Bypassing Redfin and the Listing Agent... good idea?

[Seyi A.]

Hi BP Fam,

I recently found a potential deal on Redfin and went to tour it with a Redfin agent. The listing agent (someone else) was not there for the tour. I am still running the numbers, but think there's a deal to be done... but one that will depend on owner financing and/or a JV (equity split at resale) with the seller. Given that most listing agents for residential real estate seem to be... not exactly experts when it comes to creative financing, is it a good idea to try to reach out to the seller directly? I'm a little concerned the listing agent won't even transmit my offer if he feels it's too complicated. Are there any downsides to reaching out to the seller directly? Thanks in advance.

[Chris Mason]

Originally posted by @Seyi A.:

Hi BP Fam,

I recently found a potential deal on Redfin and went to tour it with a Redfin agent. The listing agent (someone else) was not there for the tour. I am still running the numbers, but think there's a deal to be done... but one that will depend on owner financing and/or a JV (equity split at resale) with the seller. Given that most listing agents for residential real estate seem to be... not exactly experts when it comes to creative financing, is it a good idea to try to reach out to the seller directly? I'm a little concerned the listing agent won't even transmit my offer if he feels it's too complicated. Are there any downsides to reaching out to the seller directly? Thanks in advance.

The world wasn't invented yesterday, unfortunately for you:

•  The seller has a contract with the listing agent guaranteeing her a commission, paid by the seller.
• The Redfin agent has "procuring cause" for this property, guaranteeing him a commission should you buy this particular house that he showed you, also paid by the seller. (Lurkers: this is specifically why Redfin makes it so easy to "click here to schedule a showing!")

Assuming the seller is in a position to seller finance, your down payment would need to be at least enough for that seller to fulfill their contractual obligations to the Realtors.

Also directed at the lurkers: 99.999999% of the time you can't "cut out" or "bypass" the Realtors. What you can do is get to the homeowner before a Realtor for a true off market sale, which is tough given that lots of Realtors pay for lists of homeowners statistically likely to sell based on this and that parameter, specifically to get in front of them.