Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sawbuck?

Sawbuck Realty, LLC is a licensed real estate broker. But we’re a little different from most other real estate companies—our agents are employees who consult with buyers by phone and email during the early stages of their home search. Once a buyer is ready to see properties, we connect them with an experienced local buyer’s agent. Sawbuck coordinates our unique Free Mortgage and Free Settlement and remains involved to make sure everything goes smoothly, right through settlement.

What areas does Sawbuck cover?

Currently, our property database includes listings (and recent sales) for Maryland, the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, Eastern West Virginia and Southern Pennsylvania. We will be expanding to include other areas in the near future. If you are a buyer outside of this area who would like to take advantage of our Free Mortgage, Free Settlement and Xpert Agent services—and can forego our cool search tools for now—call us. We can work with buyers from any state in the US—saving you money and connecting you with a top local agent.

Who is my agent?

Once you are ready to see properties, Sawbuck will connect you with a top local buyer’s agent who knows your target area. We specifically recruit only the best agents and teams, without regard for the company they represent. Some are from the largest area brokers; others are from smaller companies that focus on a specific town or community.

How does Sawbuck make money?

In most every home purchase, the listing agent agrees to split their sales commission with a buyer’s agent who brings a buyer to the deal (that’s how buyer’s agents get paid). When Sawbuck connects one of our customers with an Xpert Agent, that agent agrees to pay Sawbuck a percentage of their cut of the commission. They do this for two reasons: 1) they get a buyer client without wasting time and money on the networking and marketing normally required to get business; and 2) Sawbuck is doing a significant portion of their usual work, including early consultation, providing listing and comparable sale information, managing the mortgage process, and overseeing the settlement process.

What does Sawbuck do with its money?

Sawbuck built and maintains a live copy of the MLS database. We create, maintain, improve and support a set of industry-leading search tools for our customers. We consult with customers by phone and email throughout the buying process. We subsidize customers’ mortgages to be sure they get a below market rate, yet pay no closing costs. We negotiate with settlement companies to be sure our customers pay the lowest closing costs allowed by law. We coordinate both the mortgage and settlement processes. We stay in touch with buyers and agents through the contract, inspection and contingencies—all the way to settlement. Our overriding goal is to give customers as much value as possible for our small portion of the sales commission.

What is a “sawbuck”? Why’d you pick that name?

A “sawbuck” has two connected meanings. Originally, it was an “X”-shaped sawhorse used by pioneers to hold wood as it was sawed into boards for homebuilding. Subsequently, it became common slang for a 10-dollar bill, because the prominent roman numeral “X” reminded people of the sawhorses (a 20-dollar bill—XX—is a “double sawbuck”). We liked the name because it combined the idea of homes (as in building them) with the idea of money (as in saving yours). Plus, it’s fun to say.

At what point in my home search should I call Sawbuck?

The best time to call is when you switch from “just browsing” to “seriously looking” for a new home. We can help you come up with a financing strategy, help organize your search and show you how to make maximum use of our online tools. We’ll get you pre-qualified for your Free Mortgage and make sure you know exactly how much house you can afford. And we can walk you through the whole buying process so you know just what to expect.

At a minimum, you should call when you want to start touring homes. Instantly, we’ll put you in touch with the Xpert Agent for that area. They’ll escort you to all the homes you want to see and give you their local insight into the area and neighborhood.

How is Sawbuck different from traditional real estate companies?

The most obvious difference is that Sawbuck doesn’t have traditional offices or agents. We don’t try to hire agents, good or bad, in every city, town and village. Instead, we recognize that great agents and teams exist almost everywhere. But their voices are drowned out by the din of 1,000 other less-good agents competing for business. We identify and vet these top agents and refer our customers to them for their local expertise.

The most important difference is that we don’t try to milk as much money as possible from each client—we try to save them as much money as possible. Instead of an in-house lender charging inflated rates and fees, we pay to get buyers a below-market rate with no closing costs at all. Instead of getting a kickback from the settlement company through an ABA, we’ve negotiated the lowest settlement costs allowed by law for every one of our customers. We’re different because our only financial incentive is to give more to our customers—not take more.

How is Sawbuck different from other new real estate web sites?

Lots of people are trying to figure out how to use the power of the Internet to do real estate differently; hence several different business models have been created. Here are a few:

• Commission Rebate Model: These companies are licensed real estate brokers and members of the local MLS (multiple listing service). They have a small number of agents who operate out of a central office and deal with buyer clients on the phone and by email (might only have one or two agents for an entire metro area). Their primary attraction is that they rebate a portion of their buyer’s agent commission to the buyer, either at or after closing.
  • Pros: Rebate a portion of the commission on the buyer.
  • Cons: Less-experienced agents in a central location don’t know the local market, homes and other agents. Lower level of service for buyers (limited or no home tours, might never meet the agent, less personalized advice and counsel). Sellers (and their agents) might not take offers from these agents seriously.
  • Sawbuck Difference: Sawbuck gives buyers comparable financial benefits— including thousands in up-front savings and six figures over 30 years—while giving buyers access to the best buyer’s agents in their community. These top local agents have insight a central, office-bound agent doesn’t. They can help buyers get a better deal. And their local reputation means their offers are always taken seriously.
• Alternate-MLS Model: These companies are not licensed real estate brokers and don’t have MLS data. Instead, they aggregate data from many other sources, including tax records, assessments and listing data from select real estate brokers. They are supported by advertising, often from agents and mortgage companies trying to get business.
  • Pros: Often interesting information; no commitment required to use their site.
  • Cons: Can’t show you all the available listings because they don’t have a connection to the live MLS. Agents they would connect you to (their advertisers) tend to be less experienced. Have very limited information on recent sales (comps), often delayed weeks or months until the transfer is recorded in the county/city land records.
  • Sawbuck Difference: Sawbuck is a licensed real estate broker and member of the MLS. Buyers can see details on every property—listings, contracts and sales—in real time on our site. We don’t accept advertising. Sawbuck saves buyers thousands of dollars and connects them with only the best buyer’s agents.
• Referral Model: These companies are licensed brokers who make money by referring buyers to local agents. The agent pays a referral fee to the company upon closing. Agents often pay, bid or compete to get the available leads. Sometimes includes a minor incentive for buyers to go through their system (Home Depot gift card, free furniture, etc.).
  • Pros: Buyers get the incentive (free furniture!).
  • Cons: The agents they refer to are often sub-par—the best agents don’t want to pay a referral fee to a company that is doing so little work. The incentives are often pretty weak—little reason for buyers to work with a low-end agent.
  • Sawbuck Difference: Sawbuck does refer buyers to local agents, but we don’t let them pay or bid to become our partner. Instead, we actively recruit only the best agents and teams for their proven track record. They are willing to partner with us because we do so much of the work (search tools, buyer consultation, mortgage, settlement, etc.). And rather than a gift card, we offer buyers substantial savings—both up-front and for as long as they own their home.

What is the MLS?

MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service (Wikipedia). It is a generic name for the database of property listings created and maintained collectively by real estate brokers (companies) serving a particular area. There are hundreds of different “MLSs” around the country. In our home area, Washington, DC, the MLS is called MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information Systems). It covers all of Maryland, the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and parts of West Virginia and Southern Pennsylvania. In fact, it’s the largest MLS in the country.

Agents create an entry in the MLS database when they list a property for sale. That entry includes hundreds of pieces of information about the property and the listing. Much of this information is available to buyers (address, description, list price, pictures, etc.); some is only visible to other brokers or agents (like lockbox codes or owners’ phone numbers). These entries are updated as the selling process goes along. When something changes, the listing agent updates the entry in the MLS database—price changes, open house dates, new pictures, etc. When the property goes under contract, the listing agent updates the listing’s status in the database to indicate to other agents that it is no longer available.

Once the sale closes, the listing agent makes one final update to the listing to show the sale date, sale price and buyer’s agent. This historical data is then very useful for the real estate community (brokers, agents, appraisers, etc.), because it tracks (nearly) all residential real estate sales in close to real time. Eventually, these sales make it to tax records, but it can take months before they appear there, and the amount of data about the home that sold is a fraction of what was in the MLS listing.