Published by Programme B
For almost everybody, buying a home is the most expensive purchase they’ll make in their lives. The high cost alone can make a purchase anxious. Plus, the traditional way to buy homes involved jumping through many needless hoops to satisfy an industry that hadn’t changed in decades.
The advent of digital proptech platforms has finally changed the game, making homebuying substantially less stressful. Want to know how it works? Please keep on reading.
Transparency
The final chapter of Sun Tzu’s ancient, famous strategy book The Art of War is devoted to spies because “upon them determines an army’s ability to move.” In just the same way, when it comes to buying a home, you need as much reliable information as you can get about its previous prices, the cost of an average house in the area, and more.
When everything is above board, people can make informed choices. Nobul is a digital real estate marketplace that allows homebuyers to see the commission rates of various real estate agents and more.
According to a Toronto Life profile on Nobul’s founder Regan McGee, the platform was born because “McGee came to the realization that the real estate industry was due for a disruptive technology that made finding and working with a well-suited real estate agent more streamlined, more transparent and less stressful for consumers.”
The amount of money you’re inevitably going to spend is stressful enough without feeling like you’re making blind choices in the dark.
Lower Rates
Having a clear, bird’s-eye-view of the market is one way to feel better while making an expensive purchase. Another is to pay a lower price!
Nobul leverages real estate agents’ desires to compete for customers, incentivizing them to charge below the traditional real estate commissions of around 5%. If you were to walk into a real estate agent’s office, you’re unlikely to find them posting their rates upfront, let alone lowering them.
Easier and Less Time-Consuming
Finding a real estate agent that you trust with your life’s biggest purchase isn’t something you’ll likely encounter right away. Nobul’s digital platform turns this upside down by letting prospective buyers create an online profile outlining what they’re looking for, and allowing agents to communicate their proposals directly.
Buying a home can be nerve-wracking at times, but it should also be fun and exciting. You’ll enjoy the experience much more when you get a tailwind.
It’s better to spend your time looking at the houses themselves and evaluating the various factors in your decision rather than shopping for real estate agents.
Expertise
Digital platforms connect you with experienced local real estate agents who will protect your investment by guiding you and asking the questions you may not think to ask. You don’t want to be contractually obligated to spend a million or more on something that ends up having minor or major problems you didn’t know about in the first place.
Moving into a new home is an exciting time for everybody. Whether it’s a new city or a new neighbourhood, a change of scenery makes life feel different and new again. Keep the above tips in mind about digital marketplaces, and let proptech make life less stressful.