Today’s RealTrending podcast features Nick Ron, CEO of House Buyers of America, which buys renovates and resells homes. Ron discusses the difference between his company and an iBuyer and how important it is to have a personal touch.
Here is a small preview of today’s interview with Nick. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:
Nick Ron: We don’t consider ourself an iBuyer. We do automate our valuations and a lot of the process, but the reason we aren’t an ibuyer is because we’re also high-touch. So if you look at any of the large iBuyers out there, really, they don’t like talking to people. I mean, they just don’t. You talk to the computer. They have these fancy websites, and you get an offer online.
We realize that real estate is and will always be a high-touch experience. This is people’s largest asset and not everyone’s comfortable working only through a computer. Well, our customers can if they want to, but we’re following up with them. We call them at least once a week and say, “Hey, do you need anything? And here’s what step of the process we’re in.” And we’re here to guide them and handhold them through the process. So we’re a combination of high-tech and high-touch, that’s what makes us different.
In this market, the iBuyers are buying a lot of volume, all losing money. So they’re very good at losing money. So that’s where the iBuyer space is. iBuyers clean and list — that’s the model. But, our mindset is that we’ll do whatever we can to add value to the property. If it needs a new foundation; we’ll put in a new foundation. If it needs to be gutted, we’ll gut the house. And we’ve done that. And obviously, we’re trying to maximize the return on investment.
RealTrending features the brightest minds in real estate. Twice a month, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts share their success secrets, trends, and lessons learned navigating this ever-changing industry. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by Elissa Branch.
