, Why thank you for your sardonic regards. You seem like you have a sad life too but how much can you weigh first impressions over the internet? I don't put any weight on them so that keeps me happy.

TJ - Alex is probably an agent and I agree with you. Zip is terrible. They won't even talk to you until you get preapproved. Avoid and just go to a full service broker - it will be worth your while.

Strange that you are having all this bad luck with ZipRealty. My experiences with Zip have been completely positive. How anyone could say they aren't a full service Realtor is beyond me. They have done everything and then some compared to my last experience with Coldwell Banker. Without the extra 295.00 transaction fee that CB charges.

Regarding Realtors trying to get as much as possibler for a house....that is absurd. They make approximately 15.00 per every 1,000 on a sale. My Realtor just wants to close and get on with the next sale instead of wasting his time and potentially jeopardizing a deal to squeeze another $75 out of it.

I am a Realtor for 11 yrs. I have worked in the good, the bad and this ugly market. FOR ANY BUYER TO MAKE STATEMENTS ABOUT INSPECTORS OR AGENTS W/O CREDIBLE KNOWLEDGE ON HOW THE SPECIFIC TRANSACTION is or not to his/her satisfaction only tells me that he is not a very good buyer. Almost non intelligent. I do not work for Zip, but I have found through my yrs of experience that most buyers think they know it all and in reality they don't. BTW: If you were so darn unsatisfied why did you not just walk away from the deal. NOBODY PLACED A KNIFE AT YOUR NECK TO STICK WITH ANY AGENT. SO BE A MAN accept the fact that you did not know what you wanted. have a great life.

By the time you get your "commission" it is less than 1% of the transaction and it takes forever to actually see it; even if it makes it to payroll in Cali and you upload all of the required doc files into the system! If your a new real estate agent find a good traditional real estate company that offers FULL service and GOOD training and a leadership team that actually knows what they are doing and how to stay fresh in this ever changing market! Free leads are not free! Zip offers Zip in pay, training and support!

Hi Bella, as an FAA Certified Flight Instructor I would not expect your first flight as a student pilot to be in a 747. We start with basics and build on a solid foundation of trust. As a buyer we depend on you “the agent" to navigate us through the process. Navigating means you the experienced professional know the details, pit falls and consequences of decisions made by the “buyer”. That said your comment “FOR ANY BUYER TO MAKE STATEMENTS ABOUT INSPECTORS OR AGENTS W/O CREDIBLE KNOWLEDGE ON HOW THE SPECIFIC TRANSACTION is or not to his/her satisfaction only tells me that he is not a very good buyer” exposes your character and lack of professional integrity. I am a professional recently relocated to Colorado, trusting my Zip Realty agent and her Broker, recently lost a sizable amount of money because the agent lacked the knowledge and communication skills here in Colorado. The property we contracted with appraised for more than we paid. The Sellers agent and Broker out smarted our ZIP Realty’s agent costing us our good faith money. So my advice is look in the mirror and ask, “would I trust you to help me buy my home?” Clearly understand there are no poor buyers there are ONLY poor Real Estate agents.

Relo, that was well said and I agree that any professional would not speak like that. It seems though that a lot of Zip agents do have the tendency to make such pointless tirades here, which is only further diminishing the creditability of the company they work for and all other agents in my eyes.

The point you hire a real estate agent is so it makes you a "good buyer" Their experience is suppose to help you with every part of the transaction. However what I learned is that is not the case. The buyers agent is just another person added to the equation who is going to try and sell you any house so they can make a buck or two.

Client decide what price he wants to offer and agent goes with it..you can not expect agent to help you buy 200k house for $110k,as that is not nagotiating,but it is craziness.If you read well Zip site it is stated USUALLY COMMISSION IS 2.5 - 3%..so it can be bellow.No one forced you to take their inspector,you could flip yellow pages and call the first inspector on A.I work for Re Max 12 years, and I am glad you weren't my client.Cheap,rude ,but want to be treated like a King...

Milos, You are exactly right

I don't think Milos read the blog before posting as she didn't even address any of the complaints and mentioned nothing that had not been said before. Where was someone asking for 55% off the purchase price? Was that on a different blog or something?

The problem with Zip realty is that their top people from their CEO down never sold a house for a customer. Their CEO doesn't have a clue what the customer wants. When the company had a chance to hire someone who has real estate experience and was willing to run just one office to prove what he could offer the company the CEO vetoed all other company executives. Was he acting in the best interest of the stockholders and the company or was he just insecure about his lack of real estate experience ( his background before joining Zip was in selling Campbell's Soup). Was he only protecting his own $350,000 salary? Why hasn't the Board of Directors doing something about a company that has never shown a profit?

DS
Fantastic Post!!!