An Update On Brokerate
You can beta test something to death, but sometimes there’s no substitute for the real world. When we began planning Brokerate we struggled with how to handle comments and the potential for abusive behavior. At the time, we thought that we’d provide the platform, appeal to everyone’s sense of decency and let the market take…
You can beta test something to death, but sometimes there’s no substitute for the real world. When we began planning Brokerate we struggled with how to handle comments and the potential for abusive behavior. At the time, we thought that we’d provide the platform, appeal to everyone’s sense of decency and let the market take care of itself. After watching things play out over the first few days, we’ve grown increasingly uncomfortable with the number of mean, trite and foundationless comments. While our goal in creating the site was clearly to provide the consumer with a useful tool, we’ve decided that on balance the comments are too destructive; while we are unapologetic about the need for more transparency and accountability in the profession, we have to listen to our own conscience–which has served us well navigating the sometimes dicey waters of Brownstoner–and balance that need with the fact that peoples’ livelihoods are at stake here. So here’s the plan: We’re keeping the rating system (which has a control in place to limit each user to voting only once for each broker), replacing the comments with a references (if you feel strongly about a broker, you can leave your email for potential clients to contact you), and are going to work over the next few weeks to build more functionality and searchability into the broker profiles (hopefully to include things like neighborhood specialization and lists of closed transactions). We hope to have the changes to the comments section done by the end of the day today. We’d also appreciate everyone’s ideas about additional functionality they would like to see in the future.
Thanks,
Brownstoner
If it ain’t broker, don’t fix it. If it IS broker, cut it loose.
More and more people are coming to realize that Foxton’s puts them in the driver’s seat. The question’s simple: do you want to sell your property for top dollar and keep most of the profits yourself? Or do you want to split it 50/50 with a bearded guy in jeans who tries to bury you under an avalanche of statistics, math, percentage points, APRs, etc?
Sure, they’ll help you avoid the pitfalls of selling, except the biggest one of all – using a realtor. Word to the wise: cut out the middleman and let Foxton’s take care of it. I did…and let’s just say I $$cored bigtime.
if REagents are obsolete Bobb, why does Foxtons still use them? Why do over 80% of properties in the US get sold by a broker? The fact is Bobb, brokers are not obsolete, they provide a service, just like any other service industry they have to adapt to the market. Thsoe that don’t adapt and don’t respond to consumer demand WILL die like the Dodo. But others have chosen to increase their services, please their clients and truly earn their commission.
It is real easy for a FSBO to sell when the interest rate is 4%-7%. property practically sold itself the last 2-3 years. but now, things are-a-changing and the need for a skilled negotiator to represent your needs will be invaluable yet again…no website can do that for you.
I feel that you should not recreate the wheel. Follow the must successful rating system ever made – eBay. It allows for a LIMITED number of characters, therefore you must be succinct in stating “good” or “bad” and the broker has an opportunity for an equally limited rebuttle. Why not hear both sides of the story? When workign with the public – you can never please them all.
Fundamental flaw of Brokerate’s premise: trying to gauge the integrity, competence and/or personality of local realtors is a waste of time now that Foxtons has empowered the SELLER, thus rendering RE agents obsolete.
That’s clearly one of the goals. The question is, How many decent brokers is it worth dragging through the mud to achieve that? There’s going to be more granularity on the ratings broker data soon.
Without comments, the ratings are too vague. I agree with the idea of having a more specific ratings system (promptness 1-5, etc.) I’ve personally dealt with a lot of really great brokers and only a few that were remarkably bad– but I’ve always wished I could save other people time and frustration by warning them about the remarkably bad ones… so the site appealed to me as it was before.
Brownstoner – I really like you. Your heart is in the right place. Just get rid of this Brokerate thing all together. New York city is a truly wonderful place but in many ways (as far as the people go) it’s the “high maintenance capitol” of the world – everyone likes to complain – have things their way – etc. To think that everyone would be honorable and fair in their rating of real estate brokers was frankly giving folks too much credit.
When I first saw the Broker rating thing – I honestly thought to myself – oh my god these brokers are going to get lambasted in this very public format.
It seems too personal somehow. Just my opinion
As a real estate broker and business owner, I like the idea of the comments. It will help me to indentify exactly what we should continue to do and what we need to change .
(12.47 & 1.04 here)
Removing the comments altogether seems a little baby with the bathwater.
Just thinking it a little bit more in reference to other places that I check out online.
The Washington Post online lets you do feedback/discussion on columns but to do so, you have to create an account. And if anyone is particularly abusive, the WaPo will take a look at it and ultimately terminate their account.
I eat dinner at work quite frequently and so use menupages extensively. They also have a ratings/comments system. And if something has high ratings from five reviews but then I see that four of them are the, “I came here when visiting New York” or, “I’ve been coming here for 15 years” variety I discount them more than I do if they’re the, “I saw the good reviews here and went to check it out myself and this really is the best Chinese in Midtown” variety. Because someone just visiting NYC or going to their local… of course it’s going to be a higher rating. So having a fuller explanation gives the straight numbers more meaning.
At the end of the day, there’s no accounting for fraud. If someone really wants to puff themselves up by writing positive reviews, there’s really not much you can do. But there’s a limit to someone’s self-serving ambition and ill-mannered spite which will work itself out over the course of many reviews.
And allowing people to be emailed for feedback, in my mind, is asking for people to be retaliated against or annoyed by people who thought they weren’t given a fair shake.
But a system of a little bit of responsibility that the account can be terminated / ratings removed along with a little community policing seems a bit superior. Also, if a created account was mandated, you could pull up all the reviews of a particular person and see if they’re always negative, always a shill, or what not.
Discussion can grow heated. But it’s not an overall bad thing.
Either way, though, keep on keepin’ on, Brownstoner.