Homie Real Estate Review: What You NEED to Know

Homie is a service that offers home sellers in Utah, Las Vegas, and Phoenix a cheaper alternative to working with a traditional realtor. Its services include advising on price, arranging professional photography, negotiating with buyers, and listing homes on the MLS. Homie also works with home buyers, assisting with the process of finding a home and securing a loan to buy it.

Homie charges a flat fee for the help it provides sellers, which is below the standard commission you’d pay to a listing agent. However, you won’t get the benefits of having a full-service realtor and the limited assistance Homie provides may not be worth the fees you’ll pay.

Homie reviews can help you decide if working with this company is right for you, so read on to learn more about what Homie does, the pros and cons of using its services, and the experience past clients have had with it.

What is Homie?

Homie is a discount real estate broker that charges a fee between $2,000 and $2,500 to list your home for sale. It’s available only in limited markets including:

Phoenix
Las Vegas
Throughout most of Utah

Homie also caters to buyers who want to streamline the purchase process and receive a rebate. Homie matches buyers to agents who know the local market. These agents help buyers find and make an offer on a home and Homie will provide financing once the offer has been accepted. At the close of the transaction, Homie refunds buyers as much as $5,000.

How Does Selling a House with Homie Work?

Traditionally, selling your home required paying 6% commission — half to the buyer’s agent, and half to the listing agent. A number of alternatives to this old model have sprung up including:

Selling For Sale By Owner (FSBO). This involves paying a flat fee to have your home listed on the Multiple Listing Service, which is a database of homes virtually all realtors and home buyers use to find properties.
Working with a discount brokerage. This involves working with a full-service agent who has agreed to accept less than the standard 3% commission.

Homie is a hybrid between these two models. You’ll get more help than if you sold your home on your own but less assistance than you’d get with a full-service broker. Specifically, Homie will:

Allow you to talk with a local real estate agent via text, phone, or email — but not meet one in person
Arrange for professional photographs of your home
List your property on the MLS, Zillow, Realtor.com, and Facebook
Provide you with a yard sign
Offer a Competitive Market Analysis, which is an assessment of how much properties similar to yours are selling for in your area
Provide pricing recommendations to help you decide how much your home should be listed for
Filters calls from interested buyers
Provide access to an attorney who assists with negotiating on offers and drafting a contract for the sale of your home

Unfortunately, you will not get:

Personalized service
An agent who shows your home to buyers
Specific instructions on how to price your home.

You’ll save money, but have to take on much more of the work of selling your home yourself. You won’t get any assistance with staging, for example, and since agents won’t visit your property they won’t be as accurate on pricing.

How Much Does Homie Cost?

Home charges a flat fee between $2,000 and $2,500 for its services.

This is much more expensive than the FSBO model, as you can list your home yourself using a flat fee MLS service for around $299. While it’s generally cheaper than the 3% commission a seller’s agent would charge, that still doesn’t make it a bargain.

In fact, Clever can connect you with a full-service real estate agent for a fee of just $3,000 or 1% of your home’s listing price. That’s barely above what Homie charges and your agent will not only meet you in person but be by your side throughout the sales process.

Pros and Cons of Using Homie

There are both benefits and disadvantages associated with selling your home with Homie.

Pros of Homie

You’ll pay a flat fee for Homie’s services. The fee, which is between $2,000 and $2,500, is below what you’d pay for a traditional real estate agent or even for a discount brokerage firm in most cases.
Homie can simplify the selling process. You won’t have to worry about taking pictures, finding your own real estate sign, or listing your own home on online websites or the MLS. You’ll also get help with pricing.
You’ll save money if you sell to a Homie buyer. If your buyer works with a Homie agent, you’ll pay a commission of just $1,500 to $2,000. This is generally well below the 3% commission you’d pay to a traditional buyer’s agent.
Buyers can get a rebate. If you work with Homie to purchase your home, you could get back as much as $5,000.
You’ll have an attorney included for your flat fee. A lawyer will assist with offer negotiations and drafting a contract. When you work with a traditional agent, your agent usually handles these aspects of the sale and you’ll pay extra if you want legal advice.

Cons of Homie

Homie is expensive for the services it provides. You’ll miss out on the hands-on support and in-person assistance a full-service realtor offers and won’t save much money compared to what you’d pay if Clever matched you with a full-service agent.
It’s available in limited areas. You’ll be able to use Homie only if you are selling a property in eligible locations in Utah, Las Vegas, or Phoenix.
You’ll have to make a six-month commitment. If you terminate your contract before the end of six months, you’ll be charged a $199 fee. That makes it difficult to change your mind if you aren’t getting the support you need.
Your agent’s interests may not be aligned to yours: While full-service agents are incentivized to sell your home for top-dollar because they earn a percentage of the sales price in commission, Homie agents are paid on volume, with their income based on the number of sales they make. That means they may underprice your home to get a quick sale.
Buyers who purchase from a Homie seller won’t get a rebate. The buyer’s rebate at closing is one of the biggest reasons to use these agents to purchase a home. You don’t want to get stuck choosing between losing your rebate or passing up a home you like because it’s sold through Homie.

Common Homie Complaints

It’s helpful to look beyond the pros and cons to check out some Homie Real Estate reviews left by past customers. These Homie reviews give insight into what the buying and selling experience was like. Unfortunately, the news isn’t very good as there are many Homie complaints.

This sample of some past reviews shows the many problems that past users have had with Homie.

Some users complain about the level of control Homie takes over the home buying process, including prohibiting the use of open houses.

Others complain that because Homie’s agents are paid so little money, they can’t provide much assistance and rarely take phone calls.

Potential buyers also indicate that Homie agent’s are difficult to get ahold of. This can make it very hard to close a deal on your home if a buyer wants to make an offer but Homie makes it impossible for them to do so.

Others have had similar complaints, indicating they had communication problems throughout the entire transaction process. There are many different steps involving in a home sale and you can’t afford to lose a potential buyer because your agent isn’t responsive to their communications throughout.

Alternatives to Using Homie

While Homie’s hybrid model is innovative, it falls short of the mark for most because its fees are much higher than FSBO but not much lower than what you’d pay for a discount realtor that does much more for you.

Here’s how Homie compares to some of the other alternatives.

Homie vs. FSBO

FSBO stands for For Sale By Owner. If you opt for FSBO, you’ll sell your property entirely on your own without the limited help Homie provides. You’ll pay far less, though, as your only costs will involve listing your home on the MLS and paying for professional photographs if you choose to obtain them.

Here are some of the key differences between Homie and FSBO:

Price

Homie: Listing costs $2,000 to $2,500.

FSBO: Around $299 to list your home on the MLSFees for professional photos if you choose to add them to your listing

Process

Homie: They handles photographs and negotiations, provides a for-sale sign, lists your home, and provides assistance with pricing.

FSBO: You’re responsible for everything and must pay a flat fee service to list on the MLS.

Pros

Homie: You get more hands-on help. Attorneys represent you throughout negotiations. You’ll save extra money if a buyer with a Homie agent purchases your home.

FSBO: FSBO is the cheapest way to sell a home. Also, you’ll have more control over the process.

Cons

Homie: The fees are high relative to the services provided and many past buyers have complaints about the service provided.

FSBO: You have no help throughout the process.

Homie vs. a Traditional Agent

A traditional agent provides in-person support and handles all aspects of your transaction, while Homie leaves many tasks to you. You’ll pay more for a traditional agent, but may find the added fees are worth it since you’ll get more support during the process.

Price

Homie: Listing costs $2,000 to $2,500.

Traditional agent: 6% commission split equally between the buyer’s and seller’s agent.

Process

Homie: Homie handles many aspects of the transaction but you won’t meet an agent in person and will get far less support than with a full-service agent

Traditional agent: Your agent handles all aspects of the transaction and provides in-person support.

Pros

Homie: Attorneys, rather than an agent, handle the negotiations and contract process and the cost is below what you’d pay for a full-service agent.

Traditional agent: You’ll get personalized, dedicated assistance from an agent who visits your home in person. Your agent’s incentives are aligned to yours because your agent is paid a commission equal to a percentage of the sale price.

Cons

Homie: You’ll get less support than a traditional agent and your agent may be incentivized to sell your property quickly rather than for the highest price because agents are paid on volume.

Traditional agent: You’ll generally pay a higher commission to your agent than the flat fees that Homie charges.

Homie vs. Clever

Clever allows you to get the benefits of a traditional real estate agent without the high cost. When you list with Clever, you’ll be matched with a top-rated partner agent who handles all aspects of your transaction for a commission fee of just 1% to your listing agent. To learn more, contact Clever today.

Price

Homie: Listing costs $2,000 to $2,500.

Clever: Listing costs $3,000 or 1% commission to your agent, plus commission to the buyer’s agent.

Process

Homie: Homie handles photos and listing your home, provides a for sale sign, and markets your property — but offers less support than a full service agent and you won’t meet in person.

Clever: Clever matches you to a full service agent who accepts a smaller commission than a traditional agent while still providing the same level of comprehensive in-person support.

Pros

Homie: The contract and negotiation process is handled by an attorney rather than an agent and you may save a small amount relative to the discounted commission Clever agents charge.

Clever: Your agent will provide the same level of dedicated service as a traditional agent but at a discounted commission.

Cons

Homie: You won’t get personalized in-person support from an agent who is aligned to your needs, and agents are paid on volume and have been the subject of many past complaints.

Clever: You may pay slightly more in commission than the fees Homie would charge.

Sellers Can Save Thousands With Clever

Our friends at Clever Real Estate negotiate with top-performing agents so you don’t have to. Start saving thousands today.

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Homie Real Estate Review: What You NEED to Know

Table of Contents

What is Homie?