For around $1000, ZipRealty lets seller certify their home and give buyers some added protection… It’s an interesting twist on the home warranty protection that many buyer’s agents provide to home buyers after the sale.
I can’t decide… Is it just a sales gimmick by Zip that won’t have much impact? Or might this actually interest some home owners who are looking to stand out with buyers who might be a bit skittish?
Makes sense actually. If BMW’s and Mercedes and other car brands can get “certified” then why not homes? Even if this is really just a better-marketed twist on the “home warranty” idea, it could be a viable way to make certain listings stand out.
I’m right with you Kevin. I’m thinking this might be a really interesting consumer play… Not sure how Zip is going to spread the word (I think a lot of their PR Capital has been swallowed by Zillow, Trulia et all), but if they can break through to people outside their normal users, it could be a big win for them.
I’ll have disagree partly because of the devil’s advocate in me and partly because of…
I think it could work but depends on Zip’s market share. Here in Atlanta, Zip has little to no market share and thousands use their website but few use the agents. So in that regard, I think people will care less locally.
Goes back to the TRUTH! Real Estate is LOCAL!
To Kevin’s point I think it could be a trend coming in the industry though, Keller Williams Certified Pre-owned, Remax, ect…. IF it goes that route, then we’ll have something to talk about.
Up here in the Great White North one of our banks-National Bank-has been offering a home warranty program for a while with all their mortgages. Costs like $100 for the program. Agents are encouraged to buy the insurance as a gift to their clients when they buy a home and get a mortgage through that lender.
So I guess it’s just a little insurance package which sounds great but actually the premium is probably only like a hundred bucks.
Car salesman enjoy a certain public opinion…do REALTORS really want to share that? It just seems a little too gimicky. Plus I read that there is an upfront fee involved for the home seller as well. Home warranties are pretty standard here. It will be interesting to see if Zip has stumbled on to the next big thing in marketing. I see you have some Nevada blogs listed, but nothing for Las Vegas! Everyone knows the action is in the southern part of the state! 😛
I agree Charles that it could come off as a bit desperate and gimicky… Definitely something to watch.
This is really nothing new but they are using the word “certified.” But before I say anymore on this, I would like to see the terms of of the warranty. Then again, you can’t really say much about this until a few “certified homes” close and we see how these warranties are handled after-the-fact.
Zip’s “certification” seems more like a gimmick to me…
Sellers can always pay for a certified home inspector to do a complete inspection prior to the sale of their home, and a home warranty provided to the buyer through any of the standard home warranty companies would cover most items that break. All they are doing is restating what is being provided in other ways.
Nice gimmick, but just a marketing trick. Sellers can get a certified home inspection for $400 or less in most cases, and the 1-year home warranty should be in the same price range, depending on which add-ons (pool, appliances, etc) they purchase. Seems Zip is actually making money on this deal by charging $1,000 for services that would cost less than that in most cases. Must be expensive paper they’re printing those “certifications” on!
This isn’t much different than Realtors advertising “Buyers, we’ll find your dream home for FREE.”, when it’s the sellers who pay the commissions.
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