IggysHouse.com is back. The Chicago-based company allowed sellers to add their homes to some multiple listings services for free and provided discount real estate and mortgages services before it ceased operations in July 2009 and was bought by Webdigs Inc., a Minneapolis-based discount real estate brokerage.
Webdigs’ acquisition came after Iggys withdrew its request for an initial public offering in January 2008 — Iggys had never turned a profit.
IggysHouse.com has relaunched with a new business model, according to a Wednesday announcement. Sellers will still be able to post to some MLSs for free in the states of Florida, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and their home listings will also appear on highly-trafficked Realtor.com — but only for the first 30 days.
Then, sellers can continue to list their home for a monthly pay-as-you-go $49.99 fee. Site administrators evaluate the listings and make sure it complies with MLS rules and regulations before posting it.
"Iggys is designed for the consumer (who is) very self-serving," said Webdigs co-founder Tom Meckey. He said the only difference with the new IggysHouse model "is that it’s no longer free to be on the MLS."
If a transaction closes for a property listed by IggysHouse, the seller is required to pay a $149 closing fee for a review of the closing statement — to answer any questions and to make sure that all fees and charges appear on the correct side of the transaction, the company said on its Web site. Optional services, like agent assistance and virtual tours, also have fees.
Sellers can list their home on the IggysHouse.com Web site at no charge, while the site’s free-for-30-days MLS service is limited to the three states where Webdigs has brokerage operations. The company announced that it is putting together a list of broker affiliates to take listings in other states.
Buyers seeking real estate services are rerouted from IggysHouse.com to the parent company’s site, Webdigs.com, which offers buyers up to a 50 percent rebate on the commission.
"For those (consumers) who wanted to represent themselves, that didn’t exist on Webdigs. We could have created it, but Iggys already had it," Meckey said.
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