Edmonton Journal feature May 31/2012....

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/touch/business/story.html?id=6702363 Website solicits bids on Edmonton home sale commissions EDMONTON - Giorgio Lupinacci was browsing a silent auction when it dawned on him — why not have Realtors bid the same way when it comes to their commissions? The Edmonton entrepreneur has launched Bidcomhomes.com, a website for homeowners looking to save on the usual real estate commission of seven per cent on the first $100,000 and three per cent on the balance. Sellers post their properties online where Realtors can bid for them, competing against each other with their commission rates. The idea came when Lupinacci was mulling the sale of two revenue properties, but balking at the commission he would potentially pay to a Realtor. “I ended up going to a charity silent auction for the MS Society where people were silent-bidding on a bunch of products and the connection was just made — why not do this for homes?” Lupinacci said. Homesellers start an online profile and list their property for free. Realtors pay about $100 for a block of 30 bids they can use any time. For one particular listing, they are limited to one bid a day. The site began collecting listings several weeks ago and will begin accepting Realtors’ commission bids in a week or so. Lupinacci says the delay is to build up inventory. Edmontonian Roger Tailleur is one of the first to list a property — a condo he and his son purchased. He considered using commission-saving options like Comfree and Two Per Cent Realty, but decided to give the newest concept a try first. “It sounded like a novel idea,” Tailleur said. “I’m counting on getting maybe one or two per cent off the commission because we bought the condo in 2006 when the boom was on so we can try and recoup a couple thousand or even $2,500 for that matter.” Lupinacci says reaction from Realtors he has talked to has been positive. “They didn’t look at it as cutting their commission. If they have a good inventory, they don’t really see a problem with going on there for homes — in comparison with what they spend to get their name out there,” Lupinacci said. Ron Hutchinson, executive vice-president of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, said its members already compete against each other. “When a seller puts their home up for sale, they quite often interview two or three Realtors and look at what their commission models and their service models are,” Hutchinson said. “I’m not sure what this brings to the industry.” bmah@edmontonjournal.com twitter.com/mahspace Sent from my iPhone

It's finally here, Bidcomhomes.com is live!

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