What happens when you give a homebuyer more control?

A year ago, we decided to do things differently.

A traditional real estate agent takes as much work off your hands as possible. We wondered if there was another way. Less micromanagement. More control for the buyer. And professional expertise exactly when it matters most.

After nearly a year of practical experience, we can take stock of our initial findings. For those who don’t feel like reading the whole story: here are our five key conclusions.

1. A purchase doesn’t have to take months.

   Taking a more hands-on approach doesn’t seem to get in the way of a quick purchase.

2. Less contact can mean better guidance.

   The focus shifts to the moments when expertise truly adds value.

3. Engaged buyers make better decisions.

   Taking more control leads to a better understanding of both the home and the market.

4. Pay As You Go works.

   Professional expertise doesn’t have to cost thousands of euros if you only pay for what you need.

5. A home-buying coach is not a stripped-down real estate agent.

   It’s a different approach to guidance: the buyer stays in control, and the expert is there when needed.

Curious about how we reached these conclusions? Below, we share our experiences after nearly a year of home-buying coaching.

What happens when a buyer takes more control and professional expertise is only brought in when it actually adds value?

The premise was simple: don’t pay for guidance you don’t need, but be able to rely on expert guidance when it matters—through a subscription model and/or individual sessions.

Of course, as for every new company, this was an experiment for us as well. Does such a model work in practice? Doesn’t the search process take much longer that way? Can first-time buyers handle enough on their own? And does less guidance ultimately result in less service? After nearly a year of practical experience, we can now take stock. Here are our five key findings.

1. A home purchase doesn’t have to take any longer

This was perhaps the most nerve-wracking question going in. After a week, our first client ultimately opted for a traditional real estate agent (we’ve since gone back to doing that at JAY too!), because they started to feel pressured by time. Wouldn’t handling more of the process themselves slow down the search?

In practice, that fear turned out to be unfounded. The first two purchases were completed within three weeks. Even after that, we saw that a search doesn’t have to take long at all when there’s sufficient focus and the preparation is handled well.

Of course, every search is different. The housing market, the buyer’s preferences, and financing options remain important factors.

It also helps when a buyer can make an offer without a financing contingency. There are now mortgage advisors who, for a fee, make this possible by assuming part of that risk.

But our most important finding is this: the speed of a purchase turned out to be much less dependent on having everything handled for the buyer.

A buyer who understands the market, knows what they’re looking for, and is well-prepared can actually act very quickly.

2. Fewer touchpoints can deliver more value

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the past year. Traditionally, a buyer’s agent spends a lot of time on showings. But not every showing requires professional guidance. When buyers handle some of these themselves, it creates room to deploy the advisor more intensively at the moments when expertise truly makes a difference. Think of inspecting a property, assessing risks, determining its value, preparing an offer, or discussing strategy.

The result is an interesting paradox: fewer interactions can ultimately lead to better service. The available time is spent in a more targeted way. This gives the buyer more flexibility and peace of mind, while at the same time making it possible to keep total costs significantly lower. For us as advisors, it also means that our schedule is less dominated by viewings where our presence adds less value. Fewer appointments. More focus on the moments that matter.

3. Greater autonomy leads to better-informed buyers

For first-time buyers in particular, buying a home can be overwhelming at first.

A huge amount of new information comes at you in a short period of time: legal documents, homeowners’ association documentation, financing, structural aspects, home values, and ultimately, the bidding strategy.

If, on top of that, you’re actively involved in assessing a home’s value, it requires extra effort at the beginning.

But there’s an important benefit to this. We’ve noticed that this helps buyers learn how the housing market works much faster.

For example, when making an initial offer, we conduct a comprehensive analysis together. With subsequent properties, the buyer can take on more and more of this process themselves, and our role gradually shifts from that of an executor to that of a supervisor and advisor.

Some buyers, out of curiosity, make their own initial calculations the very same day after a viewing. That level of involvement leads to greater market knowledge, but above all, to a better understanding of the final decision.

This can also prevent unnecessary disappointments and legal disputes. After all, a buyer has a better understanding of what they’re buying, why they’re offering a certain amount, and what risks are involved.

A brief exploratory phase at the start of the search can be enormously helpful in this regard. Don’t make an offer right away; instead, first learn to evaluate, compare, and analyze. We believe this preparation is valuable even when working with a traditional buyer’s agent.

A well-informed buyer ultimately makes better decisions.

4. Paying for expertise when you need it works

A key idea behind the concept was that professional real estate guidance doesn’t have to be a luxury.

With full-service purchase guidance, costs can run up to €5,000 or more. In our programs, we see that buyers spend an average of about €1,000 to €1,500 when they opt for guidance on an as-needed basis.

Those who only need ad hoc advice, a second opinion, or support regarding an offer can sometimes even access professional expertise for as little as €100 to €350.

This creates an entirely different model:

Pay as you go.

The buyer decides for themselves where help is needed. Moreover, this is becoming increasingly easier. Buyers have online access to much more information than before, and tools like AI make it easier to prepare on their own.

That doesn’t make professional expertise obsolete. It mainly changes what that expertise is used for. Less time spent on information a buyer can gather on their own, and more time on interpretation, risks, strategy, and oversight.

This can be particularly appealing for people searching in multiple cities at once. A traditional real estate agent sometimes charges a higher rate for this, whereas guidance based on actual usage can be structured much more flexibly.

5. A home-buying coach is not a cheaper real estate agent

This is perhaps our most important conclusion after nearly a year. At first glance, the comparison with a real estate agent seems obvious. After all, the home-buying coach does some of the same work.

But we now see it differently. A home-buying coach is not a stripped-down or cheaper version of a real estate agent. It’s a different approach to guidance.

With a traditional real estate agent, the focus is on taking the hassle off your hands.

With a home-buying coach, the focus is on supporting you as you take the lead. That difference may sound small, but it has significant implications for how the home-buying process is structured.

For some home seekers, having everything taken care of remains, without a doubt, the best choice. If you have a very busy job and want to spend less time on the search, a real estate agent is an excellent option (which we’d be happy to help with for €3,999!). Even so, we strongly recommend a high level of personal involvement.

However, there’s also a large group of home seekers who are perfectly capable of searching for and viewing homes on their own and who want to be involved in the final decision.

As long as professional expertise is available when needed, a fully managed service isn’t necessary at all for that group.

Our Conclusion After Nearly a Year

Perhaps the most important lesson from the past year is that more guidance does not automatically mean better guidance.

Giving a buyer more responsibility can sometimes take a little extra time at first. But that investment pays off in knowledge, engagement, and ultimately better and faster decision-making. At the same time, professional expertise can be deployed in a much more targeted way. This makes our services more cost-effective, without sacrificing expertise at critical moments.

For some homebuyers, having everything handled for them will always remain the best solution. But for buyers who want to stay in control, there appears to be an excellent alternative:

Do what you can or want to do yourself—and call on experts when it really matters. Good luck with your search, and feel free to text or call if you have any questions,

Joost Kok

Owner ofJAY De aankoopcoach