Chad Torstenson’s education and training are in the medical profession, but a real estate deal three years ago turned his attention to home sales. 

Torstenson, an emergency room doctor who also carries a master’s in healthcare management, has developed a web-based platform called ShowPal that provides a variety of data collection functions — and a personal security feature — for homeowners who want to sell their homes themselves. 

He is not trying to “rattle” the traditional residential real estate market, but he does chafe at the idea that the industry seems to use a self-selected commission model that can drain the equity that folks build into their homes. When the commission comes out, so does the equity.

That was Torstenson’s experience when he and his wife sold their West Des Moines home in 2015 through a real estate agent. The $28,000 in fees amounted to the equity the couple had built up in the home.

“I figured I worked three-and-a-half years to build $28,000 in equity that was gone in 60 days,” he said. “We all tend to be problems solvers to an extent, I just thought, ‘That is a lot of money we paid to somebody else.'”

Consumers already are bypassing the “human pipeline” sales model by buying everything from groceries to dress shirts online, Torstenson said. He sees a translation to the real estate industry.

The for-sale-by-owner model is not unique, but the breadth of ShowPal could be.

The first step in developing the platform was creation of ShowPal ID, a feature that collects basic information — name and telephone number, for example — on folks who want to view a listing. ShowPal ID verifies the information. Rolled into ShowPal, the function frees homeowners from being present during a viewing. ShowPal security personnel, in many instances that would be Torstenson, show up to let the viewers in the home and lock up after they leave.

During the viewing, the potential buyers are not shadowed by an agent. Torstenson tried to market ShowPal ID to real estate agents, but with little success.

Another sweetener for the ShowPal platform is the collection of information about the listing that can answer basic questions such as the home’s age, its property tax history, affiliation with a homeowners associations, and its requirements and restrictions. Does the home have geothermal heating and cooling? ShowPal can provide the information. The platform has been finessed to work with Amazon’s Alexa.  

“We’re not saying that the value proposition of having an agent is zero,” Torstenson said. Still, “at ShowPal we took each reason to hire a Realtor and attempted to solve it.”

For a sign-up fee of $499, and then a flat fee once the home is sold, ShowPal provides a home appraisal, professional real estate photography, listing and marketing services, ID verification of buyers prior to home showings, an online showing booking and alert system, home showing assistance, and access to ShowPal’s Property IQ solution. The ShowPal platform also allows a buyer and seller to negotiate an offer or conditions of an offer online. Once a seller and buyer have reached a preliminary agreement, ShowPal’s partner real estate attorney steps in to assist the parties from contract to close.

The service currently has six listings on its website, with five of those sold or under contract.

“Some of our clients have bought and sold many properties and will use our platform for the ease and others will want extra help from a real estate agent or an attorney to help with documents or negotiate an offer with a buyer,” Torstenson said. 

ShowPal has partnered with Show Realty Group and Danilson Law Firm to clients who want additional help.