Online Real Estate Brokerage Magnifies Discounts

Map-based searches, such as the one on Sawbuck and other sites, are a fun, efficient way to explore neighborhoods. Sawbuck's version offers more information than most. Click on a for-sale house to get the full addresses, original listing price, subsequent price markdowns and the length of time on market. That's critical information for estimating how much a property is worth.

Sawbuck makes it easy to track where you've visited already. You can rank each home on a scale of one to four stars. On repeat visits, just skip those you've already given a low rank. (Rankings are just a memory aid and are not published on the site.)

Unlike other sites, Sawbuck allows you to use the same map flyover method to gather price information for recently sold homes. It includes the original list price and the actual sales price, which can help you figure out the direction in which prices are trending.

After you've finished searching, should you stick with Sawbuck for the purchase? It's at least worth getting a referral to one of its participating agents. Interview the agent and ask for references before you commit to working with him.

When I've tested other Web sites, I have all too often been referred to an inexperienced agent who knows nothing about the specific neighborhoods in which I'm interested.

Wolcott said the company plans to refer buyers only to screened real estate agents who have significant experience working with buyers. I was able to speak with two longtime, top-selling agents, one in Virginia and one in the District, who confirmed that they are working with Sawbuck, although both asked not to be named for fear of undermining their traditional brokerage business.

We can hope agents will take the paper bags off their heads once the Web site becomes more established.

In exchange for referring buyers to agents, Sawbuck earns a referral fee of about 30 percent of that agent's share of the commission. Wolcott said the company uses part of that fee to buy down the buyer's mortgage interest rate with its participating lender. That lender also agrees not to charge prepaid interest -- in other words, points -- or other fees related to the mortgage, not even for the appraisal or credit report.

Like the incognito real estate agents, that lender doesn't want to publicize its involvement with Sawbuck so other customers don't push for similar discounts.

The title company doing business with Sawbuck, District-based Federal Title & Escrow, will waive fees amounting to about $300 for Sawbuck customers. Title companies earn most of their income from hefty commissions on the title insurance they sell. For example, Todd Ewing, president of Federal Title, said his company retains 85 percent of the premium as its commission. That's how a title company can afford to discount or eliminate its other fees.

If you use a Sawbuck real estate agent, you are not required to also use its mortgage or title partner. But to get the discounts, you must use the Sawbuck agent.

I hope the Sawbuck system develops as promised. So far it looks like a good, low-risk deal that puts more power in the mouse-clicking hands of buyers. At a minimum, it's already a great search tool.

E-mail Elizabeth Razzi atrazzie@washpost.com.