Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI
This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Vicki Lynn, 67, a physical therapist assistant who relocated from California to Florida and used AI-powered platform Homa to draw up her contract without the help of an agent. Homa charges a flat rate of $1,995 for transactions with a selling agent. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
I like being a part of new ideas and more innovative ways of doing things. Thinking outside the box, so to speak, and brainstorming “how can we do this better?”
I felt the same when it came to buying a home, which I did in November with the help of AI. It was more important for me to be in control of the purchase, versus being afraid to use AI. Everything is online anyway, so why be afraid now?
I had already dealt with a buyer’s agent, and I wasn’t satisfied, so we decided to part ways. I felt it would be easier for me just to buy my home myself if I could actually take more control of the situation.
Courtesy of Vicki Lynn.
Using an agent took too much time for me and involved too many added expenses
I was aware that most sellers pay the buyer agent’s commission, so that was even more incentive to go out on my own, so I could potentially reap the financial benefits of not having an agent and get credit on closing costs.
My agent told me about the NAR settlement after I signed three contracts with an agent in less than six months. The first was in June 2025, when I flew to Florida quickly to look at some homes while I was still living in California.
It stated that I would be liable for 3% of the purchase price — although it’s typically paid by the seller — and there were some fees, like $300 and $400 fees built in there for whatever agent fees and paperwork fees they throw in.
There was almost $800 total in just fees for her being a buyer’s agent. I wasn’t crazy about that.
I signed an agreement that said she would show me two homes. Then I signed another contract once I moved to Florida. Then, right before I was going to view three properties on a weekend, she said, after changes with her company, I needed to sign a contract for all of Florida, not just certain counties.
I said, “I don’t like the idea of that. Can I just keep the contract for this neighborhood?” She said she wouldn’t be able to show me the properties if I didn’t sign the contract.
At that time, I just wanted to find a house. I didn’t care — I just signed it and said, “If I don’t find a home by December, I’m going to stop looking.” I was going to let the contract run out and start searching on my own.
I was skeptical to have AI write up my contract, but it worked out
When I found out about Homa, I had already found a home that I wanted. I knew the area I wanted to live in, and I knew what the prices were, so I had already done a lot of the work prior to Homa.
I was a buyer who was ready to buy, and I was going to act quickly. If something checked all the boxes, then I was going to act on it with an offer quickly.
Homa helped me with the writeup of the contract. I was able to just go online and easily make an offer, put a closing date, and get all the information on the offer, and get the ball rolling quickly.
The listing price of the home I wanted to buy was $316,000, and there was a lot of competition — I knew that. Because I’d done my research, I knew it was worth it, and that if I undercut them too much on the asking price, I probably wouldn’t get the house.
I offered what they were asking, and then I asked them for the 2.5% that they were going to pay the agent — it came to $7,900 — as a credit on the home instead. So that was also an incentive not to use an agent.
I possibly could have lost this sale had I been with the agent because the time it was taking for them to show me things was around a week, and I didn’t like the wait — I felt like I was losing. With Homa, I was able to act very quickly.
I was a little skeptical during the process. After I got in the middle of it, I thought, “How much do I really know about this? This is a contract, and who has access to it?”
But the contract seemed to be thoroughly researched and I felt very comfortable with it. I read through it and the addendums that were my options, and everything was really clearly stated, and I just didn’t see any glitches.
I think anyone who’s comfortable using computers — which most people are these days — can do this.
I would rather have the control, and when I see something, I act on it quickly without having to go through two agents and a seller. I felt like it made everything so much simpler than the alternative.
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