RealUmbrella.com -- Will it work?
Posted Sep 21, 2007 @ 2:44 pm, Viewed by 1147 Visitors, Read 1160 Times.
Sometime in the next few weeks yet another website, www.RealUmbrella.com, will be launched with the goal to fundamentally change how residential real estate transactions are handled. “Stand by for The Real Estate Market shake up!”, claims the home page of RealUmbrella.com, under the motto “Be Your Own Agent” as it ambitiously touts itself as “The For Sale By Owner of the future - today.”
At its core, the plan of the business model is to allow buyers, sellers and any other supporting parties to the transaction (lender, title company, etc.) to complete the entire sale online -- from listing to closing. And all this completely without the assistance of real estate brokers/agents.
According to the RealUmbrella.com website:
“With Virtual Umbrella Transaction Management Solution, buyers, sellers and all authorized parties to the transaction can seamlessly communicate; upload any transactional documents at anytime with secure access; track who has viewed or signed documents with real time access; automate calendering and action plans; electronically sign any necessary documents; and allow third party companies such as escrow, title and lenders permission to view, exchange, or upload critical information pertaining to the transaction 24/7.”
A recent article in RealEstateJournal.com, a division of the Wall Street Journal, contains an interview with the founder of RealUmbrella.com and discusses details about the company and its plans: http://www.realestatejournal.com/columnists/housetalk/20070921-fletcher.html?refresh=on.
Without a doubt, companies like RealUmbrella.com provide a source of competition to real estate agents and many real estate agents will probably demonize this company and other new entrants like Zillow and Trulia as a threat. My own view, however, is that innovation and competition are healthy to any market. If RealUmbrella or any of these other web-based real estate companies are successful, that means that they will have satisfied market demand or filled a niche not addressed by anyone else.
The nature of a free market means that this is good for both consumers and, ultimately, the real estate profession. Consumers will be given yet another choice. And, the extra competition will force real estate agents to justify their commissions by ensuring they add sufficient value to the transaction. Those real estate professionals who are able to serve a niche or provide a high level of professional service will succeed. Those who don’t will leave the industry, a benefit again to both consumers and the high quality real estate professionals that remain.
At its core, the plan of the business model is to allow buyers, sellers and any other supporting parties to the transaction (lender, title company, etc.) to complete the entire sale online -- from listing to closing. And all this completely without the assistance of real estate brokers/agents.
According to the RealUmbrella.com website:
“With Virtual Umbrella Transaction Management Solution, buyers, sellers and all authorized parties to the transaction can seamlessly communicate; upload any transactional documents at anytime with secure access; track who has viewed or signed documents with real time access; automate calendering and action plans; electronically sign any necessary documents; and allow third party companies such as escrow, title and lenders permission to view, exchange, or upload critical information pertaining to the transaction 24/7.”
A recent article in RealEstateJournal.com, a division of the Wall Street Journal, contains an interview with the founder of RealUmbrella.com and discusses details about the company and its plans: http://www.realestatejournal.com/columnists/housetalk/20070921-fletcher.html?refresh=on.
Without a doubt, companies like RealUmbrella.com provide a source of competition to real estate agents and many real estate agents will probably demonize this company and other new entrants like Zillow and Trulia as a threat. My own view, however, is that innovation and competition are healthy to any market. If RealUmbrella or any of these other web-based real estate companies are successful, that means that they will have satisfied market demand or filled a niche not addressed by anyone else.
The nature of a free market means that this is good for both consumers and, ultimately, the real estate profession. Consumers will be given yet another choice. And, the extra competition will force real estate agents to justify their commissions by ensuring they add sufficient value to the transaction. Those real estate professionals who are able to serve a niche or provide a high level of professional service will succeed. Those who don’t will leave the industry, a benefit again to both consumers and the high quality real estate professionals that remain.
Branden Schroeder
Prudential Carruthers Realtors
Please visit my Maryland Real Estate website
Phone: (410) 571-1378
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