jmorgans

I noticed a few programs that offer miles/startpoints/etc. for using their realtor to purchase real estate. Has anyone tried this? Will I somehow end up paying more for the property by doing this?

AGS

I did this through Hilton HHonors last summer. I believe I got about 1/2 Hilton point for each dollar I paid for my house. (This was not as many as you might think, as I live in a relatively inexpensive part of the country.)

I was a bit leery about doing this but my experience was very positive. The realtor I used paid for the referral from the company that Hilton used (can't remember the name but just go to the HHonors web site to find it). I was afraid I would get an inexperienced realtor but found him to be just the opposite - very experienced and very good.

As to your original question, you won't pay any more for the property by going this way, as the price you pay is independent of the fact that you got connected to your realtor through a referral from Hilton.

Of course, it's still possible to get a bad realtor through this program, but I don't believe you're under any obligation to use them, as you only get the points once you purchase your house.

AGS

Mhttoanywhere

I just used a realtor i found thru the USairways program. The realtor was great and sold the house in 5 days. We still have to close, but I am looking forward to approx. 150k miles.

scottykempf

I used LendingTree.com to find my realtor last summer to get United miles. Very smooth, realtor was with ReMax group, very experienced and nice guy. Took a while to get the miles, make sure you call and stay on top of whoever is giving you the miles. Got 35,000 United miles, enough for a trip to Hawaii. Very good experience.

psyflyer

looking to shed a condo, any1 know of miles offers through either NW or AA FFPs? Hey if your gonna pay a fixed cost i guess it makes sense to get a realtor which in the back-end gives u miles....

psyflyer

earlier today i called sirva and cendant out of the AAdvantage RE bonus offers and Im actually going to try to sell a high-rise condo in downtown boston using one of the real estate agents they are going to set me up with.... pretty interesting so far, as they assign a "real estate coordinator" which pretty much acts as your voice in case something goes wrong or if the agent does not perform etc (kind of neat). Then tomorrow they set up for me a few appointments (how many i choose) to meet with the RE agents to interview them... and then if i please, list the property. Did I mention the 220K+ AA bonus miles? I will post an update on how it all went down... hopefully it wont be a horror story.

TRRed

I'm about 99% confident that there is at least one older, lengthy thread on this opportunity, with lots of stories, including mine. As a buyer, working through these programs probably costs you nothing except possibly for realtor selection, as the commission is paid by the seller and the cost for the miles cuts into the commission the realtor receives.

As a seller though, where you have some negotiating power for commission, if you work through one of these programs, you are probably stuck with standard full commission. My experience a few years ago when selling my townhouse was that the realtor would rather cut the commission rate than work through a miles program, though I don't think one is supposed to contact a realtor directly first.

marinedjp

I am currently selling my house and contacted the HHONORS program for this purpose.
They gave me a list of companies in the area that use them and I coud tell them who I wanted my info to go to. (c-21, remax, long and foster etc) then the HHONORS people stepped out of the picture and it was up to me to pick and choose who I wanted to list with.

I got a lemon for my first realtor. Plain and simple. A lemon.
I called HHONORS program to find out my options and request a new one (it had only been 20 days - it was that obvious) - anyway, the hhonors lady told me there was no action they could take. It was between me and the realtor.
So I ended it on my own with the realtor and found a new one on my own.

The hhonors program folks are like a matchmaker/referral network. Doesn't cost you anything. They don't do anything for you either. It's just like if your friend refers you to their realtor - that realtor might give your friend a tv or gift certificate or somethinig as a thank you for the referral.
Now, the only way you get the full amount of points is if you have a full 6% commission on the house when it sells. I had a 5% cut with my listing agent and hhonors said they would give me 50% of the original points.
That math doesn't work in my opinion, nor did their refusal to step in and help me to work with the lemon of an agent they referred to me. (so much for quality control)

So I went off and found my own.

I am still using Hhonors for my moving van services and buying agent where I am ending up.

On a similar note. Stay away from Homegain.com. Their $500/1000 rebate for using their referral network comes to you in the form of a coupon for 20% off ziploc bags and puts you on mailing lists for free catalogs (which total up to $500/1000 - "it's a rebate sir, not cash" was the line they used on me when I asked.)

Boraxo

Let's see - I can choose between a unknown broker (see lemon discussion, above) + miles - OR - a well regarded local broker who will shave 1% off the standard commission and probably get a better price for my house.

Not a tough choice.

thijsseh

For South African flytalkers: you are proabably aware that Seeff offers SA Voyager miles to either the buyer or the seller.

psyflyer

wrong. the broker does not know about the deal so regardless whether the broker works for a point or five the number of miles to me its the same. It is up to you negotiate and it wont change your bottom line.

What you call Lemon. I had an interview with a fantastic broker thorugh this network which im retaining and will retain after this transaction to. She has been a top producer for 8 years with proof to show her claims. The agency put me in touch with one of their best brokers OF THE AREA which happens to be a broker I had heard about in the area. She as i mentioned is a top producer and knows exactly what she is doing and the firm Coldwell Banker is part of congolomerate Cendant Corp. Coldwell happens to be the broker of the area in terms of setting the standard.... so if anything they gave me info i wouldnt have been able to have materialized given that i do not know brokers...

Also, im selling a condo in a high-rise building in the most expensive block of downtown boston (and any other part of boston for that matter). This block has only a couple of high rises (one of them is the ritz residences). This area has fixed commission standards and are almost never negotiable so "shaving" is unlikely.

biggestbopper

I have my doubts about how fixed any commision rates are even in a fancy part of Boston. No matter what some brokers say. The Justice Department and anti-trust law look unkindly on price fixing.

In fact, giving out points on financing or listings is a way of price competition.

TRRed

My experience with the DL program about 6 years ago or the UA program 2-3 years ago was somewhat different. In both cases (the first to buy a property and the second to sell it), I am pretty sure the agents were aware of the arrangement through the mileage programs; they may not have known how many miles I would get, but they knew there was some sort of referral fee which would decrease their commission.

rlb

All real estate commissions are negotiable, and in all personal services contracts, you normally "get what you pay for". If you are hiring a lawyer to protect you, do you pick the one that gives you "mileage" or do you choose the one that will do the best job and get you out of whatever mess you got yourself into? . If you are selling your top asset- why would you not employ the best money can buy. Or when you want to invest your hard earned money, don’t you want the best representation you can get? Or, the fact you can take a mileage trip more important? Wouldn’t it be better for you to save $2,000 or make $2,000 more- and pay for first class tickets?

Why would you call a stranger, that has probably never been to the area that you are, or going to, and has no personal experience except to look up on a list and find someone who has agreed to pay them for the phone call.

Someone "pays" for those mileage points- and normally it is the Realtor who does the work. Who ever "refers" you to that licensee- requires a fee of from 25% to 35% of your side of the sale or listing, and maybe additionally the cost of the points too- those things too are negotiable.. but do not think that the Realtor does not know, they do.

When you are making your decision- think of what ever line of work you are in, and if your "boss" ( that is what you are when you hire a Realtor) came to you, and said, I want you to do the best job you can, give me 100% of your time and expertise, I want to call you late at night, Sunday morning, and when it convenient to me- and I want to pay you 35% less than you get for any other job, because I want some mileage points. Now, what would be your first response? Some food for thought. - RB

Ken in Phx

Speaking out of both sides here, I see. To start you say "all contracts are neg" but then follow it up with "you get what you pay for". Do you somehow believe that if you work a deal with a Real Estate Professional and they give you miles or a break in the % fee, that'll you'll get less of an effort for this "professional". Likewise, if you didnt negociate and took the full brunt of the real estate fee do you someone get a better effort from the agent?

Obviously, you arent familiar with a slowing housing market. When things start to get tight, you'd be suprised at the willingness of quality RE agents to drop their prices/fees or add mileage to get more competitive. Also what does that say about the character of someone who willingly negs a better rate with you or adds miles to the mix, then gives less than 100%?

Ken in Phx