Sawbuck Realty , based in Washington DC, has a new brokerage business model aimed at saving buyers money on their title/settlement charges and mortgage, by cutting out the markups and add-on fees and buying down the mortgage rates on “no point” loans with zero closing costs. Instead of giving buyers Redfin-type rebates , the Sawbuck savings can amount to six figures over the life of the loan, says the company.
To bring the buyer these savings, Sawbuck says it has partnered with a national lender (I could not find a name) and leading title companies (also unnamed). The idea is that buyers will be attracted to the instant cost reductions PLUS the long term savings on a below market mortgage rate. So, buyers may end up saving more sawbucks than the Redfin-style rebates.
Sawbuck Realty also has a referral service (for which they get a referral fee from the agent). There is a map based search for their areas of coverage: Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
We wish Sawbuck Realty luck. Anyone who provides more choices for buyers is good for the industry. The only little sticky point, for me, is the use of the word Free in Free Mortgages and Free Settlement on the website. Granted, Sawbuck does explain where the savings are, but savings do not equal free in my book. Call me a stickler. Sorry fellas.
Source: Inman News (article by Jessica Swesey)
Further Reading:
Sawbucks offers an “alternative” alternative brokerage model (1000 Watt Consulting)
Technorati Tags: real estate websites, Sawbuck Realty, broker rebates, Redfin
I think your comment on that anyone who offers more choices for buyers is good for the industry. This is definately something to check out when your selling a home.
Thanks for taking the time to write about our company. We’re excited to be part of the discussion about where real estate is headed.
I wanted to add a little clarity about what we are doing–how we are using mortgage and title to create a financial incentive. Our “Free Mortgage” is a serious, legitimate financial benefit–not puffery by our marketing people. Our buyers really do get a well-below-market rate and pay NO closing costs of any kind. Rather than hogging your comments, I’ll link to my post on our blog:
http://www.sawbuckrealty.com/blog/entry.aspx?e=9
Can you say conflict of interest… there is no free lunch. I can see the lawsuits coming..