John J. Keller

Real estate transactions facing new structural frontiers Technology is now invading the real estate industry to introduce new models of how real property can be bought and sold. The result is that consumers may be able to save considerable money by avoiding high-priced real estate brokers’ commissions in the future. California, as usual, is positioned to be in the vanguard of such industry-wide changes in the nature of how real estate transactions are conducted. At a minimum, consumers now have online access to listings of real estate that is for sale in their localities. This is accomplished through services like Zillo and others that are emerging in this rapidly-changing landscape. Another startup service called Beycome is an online platform that directly connects buyers with sellers and effectively cuts out the middle man. It is similar to the “for sale by owner” model but it provides access to various informational databases that the old models did not provide. Now buyers will have access to all the information previously hidden from the public on the real estate brokers’ multi-list data bases. While these are just startup companies, they have completed hundreds of transactions and given their customers heavy discounts on the traditional real estate brokers’ commissions. One problem making the old system obsolete, according to Beycome’s founders, is that brokers and agents are making very large amounts of money but not providing an equivalent in services to consumers. The trend in California and elsewhere for the long-term is inevitably toward consumers educating themselves about the real estate transactions that they seek. The rapidlyexpanding technology cannot be subdued to maintain a closed system for the benefit of a few inside interests. However, the legal mandates of such transactions will continue to require the involvement of title companies and real estate attorneys. The intricacies of inspecting the legality of title, clearing existing liens, adjusting tax and utility bills, paying governmental fees, resolving legal impediments, and the insuring of ownership and lender positions will continue to prevail into the near future. Copyright J.J. Keller © 2021 all rights reserved