It shouldn’t need much explanation why a seller or buyer would prefer to enter the market without an agent. But since, it seems the agentless are still the minority out there, here are the factors that have led us to go it alone.

  1. The first and obvious motivation is a better deal for us and for you. Let’s be real, the money saved by doing this approaches $50,000. We feel that striking a deal within this window can leave all parties feeling satisfied, and how amazing would that be? Furthermore, brokers will tell you their fees are only 6%. This is a horrible mischaracterization. If you buy a home for $600,000 and sell it for $800,000, your profit is $200,000. If brokers are involved they get $48,000. That’s 24% of your profit. I do not understand why people are ok with that.

2. There are elements of New York City real estate that we kind of hate. Most agents we meet seem like great people, but we still find the process inherently shady. So let’s just say, taking control of our process is just a small way we’re pushing back against an industry that annoys us.

3. Other cities aren’t agent-locked like we are, and everything goes fine. In cooler markets, parties call each other, exchange texts, and find the number they can live with. And man, do they think how we operate in NYC is crazy.

4. The often-stated idea that it’s ill-advised to approach this massive buying decision without a broker is out of touch. Brokers used to hold all the keys to entry. They used to use their match-maker prowess to put you in your perfect home. They used to talk you into and out of things that you could only assume they spoke with expertise and your best interest on. But let’s call it like it is, the world of real estate has radically changed. Now You find your places, you make your own schedule. You look at what it last sold for and when. You know how hot/or not this market is, and if you aren’t sure, google is. Unless your broker lives in that particular neighborhood, don’t expect her to know the schools, cafes or bars any better than you or the internet does. And if you’ve been looking longer than a few months, you have a pretty good idea what places should sell for. When these were all the brokers’ duties no one could say they weren’t earning their commission, so our thinking is, why don’t you and I just earn it?

5. Your appraiser, inspector and real estate lawyer supply all the hand holding necessary to make the sale. These people will keep us safe from the myriad pitfalls of the industry. Once that stage is reached, we (buyer and seller) take a step back and let these pros go at it.

6. We happen to live in a building where all 11 other units are virtually identical. And, a few have sold. We can verify our price and explain our math.

7. We have nothing to lose. We’re expecting this process to take longer then average, a few head aches, and surprises. We don’t mind. We’re committed to being fully transparent and human throughout. Our goal is for all parties to leave happy, and for a new owner to be excited to take over the home that we’ve loved.

— Jordie Shapiro and Sierra Kraft.