After my HN debut two years ago, PropBox.co has evolved from an advertising platform called ziphomez to a complete MVP SaaS low-flat-fee solution for residential home transactions. What began as a physical model in 1989 that ultimately failed has finally found its digital wings in March 2025. To the 273 commenters who offered guidance, your feedback helped shape our new platform—Thank You. Persistence outlasts failure. The best innovations sometimes take many years to realize fully. Never give up.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36365511
We could not make every change, but we made many. The Hacker News community is a valuable resource for startups. Thank you all for giving back. montgomster
Hi, jamesgill. We realize not everyone is going to agree early. We think consumers have been trained by the internet to expect things fast, easy, ans cheap. The is a lot of evidence that demonstrates the trend. PropBox will fill a need for many people early because it is fast, easy,and cheap. There is a customer on this thread that is waiting for a photographer before he posts, who will save $100k if the home sells for anywhere near what they believe it is worth. Time will tell, but we are working for a bright future. Thanks for sharing your beliefs. Richard
gunapologist99, the forms are built into the product. They are simple forms to read and understand. I have answered thousands of consumer real estate questions and it is apparent by the questions they ask that many consumers are not reading the contracts. They turn to their trusted advisor and ask them if the doc is OK to sign. This is s very poor practice for consumers, brought on in part by the internet. The bulk of consumer do not read Amazon's ToS, or any other site. We don't think we can force people to read them, but if we make the purchase doc simple, and easy to read, they will read it. IMO, PropBox is breaking new ground. There is zero commission. Sellers are paying for an ad that makes the transaction easy by bringing the customers together instead of keeping them apart. A real estate transaction can be a win-win not a tug of war. Thanks for your review and your interest. Richard
Hello,DeLopSpot. Many ToS docs push skirmishes into one state. We are thinking it is easier for the customers to argue in the state the property is located. This is under advisement. The blank line is simply an oversight. Out of curiousity I will ask IT about the non-selectable/non-copyable comment. I suspect it has to do with speed. I am not technical. Thanks for your observations. Richard
Hello joshuawithers. Thanks for giving me a chance to respond. If an australian owns a home in the U.S. they are a potential customer. Or if they live in Peru and want to buy a home in the US, they are a potential customer. You are correct that we only offer it in the United States. Thanks for your comment. Richard
Hello, madsbuch. I feel the same way. Not so much about me, but I think in many cases young and enthusiastic cannot compete with old, patient, and experienced. Thanks for your comment. Richard
Hello, yaseer. Thanks for your comments. Actually,here is my linkedIn profile.[1] I have had a wonderful life to date. Like everyone else, wonderful achievements and devastating disappointments. Life comes at us hard sometimes. For me I have always believed I did the best I could with the information I had available. So when something bad happens, its never the end of the world, so it isn't the event that is important, it is how you respond to the event that is important. I'm happy to wake up in the morning and realize that I am just a small grain of sand on a very big beach.Thanks for asking. [1]https://www.linkedin.com/in/dearmontydotcom/
