Talking House's viral marketing strikes me as being good for them, maybe not as effective for the agent.  I have 24-hour hotline signs for my listings.  It seems to me as easy for a prospect to make a call on their cell phone from their car, as to tune their radio to the Talking House.  Just as effective for demonstrating to a FSBO as well.

I tried Talking House up here on Cape Cod and it was a complete failure!  The quality and reception was awful.  It came across very "cheap" and outdated.  Not many people want to sit in front of a house and listen to a recording on their AM radio (if it comes in??)  With technology today, I think there are much more advantageous ways to get information about a house to a serious, qualified potential Buyer.

I live in Chicago, where not everyone has a car.  So I think there are certain neighborhoods that are better for this product than others.  I clicked on this post because just this weekend I heard my first "talking house".  I was out looking at houses and happened across a sign.  I tuned in and the product technologically worked great.  The agent described all the nice features of the home, however, she left off one thing- the price.  Now I am sure she did this on purpose to get me to call.  However, for me, I just assumed it was out of my price range and kept driving.  So I think there is a smart way to use this product, you just need to think through it. 

Oh, and I got a few dirty looks from people trying to pass me on the street as I was just sitting out in front of the house listen to the radio.....  Word to the wise- this product wouldn't work on a crowded street.

Just another costly marketing gimmick with very little results. The dvd is both informative and self promotional. Believe just knock on the door and ask you get the same results without the cost.

I looked into that about two years ago; but I've yet to see one in the field. I prefer having buyers call me for more information, not listen to the radio. Seems like you bought the transmitters for a couple of hundred each.

Thank so much for the information. Maybe I should try a 24 hour hotline. How much do those run? Talkin House is 69$ a month. Is the 24/7 hotline a 1-800 number?

I do feel that I would be doing marketing FOR talking house as I walk door to door. Maybe I should just come up with my marketing plan and put THAT on a cd and go knock on doors.

Lindsay, my hotline runs about $30/month plus 13 cents per minute of usage.  The total cost depends on how much use you get out of it.

Lindsay,  I like your comment on the FSBO's sticking their tongues out at Realtors!  One of my best friends attempted to sell her house for a short time after her and her co-owner/ex boyfriend broke up.  She was "no way paying a Realtor 3-6% commission to do something she could do herself."  The result? The house didn't get sold and her ex ended up buying her out.  I found it entertaining b/c she never really knew the value of an agent... all she heard was that percentage and she made her mind up.  I gave her the name of several great agents our company works with in the area, but she wasn't having that.  They blew about $600 on FSBO and got about 3 terrible Spam leads out of the deal.

Anyway, our biggest client (where the idea came from) had troubles with Talking House (reception, lead capture, customer complaints) and noticed the amount text messaging had risen in the past couple of years.  He came to our company founder with the idea of doing something similar but with text messaging so people don't have to write anything down or initially speak with the agent before they had some information on the listing.  Anyway, 2 years later, and he's been getting great response so far with his listings and when he calls people back, they are excited about the instant information and have given him great feedback.  Just another option :)

Good luck no matter which road you decide to take, I just wanted to be sure to share!

Hi, Lindsay!  I purchased a few Talking House transmitters when I entered te business 6 years ago.  They are sitting in my closet collecting dust.  I imagine before the Internet, toll-free hotlines, etc. they were the best thing going!  Now, not so much.  I would highly advise you invest your money in more effective, more current technologies.  Talking House is like an Open House ... it's day has come and gone :).

I also had Talking House transmitters about 6-7 yrs  ago.  You only had to purchase the transmitter and do a recording.  Did you say they are now charging $69 per month?  For what?

Linda -  I would imagine if they are charging a monthly fee, it would be for financing the hardware.  It wouldn't be possible for them to prevent people from using an AM responder, or even to track people to charge a monthly fee.

I could be wrong, but I have not heard a single success story stemming from Talking House in my area.  I used to see lots of them in the past few years, but not a single one now.  There is an agent in my office that has had the system sitting next to his desk for nearly 1 year now, not doing anything!

I use toll free hotline sign riders, everytime someone calls and punches in the extension, they get an audio tour plus I get a text message with their number, so I call them back. I can track how many sign calls I get for each listing because each sign rider has a special extension number. Much better than talking house.

BTW, the next FSBO I see, I'm going to stick my tongue out too! :)

I'm not as familiar with the Talking House concept, but I question whether or not it is a lead generation tool.  Call capture has soooo many useful features.  You can show the seller the list of callers, which is a million times better than saying: the flyer box is empty and there were 3 Realtor cards on the dining room table.  You literally have a list of the interested parties.  You also have the numbers to call them back.  You can fill your pipeline with this tool.  I'm not sure if Talking House provides the same tracking features.

I think Talking House is Great for newer agents looking for ways to get listings...I tried the FSBO strategy and actually found it to be quite unique and successful...You do have to spend a little time getting everything set up at first...which I am guessing other agents did not do properly...but for the $$ I think it is a great value, compared to other marketing options.

Thanks so much for all the great information. They are sending me a package. The good thing is that I will not be locked into a conctract for three months. I think I am going to give it a go and see what happens. I am a newer agent so I think I want to hit the FSBO's. eeeck! I hope it works. I will let everyone know how it goes.

got to have power int he house to use.. I have seen a couple agents in our area use it for a short period of time. Don't see thatvery often here.

I've heard of this. Sound very interesting. Thanks for tip.

I just got the "talking house" package in the mail. I haven't even opened it yet. I'm kind of scared to. lol

I see a bunch on ebay all the time so that might be a clue that people dont keep them.

Good luck, Lindsay!  Let us know how it works for you!

We currently trying the talking house on a coop basis... we are paying part of the cost for a local realtor... started the first of the year and so far three deals... hundred dollars per month

I have had the Talking House system going for about a month now and have not seen anything as a result of having it.  I have it on my own house that I am selling and I see a few cars stop by hear and there, but I have yet to get a call or inquire because of it.  The true results remain to be seen, and again there aren't very many agents in my area that use them either.

Clayton,

I'm not sure the talking house will produce the results that you are looking for.  It's not direct enough.  It's better to have something trackable that also produces leads that you can follow up on.  Call capture will serve you a lot better.

Feel free to email me @ Rob@habitatboom.com and I'll walk you through my system.  I guarantee that it will fill your pipleine in 60 days.

All the best,

Rob

Maybe im wrong but would you not want them to call you so you can find what they are looking for?

Lindsay, we tried Talking House and were not so pleased.  It didn't work half the time.

Jeanne Robinson

Bart,

Yes!  You want them to call.  Though you want them on caller ID so that you can call them back.  With Talking House, you're giving it away for free.  You are also assuming that they will call. 

I like to be more proactive, so I use call capture.  Call capture gives them a description and leaves their number for you to call them back.

If you talk with them, they are usually receptive.  If you try to close the sale on the first call, it doesn't work.

If you want info on this, I'll walk you through it.  Rob@habitatboom.com

All the best,

I was never a fan of thier business model...and the transmitters only work if you are within about 30 ft of the actual transmission site.  You make it halfway down the block, gone.

You have a personal website for your listing. That is definitely better than so fake me out talking sign. I admit I almost fell for it. But thank God I didn't purchase that thing. I am sure your listing with its own personal website will come up in search engines - Talking house wont. Besides,isn't that what we all real estate professionals want which is to come up in search engines so that home buyers and sellers can find. out. Talking House is not good. And I don't understand why NAR endorses a product that most of its real estate agents view as a very ineffective marketing tool. Great post.

Talking house has been around for a long time.  I've had it and sold it.  I was not that impressed with it.  Maybe you can find the transmitters on ebay or craigslist for half price.

Lindsey - Thanks for the post!  The one thing I love about active rain and other real estate forum groups is that we can get advice on whether certain products or marketing tools are worth buying.  After hearing what folks have said on this post as well as what I have heard from other groups, I would pass on Talking House.  There are plenty of other more effective ways to invest in your business like keeping in touch with your SOI.

OMG!  I'm so glad I found this post.  I've been hounded lately by "Joe" from Talking House after ordering thier free CD to check it out.  I figured if NAR endorses it, how bad can it be?  Turns out I didnt even think about some of the points I'm reading here about the sound quality, geograhic location, or what exactly they are charging for every month?  Anyways even with the 3 deal for $50/mo, it still sounds like too much.  I do have a personal website and virtual tour for most of my listings and that has been a success for my with sellers already and the website is $32.  Period.  No ongoing costs.  I'm glad for this post and that I can actually make a sound decision now without hearing Joe's voice of persuasion.  Thanks again everyone for the input!

Linda -That is exactly what happened to me.  I was such a sucker.  I saw the CD Secrets to Getting Listings (or something along that line) and when I received the CD in the mail I quickly realized that it was an advertisement for Talking House.  I also got hounded by one of their sales reps on the phone for a while and when I told him I wasn't interested he just kept pushing me until I finally yelled at him on the phone.  He never called me back.

It just reminds me that if we are going to give something away for free, it must be something of value to the client and not an advertisement for our service. 

Lindsay, they have been calling me for a while to convince me it's something great but I don't think I am going to get it after reading many of these comments and I've never tuned in to a talking house when I see the sign in the front yard anyway.  Good post.

I have 5 and will sell them and all the signs for half price. I have since devloped a system that I like better.. but I have to say, the Talking House did work for me in getting listings, getting higher commissions, and in landing some double sided sales.

Once you get the hang of setting it up.. it's a breeze.

Contact me on my AR page if you would like the units.

I was just about ready to sign on with a realtor-partner for the talking house promotion.  We were going to do our message together, emphasizing both of our businesses.  I'm glad I read this post first.

I was just about ready to sign on with a realtor-partner for the talking house promotion.  We were going to do our message together, emphasizing both of our businesses.  I'm glad I read this post first.

I have not had the results that the promo's suggest but I have not had a consistent marketing program for them either.

I know they work from calls I received on two of my recent listings. I include the Talking House receiver with all my listings. It shows "extra value" along with all the other dynamite services.

I sense too that clients have a tendency to think Seller's Agents just put a "For Sale" sign up on the property and then just do nothing.

My goal is always to delight the client, and talking house has proven to be a nice value-added service for my listings. And I'll stick my head out there to be shot at and say if I did more with the program, I could get better results.

Best Regards,

Louann Cook

My "Talking House" box is in the back seat of my car ready to go back. I'm sure the longer I let it sit I will get another bill from them. I just don't want to have to worry about people not being able to get a signal or not being able to pick up the radio.

We had tried several of the transmitters and in different homes.  We worked with customer service in trying to get them to work properly, and finally gave up and returned them during the first 30 days.  I was disappointed, because I was excited about all the potential they had.

I like the idea of the 1800 number. You get a text msg when they call on the sign. Not a fan of Talking House.

Sounds like many have fallen into the same scenario.  I just wish I could find another use for the transmitters.  In my humble opinion, it does not increase business as well as using 800 numbers and URL's for the home. 

This does not appeal to me by any means.  I don't think people would take the time to turn on the radio and turn to the channel and sit there.  I mean people live fast paced lives anyway.  In fact most people search on the internet first and find out all the pertinent information and then if they like the pictures and what they see then they will venture out and check out the subdivision etc.  I think this is a waste of time and money.

I was almost going to purchase this marketing tool today. The salesman was telling me that talking house was more effective than an online video tour.  Even though like some of you said that NAR is backing them up and that I am guaranteed three leads in two-months. I can get more than three leads at one open house a week. I just want to thank  everyone for posting their non-bias thoughts on the Talking House marketing tool.

Just say no to Talking House!  The signs gets stolen, the transmitters are bad (and a hassle).  Why does anyone care if their house is on some fuzzy A.M. station?  This was THE biggest waste of money and a huge mistake I made in the first year of my real estate career.  Don't waste your time or money with this gadget.

The salesman called me today and wanted to send me the transmitter. I told him that I was going to go ahead with the online video home tours (which he shot down when I told him).

Thanks again.

I agree with others that the technology is ancient.  I just can't see it for the $$$.  I use an 800# ffrom Virtual Office builde for REal Estate.  http://www.industryaccess.com/index.html

I just sent back my package today. I don't feel like messing with it. I finally got the HUGE package to UPS. I can see how they want you to keep putting off sending the package back so you will let three months pass and be stuck with a contract

Lindsay, how many leads did you get from the time that you had the Talking House?

I'm so glad to see all these posts! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I'm a new agent, but wouldn't like even to try such things as Talking House. Sounds old-dated. They continue pushing this idea, and what is interesting: realtors are still buying it.

Thanks.

Talking House is a waste of time and money!

I have seen this before on a listing I showed.  I don't think it's worth a darn.  I think having a flier is just the same, and cheaper.

Acutally, if you're going to go for anything like this, there is a better service called Freedom Voice.  You can put the Freedom Voice phone # in all your advertising.  Each of your listings has its own extension, so if a customer drives by the house and would like more info, all they have to do is call your Freedom Voice # and enter the extension.  It is better than talking house because if they call from their cell, Freedom Voice captures a name and # and if they call from their home, you can get an address for them, a name, and a phone #.  Talking house doesn't capture any contact info and you can't gauge the response you're getting for the money.  Plus $3 a DAY?!  That's $90 a month!! 

A personal Freedom Voice line is only $15/ month with unlimited extensions (that's what another agent in my office is paying for it).  I'm not sure if Freedom Voice can be used with al brokerages or if it's just a Century 21 thing.  I only have the website pertaining to C21: http://onenumbertraining.com/ It says it's exclusively designed for C21, but I can't imagine this company refusing business from interested parties.   

The other cool thing about Freedom Voice is that when someone is listening to your recording about the house features, you can say "Press 1 to receive the listing sheet for this house by fax" and they simply press 1 and enter their fax #.  Or you can offer something else to be sent via fax such as "Press 1 to receive similar listings" or "Press 1 to receive my mission statement" or whatever you want.   I know the agent that uses it does get calls on it (Freedom Voice rings you or something if someone calls it).

$15 isn't bad at all. Beats the heck out of the $3000 talking house!

$3000?!?!  Surely a typo!

The problem with talking house is it isn't very easy to hear over the radio.  I think you would be better off having a info line.

Angela- haha Not $3000 a month, but for your transmitters, you will pay over $3000.

I really don't think it's a wise investment.  Maybe if the transmitters were $300 a month, but $3000 is a lot to play with for actual advertising that will go a lot farther, in my humble opinion, than to just the people driving by a house.  For $3000 you can have a year of mailouts to the area you farm, do some SEO on your website, subscribe to a lead service, etc.  We're lucky if the commission on a deal is $3000!  Seems like a bad idea to me, but to each his own.

I'd love for someone who actually uses Talking House to chime in and talk about whether it has been effective for them!

I tried them and the quality was the biggest problem in my mind, they just don't sound very good. I bought mine on ebay and eventually sold them there as well, so I didn't take a loss. But my advice is to just say no to Talking Houses. 

This has been around for a long time.  I tried it and it doesn't work all that well.  In my opinion its a waste of money.

Get a Call Capture Number... Talking house has terrible reception and requires installation...What a headache! You will be assigned a team of personal trainers for your call capture line and they will set everything up for you and give you some great marketing ideas. You get access to a design studio and everything!

 Email idiaz@247callcapture.com and you can get a toll free number free for 30 days along with free FSBO leads in 2 counties of your choice. Make Sure to email the promo code RAIN!

Lindsay-I've heard alot about it, but not alot of positive things...think I will pass on this one...great post.

Do the Talking house sales agents get our phone numbers by reading active rain? Soliciting calls have increased since  listing information online. It is unfortunate. Glad to learn about talking house so I can stay away from it.

Seek and ye shall find.  TH called me today and presented the pitch that you detailed above.  It sounded interesting, but I wanted to do some research before committing.  Somehow, I knew that I'd find a blog or 2 on AR.  It's almost 2:00am so I'm going to read the comments later - but what did you decide to do?  Any regrets?

My Mortgage broker has a powerline system that does the same thing and is almost free to me.  I get anywhere from 10 leads a month to more than 40 depending on the property and where it is located.  And it's almost free to me! Who needs talking house?

Hi Lindsay,

I'd dump the talking house idea. It's not going to convert fsbos. Promote yourself and your talents instead, promote the local mls system. Don't rely on gimicks. When I first started the best advise I was given was not to spend money on advertising but to get out and make personal contacts, make phone calls, knock on doors.

I personally don't leave flyers in front of my listings. I just use a sign with my cell phone number. I want them calling me, if not to sell them that house, then to sell them another. What if buyers look at the flyer, and decide the home is not for them--you've lost an opportunity to work with a motivated buyer because they didn't need to call you.

Its a pain, its nerve racking, it feels strange, but knock on the fsbo door and explain why you can sell their home! Good luck.

Thanks so much. Oh yes, I mailed the Talking House back. I lost a hundred or so dollars just having them mail it to me for a month or so. I never took it out of the box. They had a great sales pitch though. lol

I got the call and they were relentless.  My objections were paying up front for what could be refunded if you did not like it (hate trying to get money back)  and it was a very expensive committment not just month by month fee.

I got took the bait and ordered the Talking House transmitters about a month ago... I looked the information over and I talked to several of my seller's and they told me that just offering this as a marketing tool would not have gotten them to list with me... in fact they would rather have the flyers out there so we can capture the numbers.

After 2 weeks of trying to get a hold of the person to authorize a return I finally got a return number and I will be sending off the huge box they sent me this week.

If you are working the FSBO market the best thing you can do is make a FSBO packet with some great marketing info in there and some other useful info and drop it off on the FSBO door step.  Then call the fsbo 2-3 days later to follow up with them to see if they got the package and have any questions about it.

Our experience with the few talking houses we have seen is that there is soooomuch static on the radio, you can barely understand what's been said....interesting idea but terrible reception.

Lindsay- Wow, you touched a nerve here! I would never use talking house. We have used it before and unless you like to weed through all the tire kickers and be on call 24/7 finding that one out of 100 calls that will turn into a buyer, forget it! You can spend your time and money in much more productive areas. And sorry to say, but I always think twice about NAR's recommendations about spending our hard earned money- look at the fiasco with them sleeping with Realtor.com! No thank you! I will stick to getting 2 to 3 listings every week from our AR blog, buyers from our website and blog and 2 to 3 listings per week from expired packages, oh, yes, and referrals! That is enough to keep any agent busy enough on useful income producing activities.

Good post!  Thanks for "talking" me out of talking house, they almost got me!  LOL

Frank Bailey

I think a call capture hotline would be much more effective in consumer direct connection.  If interested they are going to call from their cell phone.

I can't see how a system based on "listening" would work for buyers.  1) their attention span is short 2) it is harder to listen than to see and 3) they will forget most of what they heard within minutes.  We looked at it for our private home sellers and said NO.

I have not encountered a clear broadcast from those transmitters yet. They suck.

The idea is good, however the FCC will not all a strong enough signal for a good product to be heard from the street or driveway. I have seen  about 25 -30 of these in many different parts of my metropolitan area.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say how much I LOVE the Talking House system.  When I had my 1-800 hotline system, all I received was obcene phone calls and it cost me far more than the Talking Houses when all the bills were added up.    I even had calls from prison and let me tell you, that was scary but that's another story!

I've used Talking House for 2 years now and my Sellers love it too. I went from 14 ends (transactions)  to 30 my first year with the transmitters and I'm tracking 50 for this year.   I guess it all depends on how you use it, where you use it and if you're using it as an added value product in your listing presentation.  

The reception for me is fantastic and you can hear it from many blocks away, directing people to other listings I have in the area.  In my message I always entice them to call immediately for free reports on buying and selling, contests for coffee vouchers etc.  I never give away too much info about the house but just enough to have them call/email or text  for more info. (and they do!)  I've even put out a message in a cartoon voice as if I was the house speaking -  that generated alot of calls from other interested Sellers commenting on my creativitiy and marketing ability.  Afterall, that is what we do:  Marketing!   For me it is an added layer of marketing, one more thing to catch the attention of buyers. I have them out in the community for yardsales and fetes -  they broadcast live thru speakers as well, not just over the radio.   It will not take the place of all the other tools at our disposal but it does make a difference in my market.  Even my voicemail says "If your house isn't talking, nobody is listening!" 

 I have never used it for FSBO's and doubt I ever will.  That is just not a market I'm interested in capturing that way.

I will add to this blog that I am also selling my 3 transmitters if anyone is interested. It did not do what it promised. I did not want to go through the hassle of sending it back. I did however get a phone call from a representative to pay off my balance sooner with a small discount. I said no thanks. They can wait for their money. I also advised them to stop sending me emails about special pricing to purchase more.

I see a lot  of different opinions. I too bought the system. I  have yet to set one up. I got one put together at my own home and the reception was good for a block or so, so the buyer wouldn't have to be parked in front of the house,  however, up to this point I've found my time and money better spend in other marketing techniques. I guess since I have it, I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Can't take it back anyway :-(

I've known about Talking House for 20 year (back when a looped cassette tape did the work).  Go with Cell Signs.  Works better, has lead capture, and your under 40 buyer will text a whole lot.

Greg, it's great you understand the benefits of Cell Signs.  We provide a similar service and our customer