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working with & listing FSBO's

I just listed another FSBO the other day. I've had good luck sometimes stepping in at the right time after they've had the usual 3 to 6 months of trying to sell it themselves with no luck. Sometimes the owners are so stubborn and discouraged that they will not list it with anyone. I am interested to hear from other agents and their experience and success stories on listing FSBO's whether it be listing single family homes, condos or land.

This was actually posted here on AR the first time about a month ago

Posted by Stephen D White, E-Pro, ABR Cape Cod Realtor® on 03/31/2008 11:15 AM

Comments (19)

fsbo, cape cod, falmouth massachusetts mls real estate

Post is included in group: FOR SALE BY OWNER - MARKETING(FSBO)

19 Comments on working with & listing FSBO's

MAR

2008

Hi Stephen. Congrats on your FSBO success. I generally don't work them, outside of maybe leaving a card. I do not like to talk people into using me.

Ken

Congrats! For me its been kind of hit and miss lately with FSBO's.

Good job! So im curious how you listed the FSBO....did you send mailers..did you door knock etc.

I usually just put them on a mailing list and we list about 2% of them. Dont call them or anything....I spend my time on other leads mainly. But it hasnt hurt to have my assistant send out mailers.

I did it the old fashioned way Dave. I worked for it!!. I call them on the phone, showed up prepared having done my homework researching the property at town hall and ready to list the property. The owners are an older couple (like a lot of other homeowners here on the Cape) who wouldnt be impressed with junk mailers who would probably junk your mail in the round file. Face to Face at the front door, heres my research, Ive done my homework, heres the contract, sign here works because I showed up and contacted them at the right time and they were ready to list the property. Obviously if you have bad timing and they are not responsive to your first telephone call, then you would be wasting your time. You say you list about 2% of your mailing list? doesnt sound like thats working for you? Obviously my experiences have been that people want a real person with a real face who is communicative and has done their homework to talk intelligently about their property and would be able to sell it! Mailers might get you in the door (2%?)but you have to do the work and sell it!

Stephen,

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have had similar luck with FSBO's in the restaurant brokerage industry. Some of the listings that I have listed and sold were for restaurant owners that were trying to sell on thier own but werent seeing any results. Once people have tried on thier own, they realize the amount of time and energy it tkes to screen out tire kickers and find a qualified buyer. A lot of the times they are so frustrated and burned out that they are thrilled to have a professional list and sell it for them.

John Powers

I totally agree with you that the average seller does not have any idea of the time, energy and persistence needed to sell real estate. Thats exactly what happens a large majority of the time with FSBO's unless they have a background in construction and or knowledge of real estate and are educated in the process. Thanks John for your Post!

I haven't worked FSBO's for quite some time, my daughter whom I work with as a team never has and she wants to try, I hope we have some good luck.

APR

2008

Congrats on the FSBO success! Good luck with everything else!

I am interested in doing this on the mortage side of things...your post brought that thought back to the forefront of my mind. Thank you!

I always add all the years the agents have in my office to persuade the FSBO's on how much experience we have and how much faster we wil be able to seel their property.

And how has that been working for you Ann-Marie? thanks for your comments

APR

2008

Thanks for the well wishes and congrats. Good luck to you all as well. Hope that you have more success stories to report in the near future! Remember that FSBO's are a listing that just needs a little help!

Steve White

I am just getting ready to start a FSBO campaign. I am going to put them on my calendar and stop by every 4 days to check in on them. I will leave them something every time I go and send them thank you notes for talking to me, if they do talk to me that is. I am going to hit them consistantly and see how it goes. Well is what I am hopeing for. I will be tracking how many times I have to be there in order to get the listing. I will update the blog when I have done it about 6 months so I have a track record.

APR

2008

Hey Stephen,

Go FSBO! My first five listings were FSBO's and I still get a nice portion of my listings from them. Non threatening approach works for me, I don't say the L word until they do and I always ask where they are moving to so I can get a possible referral fee. I ask them the standard questions and ask that if they please give my card to prospective buyers and to feel free to call me if they need advice. Follow up with a visit once every 7 to 10 days and 5 to 6 weeks later on average they are receptive to sitting down to talk.

Good luck Scott & Evelyn. Sounds like you both have a plan. Non threatening and non invasive are both good approaches. Give them time until they're ready to sit down with you and talk. Dont push too hard Evelyn give your FSBO's some time to make up their minds. Maybe just a phone call versus a personal visit depending upon their receptiveness on the last visit. Hope that both of you will have some success stories to write about here in the near future

APR

2008

Hi Steven,

Thanks for the comment on my blog about FSBO's. I use Visual Tour to help with marketing my listings online and sellers always seem so impressed with this small thing. I have purchased a packet of visual tour cd samples to give out to FSBOs along with an offer for a CMA with no obligation. I hope to pick up some more listings this year using this technique. We will see! Thanks again for stopping by my blog!

thanks for sharing Jolynna. Can you share more about your "Visual Tour"- not to be confused with a "Virtual Tour"? is this online marketing tool? can you elaborate or give us a website please. And good luck listing more FSBO's!

HI Stephen,

Visual Tour is the name of the company that sells the software and hosts the tours. It's very very user-friendly and well worth the price because you can make your own tours using your photos and host an unlimited amount. No price per tour. Here is the link. www.visualtour.com. You can check out one of my tours at www.visualtour.com/show.asp?T=1443133&prt=10003

APR

2008

thank you Jolynna for sharing I will check this out as well as anyone else reading this blog post should. Thank again

Cape Cod Realtor

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