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Did I tell you about the nice bridge I have for sale?

I read on another forum today, a post, from a Realtor wanting to put together a class action suit against housevalues.com. I have actually never visited this web site but thought I best check it out to see what all the fuss is about. Well, basically it is nothing more than a “lead” generating service. My question is, why would a Realtor fall for this stuff in the first place? The only thing I could find on their site is a place to put in my zip code and then an info request form pops up. By filling out this form, I guess they send my details off to a Realtor in my area, who has paid for this service, and voila!! I get a call and an estimated value for my house. Pretty neat. Now this is what housevalues.com states on it’s front page (it‘s only page, from what I can see).

***Welcome to HouseValues.com. If you're thinking of selling your home in the next year, this FREE service will help you find your home's current market value and a suggested listing price. Click here to see a sample report.To receive your free home valuation, simply enter your ZIP Code/Postal Code in the box below, and we'll take it from there!***

This is actually the entire site. There are no other pages of info or anything else. That’s it. Unless of course you are a Realtor then you can go to another screen, give them your info and they will have a salesperson contact you to try and sell you their services. From what I understand, you can spend hundreds of dollars a month for these “leads”.

Now folks, I’m going to say it as plainly as I know how, why in the heck would anybody in their right mind pay for this service? Did you even think to look at the site before you agreed to dish out your hard earned money? Did you really think for one minute that you would make money off of these “leads”?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then, I invite you to send me $39.95 per month and I promise to provide you 100 names, addresses and phone numbers, in your area, of people that live in a house. That’s right folks. I will give you my written guarantee that every “lead” I give you is a solid “lead” who owns a home and may want to sell sometime in the future. For an additional $69.95 a month, I will personally mail everyone on your list a customized marketing, jumbo, high gloss post card. For the first 100 Realtors that sign up I will include a free link to my Blog on ActiveRain.com. Sounds like a joke doesn’t it? Well I can assure you that you have a better chance of getting business, by taking me up on my offer, than you will playing pot luck with housevalues.com. So sign up today, at GiveBrokerBryantYourMoney.com and step into the real world of lead generation.

Did I tell you about the nice bridge I have for sale?

The Golden Gate Bridge photo was taken by Russell Brown.

Posted by Bryant Tutas Broker/REALTOR(R) Tutas Towne Realty, Inc on 11/06/2006 04:14 PM

Comments (50)

housevalues, leads, lead generation, humor, education

50 Comments on Did I tell you about the nice bridge I have for sale?

NOV

2006

"The Lovely Wife Here"

I am setting up the dot com hunnee...Need a pay pal account...

Still have to get that list of addresses ready for you...

No clouds on the title to the bridge...

TLW "The Lovely Wife"...I will shop with your money...ROAR!

That is so true. I actually signed up for housevalues.com in 2000. I spent $250/month for a zip code. My plan was to get refi leads and/or turn them over to Realtors for potential listings.

I received 3-5 names and adresses per month and they were garbage.

I could get the same results by giving you $108.00/month and following up with those 100 people.

Wait a minute! How about I just call those 100 people each month? Pay nobody nothing! Do you think if I called 100 people a month for one year straight I might find 3-4 loans in the next year?

Hi Bryant,

This has been my pet peave for years. Third parties trying to reach into our pockets. Third parties see REALTORS as a gold mine for revenue. I know agents in our firm that do subscribe to this company but I don't know how much of a value it has been for them.

We have a technology meeting in the morning and I'll ask around to see how well they are doing with it.

Thanks Jay

Come on guys send me the money!! The post cards are real purty:)

This just brings to mind something I just prepared for a client in Colorado. Did you know a developer actually bought London Bridge and transferred it brick by brick to Lake Havasu City in Arizona? He felt his dream needed "something". Robert McCullough - you can read about it at http://www.mypueblowest.com/Nav.aspx/Page=%2fPageManager%2fDefault.aspx%2fPageID%3d1963593 The Mayor of London was even present to lay the first cornerstone.

Mr. McCullough is no longer with us, but perhaps he would have been interested in the bridge:-)

C’mon Bryant, don’t hold back, tell us what you REALLY think! They are huge advertisers in the Twin City area. I wonder how many REALTORS® actually use this “service?”

Jay Merton

Bryant,

I think it was PT Barnum that said a sucker is born every minute! Gee can some of them be REALTORS

BB, this is a real thorn in my side! There are agents in my office that pay HouseValues, but I have no idea what kind of, if any, business they actually get out of it. I know another agent south of me who claims to get good solid business from them. Does she really? Who knows?

The agents who pay these interlopers their hard-earned money just don't get what these businesses really are all about and how they leach into our business. If anyone here on Active Rain subscribes to HouseValues, they really should think about taking that money they pay out and put it good use for themselves--pay for SEO for their website, or something else that really will bring them real business instead of lining some other interloper's pockets.

Ann Cummings

Bahhh! I'll do it for $29.95 a month!

Oh, hell ... I've become a discounter!

CURSE YOU, BB! CURSE YOU!!!

:-)

Mitchell...It was PT Barnum that said that...Do you want to buy my bridge...I have clear title...Really...TLW...ROAR!

I feel sorry for those who have to deal with HV.com. They is pure "CHURN n BURN"....

I get a couple calls a month from companies like this, including housevalues in the past. Their pitch sounds great for the uninitiated. They sell leads from their advertising with no guarantees. Qualified my a**. I have never subscribed, never will, and you should run the other way. Better yet, if you have excess applicants Bryant, I'll be happy to help you.

That is SO sad. My experience with the leads from a different site, (I built a database to track them in an office) was that they were largely people playing on the internet and of less response value than direct mail advertising. Less than .001% were people looking to do business AND these lists went to ALL members of the 'club'.

Oh! Oh! Sign me up!!

I have always been told this... what I like to call the GOLDEN RULE of leads:

Do NOT buy leads. Reward for referrals.

I like that Derek and Mariane, I have actually belonged to homegain.com for years. It costs me nothing. If I have a closing I pay them 30%. I close about 2 to 3 deals a year and that nets me around $15,000 to $20,000. That almost pays for all my other advertising. I spend less than an hour a month responding to "leads". So if you do the math, I make about $1,000 an hour working homegain leads. The difference is I am not buying anything.

If you can pay at closing- that is a whole different animal. I have never heard of homegain- that sounds more reasonable than these other "circuses" - :)

My magical fruit of the moment? Glad you asked. Plum -noun the drupaceous fruit of any of several trees belonging to the genus Prunus, of the rose family, having an oblong stone.

Ok Ok, I really feel like an idiot! I not only bought one territory, but got suckered in for two.

I saw the TV commercials and had two other Realtors say they were extremely happy with the service.

Neither is still with them. One got into a huge dispute with them over credit card charges when her trial membership was up and they wanted to keep billing her.

If I ever see another lead for John Smith at smith@aol.com I will scream!

I thought Homegain was 29.95 a month plus a 30% referral fee. No? That's what I was being charged.

In regards to Housevalues - I actually don't hate em - tried em - got a few listings - but I can't say that they were the best. I think that their service (valid leads) were pretty high. Most of the people that signed up - were looking to sell. Some were kids that were looking to sell their parents home, without their parents knowing. I even had a husband who wanted to sell his home - and not let his wife know. Hmm quite strange. But, what I find terrible about housevalues is that you CANNOT cancel. So when you sign up - you are signed up for the duration. That is where I feel they are scam artists. If someone wants to cancel a subscription or a service - you should have every right to do so - and not pay a "huge cancellation fee".

But, you know - most Realtors are suckers. WE are. Don't jump down my throat - we just are. I know I am. But as for lead generators - I would rather pay for PPC - and have someone FIND me - ME than me chase someone who is just thinking of selling,.

Wow - BB - did I just BLOG on your comments.. Hold all my calls - I am blogging right now. :>

BTW - I think to make this post more profound than it already is - you should have used your Halloween Photo.

Unfortunately, in a slow market, some agents become desperate for leads and thus vulnerable to those who prey on them.

Christine please define "duration"? TLW...ROAR!

Hi Christine, When I joined homegain they did not have the monthly and have always left me at my original deal. I don't know if we are suckers as much as we are always looking for the easy way. But you know, the easy way does not exist.

I think I will save the halloween photo for special occassions.:) Bringing that out again, so soon, could end my career.

Randy, I hear John Smith owns a lot of property in Utah. Oh wait a minute, that's Joseph.:)

"I think I will save the halloween photo for special occassions.:) Bringing that out again, so soon, could end my career."

Ohh my gawd.. I am laughing so hard.

I can't type fast enough for you two - you are like tag teaming me.. This post - that post... here .. there. Too funny!!

Come on Babe...We are only on two posts...Let's go man, define "duration"...Did I miss something here...Is duration forever or a length of time...I need the New York Chick to educate me a little here...TLW...ROAR!

Since I am spilling my guts. The final rub of salt in the wound after paying for for all that time was they got me for another sum of money to cancel.

This blog made me realize that lead services aren't bad. I was just on the wrong end of it.

It gave me a great idea for a lead service:

For a nominal fee of $10 per day, You will receive an entire page of the local phone book.
Additional pages are $7.
Included free of charge is a link to the Do Not Call Website.

Minimum term of contract is 3 years. Registration fee of $249 is refundable upon completion of the contract or can be used as part of the renewal fee. The quality and accuracy of the leads and information is assumed to be accurate but not guaranteed. Termination of contract requires a 36 month written notice and a $700 termination fee. All clients agree to hold harmless HouseBookLeadsAmericaHawaii Inc., its affiliates, owners and Major League Baseball for any monetary losses, pain or misery caused by sending your hard earned money to someone who cares less about your business and could care even less if you try to cancel, because they will make money on that too.

On Housevalues you "sign" a contract via email - and its for a year - if you try to cancel within that year they will hold you liable for I think 1/2 of whatever is unpaid of your contract. the duration is usually one year. I stayed for one year - but some agents that could not pay for the service were still getting charged regardless.

Bryant.... what's sad and funny is that Brian Brady even mentioned this. They have spun the concept 180 degrees.... going after loan officers. I never tried this, but I worked with a loan officer that whiped out his credit card thinking that this was an awesome idea.

basically buying a zip code just like the realtor. Being told that they will network with realtors on this site...and as Brian said, giving these realtors the referrals... LOL Think about it... you have realtors and loan officers getting the same names, but possibly referring them to another realtor on the site...now you might have 4 to 5 people all getting that same lead from the same zip code... lol

SHOW ME THE MONEY..... it's that easy, right?

Christine... I love the picture.... lol

New York chick...Thank you. We needed to know how long the duration lock was for. Love the ape, kind of reminds me of someone I know...LOL...Randi that was hysterical...TLW...ROAR! P. S. I went to the Carnival...Need a balloon?

Oh yea.... as someone said previously....getting back to this one loan officer that I worked with.... "desperate times, desperate measures" just rolling the dice...

Hey TLW.... that Loan Officer that I was talking about... fought for 2 months and got out of the contract. (just mention lawyer) lol And he was on the site for only 2 months....

If it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, its a duck. At housevalues their duck barks.

Bryant, I want a peace of that action, you got to share buddy...LOL

I will shop with your money...Mortgage George...Are you sure you want to donate to that cause...LOL. TLW...ROAR!

TLW, I live to support your shopping habit, it is my goal:>

Randy - I laughed so hard I cried. Thank you.

((Why? Because I'm fascinated... ap‧ri‧cot –noun, The downy, yellow, sometimes rosy fruit, somewhat resembling a small peach, of the tree Prunus armeniaca.))

Since we are located geographically near HV, I've talked to many former HV employees some of them who were at the VP level. Many of them realized that what HV was selling was junk, and that pretty much no one would renew their contract. So the focus was on getting that next batch of new agents, to make up for the constant churn. Many of the people I talked to left the company after they made the realization.

Some of the initial agents that worked with HV had a very positive view of them. They provided a great service in the beginning, but I think about the time they went public is when things went down hill fast.

NOV

2006

I had my relative's condo listed and my uncle thought he'd "help" by going to the housevalues website to...I don't know...get a second opinion, I guess. He was surprised when he was then contacted by another REALTOR. He (luckily for me) forwarded the email on to me and I was able to contact her to explain that we really didn't need her services. Of course, now that we have Zillow and their wonderful wealth of house values, we won't need these websites any longer, right?? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

BB, I have had a Realtor or two that tried HV's.com that referred me a few deals (nothing really there). Any way they got my contact information and the calls started. I said no rather quickly as I have never dealt with leads purchase. They continue to call me periodically but I recognize the number now. Give me a warm and fuzzy direct referral anyday.

"Matt"..."downhill fast"...Good to know. "Mortgage George"...What a guy...LOL...TLW...ROAR!

Hey, I'll do it for $19.95/mo. Just send in your credit card information. These predators will continue as long as Realtors and Lenders continue to believe in the Predatory fairy! Why we, as a group actually believe their repertoire, I don't know but they seem to be going on strong which means that the Realtors and Lenders are lining their pockets.

I was contacted by House Values too. I asked many questions, then insisted they send me the contract to look over. They followed up with a call to get me to sign up. I told the guy that I understand that he has to make a living selling this, but I couldn't believe that anyone over the age of 7 would sign such a unilateral contract that specified no performance criteria on their part. I ran! (It is possible that the "terms & conditions" of their contract has changed since I saw it.)

A class action lawsuit againt homevalues.com becuse the REALTOR didn't read the contract. Accountability--it's not always someone else's fault.

Very interesting post, thats for the blog and the comments are pretty funny.

Ann I agree 100%. Read before you sign anything. I am sure HV has everything disclosed. Folks are roped in due to the 30 day trial period. If they don't cancel within this period you have accepted the terms of the contract. Foolish.

I have heard so many sob stories about HV. They provide the poor agent with leads. The agent then acts as a filter to weed out the tire kickers. The agent has to take these leads or provide a valid reason to kick it back. The biggest problem for the newer agents that get talked into HV is that they have to take the listings, they have to take on the buyers. They can't afford to.

Bryant

I really want to buy that bridge from you.

One of the former governor's of Ohio (decades ago) wanted to build a bridge to Canada.......Lake Erie is, uh, kind of large! lol

There is another phrase that comes to mind....a fool and his money is soon parted?

NOV

2006

I tried HV awhile back. There was no written contract. I was all done over the phone.

Their policy of taking back the bad leads and giving you new ones came in just before I dumped them and paid the penalty.

The sales person from HV was amazed that I was not interested in returning the stack of leads for John Smith at smith@aol.com and the rest of the non existing poeple to get another stack of bogus leads, to waste even more of my valuable time on. She said you paid for them. My response was if I wasted more time on them I would pay again.

Dollar Bills

I have some swamp land for sale! Interested?

How about a trade...We love airboats...TLW...ROAR!

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