New to Task-Based Real Estate? Here's a Great Place to Learn More!

Task or fee-based real estate agreements are a great way to give home buyers more choice, control and transparency when buying a new home. Since they are a relatively new home buying approach, you may have questions about how this approach can keep more money in you pocket while still giving you control. The Frequently Asked Questions below will help answer some of your questions about the process and the benefits that come with joining Home Buying Revolution.

What is Nucazza?

Nucazza is an initiative aimed at changing the way homes are purchased in the United States.

Most  existing real estate models don't take into consideration the massive changes that have occurred during the past decade, not only due to the collapse of the US housing market, but also due to an explosion of tools and resources available to today's home buyers.

Because home buyers today are able to do more of the planning, research and legwork involved in buying a new home than ever before, many buyers feel that paying an agent for the buyer a 3% commission on top of everything else doesn't take into consideration the value of the work already being done by buyers. As a result, more and more buyers are pushing back on the commission-based real estate sales models and are looking to strike deals with buyer agents that are based on payment for only the individual tasks those realtors help buyers complete.

The result of this shift not only gives home buyers better more reasonable options when financing a closing, but gives Realtors® a consistent stream of income that is not tied to contingencies based on a successful house closing.

Through home buying revolution, our goal is to bring prospective home buyers together with licensed Realtors® who can provide them with the expert guidance and support they need to successfully close on a new home while still giving home buyers the options of doing many of the tasks themselves.

How Does Nucazza Help Home Buyers?

During the past decade, due to major advances in online technology, people interested in buying a new home can turn to a number of free options that can make the process of finding the right home and researching neighborhoods, schools, places of worship, community organizations and local economies a breeze.

Comprehensive studies reveal that nearly 90% of Home Buyers today start their journeys using these online tools. And why not? In most cases, the quality and usefulness of the information being provided makes finding a dream house a cinch!

But home buyers also need to understand how to protect themselves so that buying their dream home doesn't become a nightmare. Having a fully-qualified and licensed Realtor® on your side can be worth plenty if a transaction starts to go south. But today most Realtors® still work on a commission structure which means that if you want their help you're going to have to pony up a commission that is often based on between 4 - 6% of the home's selling price split between the Seller's and Buyer's agents. This means that if the asking price for a house is $400,000, then the commission costs alone would be $24,000 at a 6% rate! Despite conventional wisdom, IT'S THE BUYER'S MONEY that is used to pay the home closing costs which includes paying the commissions. For a home buyer who is able to eliminate the cost of the buyer's agent commission from the price of the home, the overall cost savings on a 30 year mortgage can equal tens of thousands of dollars!

This charge, especially for home buyers who are already taking on a number of the home buying responsibilities themselves, is a deal killer. So, instead of hiring an Agent for the Buyer many home buyers are attempting to go it alone. This decision can be a huge mistake when the lack of home buying and negotiating experience leads to the purchase of a home that fails inspection, is overpriced or has legal issues such as a property lien or zoning conflicts.

Of course it makes sense to take advantage of  the skills and experience of a Realtor® so that you avoid making costly mistakes by going it alone. Yet, few home buyers can justify the cost of a commission as appropriate payment for that support.

Nucazza was created to bring home buyers who want to take on some of the tasks and responsibility of buying a home together with Realtors® who are willing to perform their services in exchange for direct payment for the completion of individual tasks. Not only does this mean that home buyers can still rely on the skills and experience of a licensed Realtor® but that instead of paying a commission at closing, home buyers only need to pay for the tasks they want the Realtor® to perform on their behalf. The result is that the Realtor® gets paid for the work they do, the home buyer is able to reduce the amount they need to borrow on the home by 3% or can receive that difference as cash back at closing or as a concession toward closing costs (depending on applicable local and state laws).

It's a win/win situation!

How Much Does it Cost to Join Nucazza?

Nothing. Nada. Not a cent. Put your wallet back in your pocket. Your money is no good here.

We built Nucazza as a way to connect qualified Realtors® willing to add task-based services as another way to provide value to home buyers looking for support but  unwilling to pay a real estate commission for that support.

All of this is at no cost to either Realtors® or home buyers. Really. Truly. Actual fact.

And you haven't signed up yet because...?

What does Nucazza Sell?

We don't sell anything.

While this seems a dubious business model for any company, the reality of Nucazza is that we are in the business of bringing Realtors® who are willing to sell their professional services on a task-based model together with home buyers who need those services.

In exchange, we are able to introduce these home buyers to mortgage lenders, title companies and other real estate service vendors who are willing to compete for their business because competition breeds excellence! In return, these service providers underwrite Nucazza so that we can continue to build a database of participating Realtors® and give prospective home buyers access to the support that they need.

At the end of the day the home buyer has access to affordable and professional support and participating Realtors® are able to increase their salaries by selling their valuable services as consultants and advocates.  This also means that mortgage lenders and title companies are positioned so they can compete for the ability to work with the Home Buyer DIRECTLY and bring honest, transparent and beneficial pricing and services to the table in a no hassle, no-pressure way.

Right now this is only the first spark of a revolution. But like most sparks, it only takes a little while before they become big flames.

Why Was Nucazza Created?

Nucazza was created to help level a playing field that has gotten more and more out of balance every year.

Major challenges for mortgage, title , home inspection and other companies involved with providing services to home buyers, includes identifying buyers when they enter the market. These obstacles impedes market competition and increases service costs to consumers. To magnify the issue, many real estate brokerage firms isolate home buyers from service options other than those they control directly.

While the real estate needs of the home buyer are being addressed, it's often not much of a deal because that home buyer has only a single choice for the services being offered. This means that the mortgage agreement that most  buyers are presented with is based on whatever rate the in-house lender wants to charge and not on competitive offers from different lenders. It means that the title will be handled by a title company the brokerage company has a partnership with, or worse, has in their back pocket. This could mean that instead of a title company that work closely with a buyer to solve obstacles that might get in the way of a successful house closing, long-term problems may just be hidden away to make sure the deal goes through. The simple fact is that mortgage companies. title companies and home inspection companies just want a chance to compete for a home buyer's business.

The short reality is that home buyers who go down this brokerage path have little choice over the services they receive or the transparency of that support. Instead they are given lock-step options that are more often based on the revenue sharing backroom arrangements (legal and illegal) that these companies make with one another rather than on the needs of the home buyer.

The Nucazza models were designed to help give home buyers as much choice, competition and transparency as possible so that they have access to products and services that are more in line with their PERSONAL needs. This includes giving home buyers access to several lenders willing to compete for their business. Direct access to home buyers eliminates revenue sharing with real estate brokers and reduces the cost of origination, allowing competing service providers the ability to offer significant savings to consumers.

Home buyers who join Nucazza can choose to explore, interview and work with any of the  licensed Realtors®  and other service provider who understand and are willing to participate in the revolution.

It's that simple.

Why Should Home Buyers Care? They Don't Pay Closing Costs!

Actually, they do.

While at a closing it's the seller who ends up writing all the big commission checks to the buyer's and seller's brokers, the reality is all that money came out of the pocket of the home buyer first.

The bottom line is that the selling price of a house is based on the amount that the seller wants to walk away with after all other expenses have been addressed. This means that a home selling for $400,000  already has a 6% commission pay out factored in to the selling price (along with transfer taxes and other expenses) and the seller expects to net about $370,000 when all is said and done.

However, if the buyer is able to work with a Realtor® who is willing to be paid by the task and not by commission, then the actual selling price of the home can be amended to reflect that change. While reducing the purchase price of the home by 3% doesn't make a bit of difference to the amount of money that the seller walks away with, it means a significant amount of savings to the buyer (especially when that 3% is amortized over 30 years!). In addition, the buyer can use their money toward closing costs or even to get cash back at closing, depending on applicable state and local laws.

At Nucazza we want to bring full transparency into the home buying process. Buyers should be able to understand what they are paying for and why, be able to see all 'hidden' fees and be able to negotiate a deal that meets the needs of both sides.