Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2016 | Page 31

PROPERTY PORTALS

The Homebid Approach

toH Online Real Estate
omeBid, a low commission estate agency,
opened its doors in mid-2015 to great
support from the media and the public
with a revolutionary new offering in the real estate
industry,only charging 1.95% commission against the
7.5% plus vat of traditional estate agencies,
HomeBid was the brainchild of Neville Berkowitz,
an over 40-year veteran in the property industry. As
a pioneer of property economics in South Africa, in
2013, Berkowitz (61), foresaw the difficult years that
the residential property market was facing,
Enter HomeBid- offering the sellers and investors
of homes a saving of up to R65 000 in commission for
an average home sale of R1m. “We are all aware of
the tough economic climate and are looking for ways
to save’’ says Gary Sacks GM of HomeBid, especially
when it involves what is generally one’s biggest
investment, their homes. ‘’Hence by HomeBid only
charging 1.95% commission we can calculate on a
daily basis the huge savings we are able to pass on to
both buyers and sellers’’.
The HomeBid process ensures that each seller
will have a dedicated HomeBid agent to assist them
throughout the whole process. The experienced
agent will begin by assisting with a valuation of the
property, arranging professional photographs, erect
for sale signboards and marketing on all the traditional
platforms e.g. Property 24, Private Property and 10
others. There are no additional fees for any of these
services. An added benefit of the low commission
charge of 1.95% is that now the seller can market at
a realistic selling price by not having to include the

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higher commission charges, therefore attracting more
buyers.
In our research we have found that show days are
no longer effective and that is why viewings are by
appointment only. In order for HomeBid to charge the
low commission of 1.95%, viewings are arranged so
that the seller will show the prospective buyers around
their property. It is no secret that sellers do know their
properties best and without having an agent around
pushing for a sale, the relaxed environment allows for
a better and more constructive viewing. The HomeBid
agent will be in contact with the buyers thereafter and
negotiate the best deal on behalf of the sellers. All
the legal work is done by the conveyancing attorneys
on the HomeBid panel who will go so far as to meet
with the buyer and seller at the sold property to sign
the offer and remain in constant communication until
transfer.
Internally at the HomeBid offices we have just
created a state of the art CRM system which will
be implemented shortly. The IT system will be used
to align properties for sale to our ever increasing
data base of buyers. Instead of Buyers having the
frustration of searching for properties, a property
brochure will be emailed to them as soon as we have
their specifications. This is only a drop in the ocean
of what the system is capable of doing. We are hugely
excited with the potential.

RESOURCES
HomeBid
AUGUST 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

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