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Real estate agent and software engineer Jarred “JJ” Friedman has such faith in real estate software company Remine that he was willing buy it to the tune of $1.6 million — so long as he got to look under the hood.
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Friedman is Remine’s director of product engineering and joined the company in September 2020, more than two years after getting his real estate license and becoming a luxury estates director for Compass in the Los Angeles area. He now hangs his license at Carolwood Partners in Beverly Hills.
Jarred “JJ” Friedman
He was one of three bidders when Remine sold at auction last week. The deal is expected to close on May 2 unless Remine’s creditors or others object.
“I decided to bid on Remine because I really believe in the product — and, more importantly, the team,” Friedman told Inman.
“I don’t believe in the narrative that the [multiple listing services] are going away or that there isn’t a need for them. MLSs are crucial to providing structure and regulation, not just for agents and brokerages, but also for vendors, products, trainers, etc.”
At the auction, real estate tech and agent services company Place made the opening bid: $1.5 million in cash at closing, subject to overbids in increments of $100,000, according to a legal filing detailing the sale.
After hearing the opening bid, one of the other bidders, Solid Earth, declined to overbid and dropped out of the auction while the remaining bidder submitted a contingent bid. That bidder was Friedman.
Friedman offered $1.6 million in cash but wanted a 10-day due diligence period.
“Since they had to close by the end of the month, they didn’t want to take a contingent bid with the risk of the deal not closing,” Friedman said.
“So my counter was to show them that I was serious about closing and was willing to put down 10 percent of the purchase price right away, with $25,000 of that non-refundable.
“Then, after the 10 days, I would provide the remaining 90 percent in cash. They … ultimately decided that it was a better offer for them to take the $1.5 million with no contingency, as it locks the buyer into having to go through with the sale regardless of what they find before the end of the month.”
Had he won the auction, his plan was to turn Remine into a software development services company focused on serving MLSs based on their specific needs.
“The tech in this industry has always been a bit behind — not because of the talent, but because of the complexity and differences between the needs of each and every MLS,” Friedman said.
“Some have multiple MLSs, some have multiple associations, data shares, dual entry — the list goes on and on. The problem is that to make money at scale in tech, everyone focuses on SaaS (or one-size-fits-all), which is nearly impossible in this industry. That makes onboarding and maintaining customers expensive and difficult — which is why Remine never made a profit.”
Nevertheless, Friedman said he “couldn’t be happier” with Place buying Remine and plans to stay at the company.
“I obviously think Place’s business model is a little different from what I had in mind, as they are a SaaS shop, but their focus on building teams and providing top-of-the-line products is really exciting,” Friedman said.
“They also have the resources to deliver on their products and can provide infrastructure that Remine has never had. I really do believe that Remine is in an amazing place with this acquisition and could not be happier with the outcome.”
