New online player helping to change the home buying game in South Florida

For many buyers in South Florida, the search for a home already happens online. 

Now, a new platform called Homa is changing what happens next. It allows buyers to skip a traditional buyer's agent and potentially save thousands of dollars in the process.

Frank Sweet and his wife, who have lived in South Florida for nearly three decades, recently began searching for a new home as empty nesters. With experience buying and selling homes, Sweet said they didn't feel they needed a full-service agent.

"I found Homa. I researched the company as I do, and liked what I saw," Sweet said.

Homa's CEO, Arman Javaharian, said the platform is designed for buyers who want to take the lead in their home search while still having professional support when it matters most.

"Homebuyers will go and search for homes online, and when they're ready to actually see a home in person, we have a showing service that gets them into the home," Javaharian said. "When they're ready to put an offer on the home, we have a transaction broker that is there to actually review the contract, put the offer together, and then also help them through the closing process."

Sweet describes the experience as paying only for the services you need,  rather than a full package.

"I guess it's equivalent to a LegalZoom," he said. "You can hire a full-time lawyer, or you can buy just the services that you need, the forms, the advice, the consultations."

Homa essentially replaces the traditional buyer's agent, and that's where the savings come in. Instead of a percentage-based commission, Homa charges a flat fee and returns most of the buyer-agent commission back to the buyer at closing.

"We're able to basically claw back most of the commission that the seller was going to pay a buyer's agent and then credit that back to the buyer at closing, less our flat fee, which is about $2,000," Javaharian said.

For buyers who have already closed using Homa, those savings can add up quickly.

DJ, a first-time homebuyer in the Tampa Bay area, said he saved about $10,500 on his purchase.

"As far as the numbers go – a $420,000 home – 2.5% on that is about $10,500," DJ said. "So that, I saved that pretty much on my closing."

In DJ's case, the $2,000 Homa fee didn't even come out of his pocket. He said the broker provided through Homa, suggested asking the seller to cover the fee, and the seller agreed.

"It's a hell of a deal," DJ said. "You can't go wrong with it."

Homa says its platform will feel familiar to buyers already using sites like Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com,  but with additional tools once buyers are ready to make an offer.

"The difference is we actually have a whole other part of the site that helps you put the offer together," Javaharian said. "It reviews the price and the comps for you and answers questions about any property you're interested in."

Sweet said the platform is best suited for buyers who want flexibility and control over the process.

"I like the transparency, I like the support that they provided, I like the coordinator," Sweet said. "I've liked the process."

Sweet is currently under contract on a home and expects to save about $10,000 using Homa. 

The company is operating in Florida and plans to expand to other states later this year.