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pghquest, You've elected to take the OP's thread into a different direction so I'll respond to your post to help you understand where the agents are coming from.
Many people come to the Real Estate Professional forum to complain about how rediculous the commissions are that agents charge. They don't want to pay for the services because they think the service is not worth the fees. (granted that some agents aren't worth their discounted fee)
This goes on every day. Is that what this forum is for - to bash realtors fees? Of course not, no more than it is a forum where realtors are expected to give up their proprietary information for free.
So one has to expect that a response to a post is going to reflect how an agent feels about the subject, and it may not be what an op wants to hear.
If selling a house, or buying a house is so easy, then one should not need to come here for advice. Just go do it.
So if individuals are willing to come here and bash realtors who are trying to make a living, isn't it reasonable to expect that realtors will balk when the same people who don't want to hire us are asking us to reveal our (worthless) proprietary marketing information?
It cost me a tremendous amount of money and time to experiment with many marketing venues and strategies in order to arrive at a market plan that works for me and for my clients.
That marketing plan is proprietary and is not something that I will share in public, either with other agents who would be my competition, or with homeowners who are selling their homes on their own, or the homeowner who is listed with another realtor who may not have the same marketing skills that I have learned.
The other realtors on here, and myself have shared a lot of information on how individuals can sell their home by staging, taking good photos, printing good flyers, etc., and have provided advice for solutions to many issues; but we are only going to provide a certain amount of information for free. It is not reasonable for anyone to expect that realtors should provide their proprietary information to them for free.
For the record, I do assist owners who are selling their homes on their own. I have a couple of books that I give them to be of help. I do not solicit owners who are selling on their own, because I have enough business without going after that market, or the expired markets; but when I'm contacted, and that happens often, I provide them with that information.
I'm willing to help the individual owners who request assistance because if they don't end up selling their home, and if they have confidence in me, they may hire me. Also, if they have a friend who needs a realtor, perhaps they will refer their friend to me. It is a trade off.
But I would not provide my marketing strategies.
I couldn't have said it any better. I agree 100% with Bill.
I was waiting for it to come.. Numerous negative marks because of my posting here.. Next time, be a grown up and leave your name so I can return the favor. What, when you cant argue a fact you just flame?
Anyone wanna take credit for these? Your post is off-topic in itself. You are not addressing the OP question flaming posts don't contribute anything
If you cant stand up and state your name and cant argue facts, your not very much of a "professional".
I was waiting for it to come.. Numerous negative marks because of my posting here.. Next time, be a grown up and leave your name so I can return the favor. What, when you cant argue a fact you just flame?
Anyone wanna take credit for these? Your post is off-topic in itself. You are not addressing the OP question flaming posts don't contribute anything
If you cant stand up and state your name and cant argue facts, your not very much of a "professional".
No reason for negative reputation, IMO.
Sorry some folks slither around in the shadows to try to arrest conversation.
That said, we are in disagreement on the topic.
The very best advice one can be given if they know no other marketing venues than Craigslist and the MLS(probably a standard listing) would be "Hire a Pro."
The OP cries out for that advice.
His Listing agent is irresponsible to turn him loose on the MLS, IMO.
And "Real Estate Professionals" is the place to get the truth, even though he was moved here well after his post.
I fully support minimum service legislation regarding postings to a professional venue like the MLS.
But I hate that you got hit for points. Someone is childish, indeed.
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 01-20-2008 at 06:09 PM..
Let me see if we can get this thread back on topic. The OP started by asking for advice on marketing their home without Realtor representation (I personally HATE the term "FSBO" -and try hard never to use it or give it any additional branding then it already has).
I asked how they came to the decision to do that...and the response to that started us down a completely different road. I apologize for getting it started that way (although I am sure that it would have in any event).
I agree with stevep's premise that, for some people, selling without a real estate professional can be the right decision...I was just interested in his decision making process. I think it is only fair that, as non-realtors come here to "pick our brains" that we get the same opportunity to "Pick the brain" of the consumers out there. It helps us to understand how people perceive our profession and what we can do to improve that perception (and thereby do more business - and serve our clients more effectively).
stevep-Craig's list has proven to be positive for some, and a real negative for others. It requires constant updating and exposures your home to people who "troll" it looking for potential burglary sites (if your home is vacant, I would be VERY hesitant to ever put it on Craig's list).
You need to figure out who your most likely buyer is and then identify the marketing medium where they are most likely to find your advertising (for example, if your target buyer is an older person - single story home, room for an RV...you may be more effective with print advertising - on the other hand if your most likely buyer is a young family, the Internet is the only place where you should be spending your money).
Real estate professionals do still end up serving about 75-80% of the buyers, so marketing to them (and offering a reasonable commission to an agent who brings in a buyer) is a positive idea. Be careful of asking them to do YOUR work if you do that; you don't want to have them create an "accidental agency" arrangement with YOU...you need to understand your local laws for that.
Also, be aware that people will come to your open houses, or ask to see your home who are NOT legitimate in all cases. Take appropriate steps when showing your home to keep yourself and your family safe.
Let me see if we can get this thread back on topic. The OP started by asking for advice on marketing their home without Realtor representation (I personally HATE the term "FSBO" -and try hard never to use it or give it any additional branding then it already has).
I asked how they came to the decision to do that...and the response to that started us down a completely different road. I apologize for getting it started that way (although I am sure that it would have in any event).
I agree with stevep's premise that, for some people, selling without a real estate professional can be the right decision...I was just interested in his decision making process. I think it is only fair that, as non-realtors come here to "pick our brains" that we get the same opportunity to "Pick the brain" of the consumers out there. It helps us to understand how people perceive our profession and what we can do to improve that perception (and thereby do more business - and serve our clients more effectively).
stevep-Craig's list has proven to be positive for some, and a real negative for others. It requires constant updating and exposures your home to people who "troll" it looking for potential burglary sites (if your home is vacant, I would be VERY hesitant to ever put it on Craig's list).
You need to figure out who your most likely buyer is and then identify the marketing medium where they are most likely to find your advertising (for example, if your target buyer is an older person - single story home, room for an RV...you may be more effective with print advertising - on the other hand if your most likely buyer is a young family, the Internet is the only place where you should be spending your money).
Real estate professionals do still end up serving about 75-80% of the buyers, so marketing to them (and offering a reasonable commission to an agent who brings in a buyer) is a positive idea. Be careful of asking them to do YOUR work if you do that; you don't want to have them create an "accidental agency" arrangement with YOU...you need to understand your local laws for that.
Also, be aware that people will come to your open houses, or ask to see your home who are NOT legitimate in all cases. Take appropriate steps when showing your home to keep yourself and your family safe.
All the best.
Sounds like a plan.. We can all disagree here and we can all do it without being childish. We all have different experiences, all live in different areas, all look at properties through different angles, and we all have different pricing structures that we deal with. Take this off on a side tangent benefits no one so as you stated, lets move this back to the OP.
Craigslist for me has produced a few leads, primarily if I'm doing seller financing etc. I have never found it good for anything where I need all cash to sell.
My biggest sales lead as a FSBO has been the larges local Sunday paper. Local community papers are a waste. I always be sure to include the basics, bedrooms, price, etc..
If after a month or so of not selling, I then consider bringing in a realtor so I can get them listed on the MLS. There is no denying that this is beneficial to bring in quality buyers who are looking to buy now.
Dave, I never mentioned anything regarding Craigslist on any of my postings. But I have used it when selling plus I've also been noticing a good amount of realtors also using it lately. I'm not sure how many leads are generated from it, but I look at it when I'm in the market to buy. The more places you market your property, the better are it's chances of selling, since it only take one buyer. I do agree with you that you have to be smart when advertising.... especially if it's vacant.
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We can all disagree here and we can all do it without being childish. We all have different experiences, all live in different areas, all look at properties through different angles, and we all have different pricing structures that we deal with. Take this off on a side tangent benefits no one so as you stated, lets move this back to the OP.
