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FULL SERVICE SELLERS' REPRESENTATION AT $595!

Have you ever wondered just how much money some Realtors made during the boom? They came to your home and negotiated a commission based fee and after you signed the very first thing they did was to place the home in the MLS. They might even have had a $10 an hour assistant to do that for them. In the boom, they might have sold that home the first day. sold

If it went for say $300,000 and if you say they spent a couple of hours on paperwork and a couple more on dealing with inspections and title companies, then at the end of the day they might have had six hours in it - and a $9,000 check at the end of it. That's $1,500 an hour! Not bad work if you can get it.

But you see that was the boom. Experienced real estate brokers and researchers know something that they don't want you to know. Only four things cause a property to sell: price, condition, location and market exposure.

And market exposure is delivered by the MLS in the main.

Now there is a problem. The real estate industry (most like to call it a profession, but it is just an industry) will not just sit back and wait for someone like me to come along and charge substantially less than they do. Oh no. They will fight back. There is even a book and audio program on "How to Wage War" against real estate agents who would dare charge less! And there are scripts they memorize to convince you that by hiring me, you are making a big mistake.

They will say things like "you DO want the highest price for your home, don't you?". The question is asked because if you answer anything but "yes, of course" then clearly you are an idiot. The inference however is that if you say yes, then why would you use someone who would not charge you thousands of Dollars to get the deal done?

So if you are interested in FULL SERVICE $595* listing program, you owe it to yourself to check out what I have to say. You will not be talking to a beginner trying to find a niche. You will be talking to someone who has been dealing with property in Florida for more than 20 years and who has been actively involved in the selling of it for seven.

My name is Simon Conway. I answer my own phone, so give me a call on 407 876 8200 and just say you want to talk about the $595 FULL SERVICE* listing program. Or of course you could call one of the big franchise companies and pay them thousands of Dollars more to do exactly the same thing. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please give me a call if you have questions about the Central Florida real estate market. You can reach me on 407 876 8200. Also visit my web site at www.simonconway.net or www.move2orlando.net
Tune in to Simon on The Home Team Radio Show at am1520 WHIM. The show airs in Central Florida at 3pm Eastern and is also available worldwide at www.1520whim.com

*Sellers will typically pay 4% at closing. Other terms and conditions apply.

Posted by Simon Conway on 05/30/2008 08:43 PM

Comments (28)

595 listing service, simon conway selling homes in orlando and windermere, dr phillips real estate, the simon conway radio show

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28 Comments on FULL SERVICE SELLERS' REPRESENTATION AT $595!

MAY

2008

So, what do you do besides put the property in the MLS? What constitutes full service to you? I'm just curious. Thanks.

Simon,

May I ask what services you perform for the $595?

How much advertising do you do for $595. Are there full color feature sheets or call capture signs? Any open houses done for $595. Any advertising done in newspaper, fliers, or real estate books? Any follow up on feedback or reverse prospecting?

I'm curious. What type of marketing plan do you offer to these sellers? How inclusive or exclusive is it compared to a full service broker?

Simon-I'm not going to beat you up or a $595 listing service. I think this market has room for everyone and a variety of business plans. I've been hired on an hourly basis to assist a FSBO review a contract so there is more than one way to earn a buck in this business :-)

Now you see Mr and Mrs potential seller... with the exception of Cindy Jones, the knives are already out for me. One even asks what I would do compared to a "full service broker" when I have clearly stated that I am offering FULL SERVICE for $595!

Science hasn't yet come up with a cure for the common cold. Left untreated, most people get over a cold in 7 to 10 days.

A charlatan can wander into a town and announce that he has the cure for a common cold and draw a crowd.

"Simply place a raw chicken in a brown paper bag", he would instruct. "Have the person with the cold needing to be cured spit on the chicken then tie the bag tightly at the top with some twine. Swing the bag vigorously overhead in a clockwise direction while crowing like a rooster. Finally, place the bag under your left armpit and leave it there for seven to ten days and your cold will be cured!"

Some real estate agents have a presentation that will knock your socks off!

Internet exposure
open house
full color ads
the Sunday newspaper
glossy fliers out by the yard sign
virtual tours that are pictures that look like you walked into a room and then spun around to look at it all...

You name it, they do it! Big name companies, with big office buildings and fancy offices are impressive.

They move a lot of real estate.

They have a lot of agents.

As I already told you, experienced real estate brokers and researchers know something that they don't want you to know. Those four things that cause a property to sell: price, condition, location and market exposure.

Now the charlatans will try to convince you that all those glossy ads and spinning pictures are market exposure, but they're kidding themselves and they are trying to fool you. Don't let them!

There is a big difference between something being correlative and being causative. People celebrate in the streets when the hometown team wins the World Series. The celebration and the winning of the Series are correlated activities. How much good would it do if the mayor convinced everyone in town to have a massive party in the streets? Since those two things happen together, surely we would win the World Series this year, right?

Real estate is like that. Just because an agent is swinging a raw chicken in a bag over his head when your home happens to sell, doesn't mean he caused it to happen. Most of what agents refer to as marketing your home is really promoting themselves or their company. It doesn't help sell your home even though they try to take credit for it. Don't be fooled. It's just "chicken in a bag".

Simon - I did NOT bring out the knives. In fact I only asked a question because I was impressed with your blog post. I wanted to know what you were doing and how I could do my job better. I expected more from you than a slam against me.

Simon, I was curious as to what your full service was. I guess I worded my question wrong. My apologies. Each company varies in what they consider to be full service. I was by no means talking bad about your product. I was just curious as to what services you do provide for your fee. Some big name companies full service is different from office to office.

Susan - I did not intend to slam you. My apologies. Christine - I do everything that works to sell a house.

Simon, I'm not sure how you can make a living when you list, market, negotiate the contract and repairs for the seller, handle repairs and closing details, ALL FOR $595! With all of the costs involved in running a real estate business, including but not limited to: Realtor membership fees, MLS fees, Office fees, marketing expenses, lockboxes, signs, CPA and other professional services, GAS for your vehicle, etc., I wouldn't think that would leave much for you to live on unless you work 24/7.

In the Charlotte NC area, houses are on the market an average of 120 days or more...it takes A LOT of time to service a listing. If I provided the services that I give to my sellers for $595, then each listing would COST ME MONEY!

I'm not quite sure why you are bashing marketing techniques such as Virtual Tours, I get a lot of calls on my listings because of my Virtual Tours (which I do myself)...they say that a picture is worth a 1000 words, I wonder how many words a custom Virtual Tour is worth?

Just my opinion of course, but you must be cutting services somewhere or there wouldn't be enough time in the day for you to handle the volume required to make a living at $595/listing.

One last thought, maybe you don't consider yourself a professional, but I can assure you that I am!

Best of luck with your business model!

Cheryl - let me ask you a question - do you do the same work for a house that is listed at say $300,000 and one that is listed at $500,000? And if the answer to that question is yes, then how do you justify the substantial difference in the pay check you receive?

Also - how long in hours does it take you to get your first real estate license in North Carolina? In Florida the answer to that question is 63. I am not suggesting you don't carry out your duties in a professional manner, merely that the selling of real estate is not a profession. There is a huge difference.

Simon - need some help pullin' those knives out of your back?....Hey, if you wanna charge $595 to sell a house, more power to ya! Is gas cheaper there?

MAY

2008

Simon: Actually my average sales price is between $150,000 and $200,000, and the most expensive house that I ever sold was about $380,000. So, in my opinion I earn every penny that I actually make after paying all of the expenses required to conduct my business. If I actually made the entire commission that is paid at closing in direct profit, then I may agree that the hourly wage is too high. However, that just isn't the case. If you know how to conduct a real estate business without spending about 50% in operating costs, then I'd love to know how you do it.

If I had listings in the $500,000 range, then my marketing plan would include other publications in our area that target buyers in the market for home priced over $500,000. I would also prepare higher end brochures for those listings that aren't necessary in the price range of the homes that I list. Additionally, as the price range of listings and sales increase the liability I would be accepting under my E&O Insurance would be greater. These are just a few ideas that I can come up with that would increase my actual expenses and liability for a more expensive property listing. Besides, all commissions are negotiable.

If a seller has a high dollar property and they don't expect an expensive advertising budget then I would certainly be open to negotiating my commission depending on the details of the situation.

One last thing...

In the state of North Carolina, the Broker pre-licensing course is 75 classroom hours. Once you pass your state test you are considered a Provisional Broker and must complet an additional 90 hours of post licensing education consisting of three 30 classroom hour classes. Additionally there is 8 hours of continuing education required annually.

Also, many Realtors further their education beyond the minimum requirements and obtain one or more professional designations.

A profession is an occupation, vocation or career where specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science is applied. It is usually applied to occupations that involve prolonged academic training and a formal qualification. Professions are usually regulated by professional bodies that may set examinations of competence, act as a licensing authority for practitioners, and enforce adherence to an ethical code of practice.

I personally feel that Realtors are professionals! Real estate IS NOT an industry.

An industry is the manufacturing of a good or service.

Lots of anger there Cheryl - or maybe it's just a chicken in a bag?

I see it is easier to get a license in NC than in Florida. But I also see your definition of profession. If you actually read it you will see that real estate doesn't fit on all kinds of levels. In fact we don't need to go beyond "prolonged academic training". I don't think 75 hours counts as "prolonged"

ANyway, good luck with your business and business model.

How about the 900 hours it takes for a brokers license in Texas? Not throwing knives. I think there is a place for everyone! Some people drive a Hyundia and others drive a Rolls. Some prople want to change their own oil and some people want you to come get the car & deliver it back repaired & cleaned.

I applaud Texas for the height of the bar there. That's great and in fact that's how it should be across the country. With regards to the rest of what you said - how about a Rolls for the price of a Hyundia?

Simon...I used to question the "full Service" marketing pledge when I was with a big Franchise Company/ My listing packet had all these things we were to do, such as ads in Mags, newpapers, internet, open houses, signs, brochures, post cards, caravans, blah blah blah....ANd then, if we did not sell the house, we promised to buy it...

Lets see, we had hundreds of listings, and we did a caravan of about 8 homes per week. Our weekly ad showed 18 homes, and the magazines showcased about 30 or so. The buy your house program was so full of holes that the last time I shcecked, ONLY 5, thats F I V E houses were bought according to the rules of the program...Nationally...thats 5 total, not a month, not five a year, thats 5 total.....SO that means that the majority of the homes got no caravan, no magazines, no newspaper. We were allowed to use 30.00 per month in postage, so do the math on how many post cards that equals.

What I learned is that the MLS sold most of the homes, and the internet. I sold most of my deals by my own efforts, and by my exposure in the MLS.....I spent thousands of dollars on post cards, magazines, and extra ads that I put everywhere....Where did my sales come from???...Other agents on the MLS.....and from my own efforts, working with investors...

I have checked the NAR stats, they say that over 80% of all Real Estate is sold by Realtors off the MLS/Internet.....the rest of the stuff is a waste of money, and is non productive...according to NAR...The fact is, with the internet and the MLS, a small independent can do as well as a big national chain, and the industrys numbers relect this.

How the Flat fee systems work so well is they get more listings, and create cash flow. They get more phone calls on those listings, and that means they now have buyers, and with buyers, they get the full commision on the sale...SImple enough for a country boy like me to figure out

Best wishes SImon,,,,,,,,,,,,,,PS..You still talk funny

Simon: I'm not ANGRY, I'm just offering counterpoints to your opinions, which I don't happen to agree with. If you think that your services are only worth that of a secretary ($14.88 per hour minus expenses, if it takes 40 hours total from list to close per property), then by all means go ahead and charge $595 per listing!

I don't guess you are very good at math. North Carolina requires a total of 165 hours training for Brokers (NC is an ALL Broker state),which must be completed within a 3 year periord, plus 8 hours of continuing education per year. You said that Florida only requires 63, how would 165 hours be easier than 63?

Your "chicken in a bag" comments are very inflamitory and disrespectful to your own profession. OMG, I actually said that word "profession". Do you use that in your listing presentations? It seems that you really like to use that analogy!

If you would have read the ENTIRE definition of "profession" you would see that it says "USUALLY" applied to occupations that involve prolonged academic training, NOT ONLY OR ALWAYS. Realtors meet all of the criteria to be a profession! I guess that you didn't want to respond to the fact that you were completely WRONG about real estate being an industry.

A profession is an occupation, vocation or career where specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science is applied. It is usually applied to occupations that involve prolonged academic training and a formal qualification. Professions are usually regulated by professional bodies that may set examinations of competence, act as a licensing authority for practitioners, and enforce adherence to an ethical code of practice.

It seems by your blog and comments that you get listings by bashing other Realtor's marketing plans and services provided by saying that they don't work. If you don't provide a service, then just say it doesn't work to justify your decision not to provide it to your clients. I can guarantee you that virtual tours do increase the online views of properties and they also increase showings. More showings equates to a faster sale! I agree that magazine/newspaper/other print media marketing isn't a very effective way to sell a house in today's internet society. There are however, some people that pick these magazines up everytime a new one comes out. If I have an especially unusual/special listing, I get a lot of showing requests for that listing. The more mainstream type of listing usually doesn't generate many calls from a print ad.

I don't mention other Realtors at all during my listing presentation, I concentrate on the services that I provide...NOT BASHING MY OWN PROFESSION and other members of my profession. Sellers can decide on their own which service is best for them after interviewing as many Realtors as they choose to interview!

Hi Cheryl, there is no doubt that you make a good argument, I also believe there are Realtors that are engaged in a proffession. I also agree with SImon that Real Estate is an industry..Just look at the circus that revolves around the sale of a home, from title companies to all forms of government. As an industry, when the housing market falls short, it affects the entire economy...Compare that to Attorneys, if there was a sudden downturn in legal work it would not make the national news 20 times a day....

I know you jumped over my post with my very quick explanation of how and why the flat fee operation does work. Only listing agents fear this system, buyers agents are quick to see the benifits. I would expect in this time of declining, or disapearing equity, that this service will become more necessary because there just is not enough money left on the table to pay full commisions..

A recent study showed that in the recent downturn, it is down to only 7% of the Licensed Realtors doing the bulk of the business. Now the majority of Real Estate is sold by Realtors thru the MLS, so doing that math, it would show that having the listings will bring buyers to your website...Its just a math issue, and if I was back in the residential business, I would pursue this model myself.

Cheers

JUN

2008

Simon, Quit pissin in Cheryl's Wheaties !!!!! *lol* Your $595 deal sounds great to me, exactly what services could I expect to receive from you for that price?

JUN

2008

Simon - You must have spent a great deal of time relaxing in a hot tub to come up with that model. I happen to agree with every facet of your argument.

We are not professionals. Many of us do act professionally. We are closer to tradesmen than doctors, lawyers, and others that must pass exams that are longer than our training.

I have argued the plausibility of charging the same for homes priced differently since the start of my real estate experience.

I am not surprised that FEAR causes many to post dispariging thoughts.

One in particular strikes me as rooted in possible fair housing violations. It drips with objective class differation.

Cheryl, shared this little insight "If I had listings in the $500,000 range, then my marketing plan would include other publications in our area that target buyers in the market for home priced over $500,000. I would also prepare higher end brochures for those listings that aren't necessary in the price range of the homes that I list. Additionally, as the price range of listings and sales increase the liability I would be accepting under my E&O Insurance would be greater. These are just a few ideas that I can come up with that would increase my actual expenses and liability for a more expensive property listing. Besides, all commissions are negotiable."

It concerns me that one person makes the assumption of marketing based on the price of the home. I would think that the "professional" thing to do is offer the same service to all regardless of their price point. Maybe it is just another of the carry over's from when North Carolina deemed it necessary to succeed from the Union. There is that undercurrent of race and class that people in the South just can't seem to shake.

Target is such an ugly word for those in our industry. There is a great deal of danger of allowing personal biases corrupt what we swear is ethically correct.

Please, enjoy much success. Donate profits to causes you support and by all means understand that the church, in any faith, is much more than the spokesperson.

muchos besitos mu chacha

commenter's note: this is another one-handed entry. spell check does not work. sorry.

Cheryl - nothing wrong with my math - here you have to be an agent first and you have to work under a broker for 12 months. The total hours in a class to be a broker here are 180. Then there are 60 hours post which you have to do within two years and then 14 hours continuing education every two years. BUT - and please understand this - this is still WAY TOO LITTLE and it's more than you have in NC.

As for the rest of what you said - see J-Mac's post!

J-Mac - Yes!!!! While in the hot tub I was thinking and had many conversations with my hot tub oracle who came up with the idea and told me to go ahead and use it. :) Hope you're feeling better.

Good Job J-Mac...Does it make a difference to a home owner if their home is a 100k or 500k, they just want it sold..I know Realtors who used to work only the estate homes are now stooping to pick up some starter homes as well...I find it interesting to watch the majority of agents/brokers squirm when asked what they do for their money...I am not picking on them, if they just are collecting the commision, then say so.

.Our current accepted model of commisions makes it difficult to do deals under 250k and still give full service marketing..

This is a near perfect quote from a sales meeting I attended at a former brokerage...the facts are that if they charged a small amount to do business upfront, then having hundreds of listings would cover basic expenses.

I see this current market as the purger of many good, qualified proffessional leaving the business because they have family and monthly responcibilties. Many of the rest who stay may not be the most qualified in our field, but simply have the financial ability to go without checks longer than the rest..Imagine if we expected that of our most qualified Doctors, Bankers, Lawyers, Teachers, AUto Repair Shops, Used Car Salesman..

Interesting concept. Seems pretty cheap for a full service Realtor. I might just sub-contract you to sell some of my full-service listings. You get $595 and I get the rest. Heck I will give you $695. :-)

I've been offering a different sort of service for years and gotten lots of knives thrown at me too.

JUN

2008

Simon,

I am perplexed by the intensity here regarding a Public Post that you directed towards the consumer. I'm in New Jersey. I don't care what model you adopt in Florida.

These are the exact threads the Department of Justice should be Googling, for the responses smack of a taciturn competitive pressure.

Fellow Rainers, if the man says he provides "full service" than he does. I was raised to trust everyone until they gave you a reason not to trust them. Or one could purchase a home in Simon's market, hire him to sell it and disprove his marketing strategy. I think he's smart enough to do what he says.

In fact there is a company here in my market that is enjoying considerable success with the same model. More power to them; I've thought about joining them. The free and intrinsically beautiful nature of a free market system.

As Realtors we should not be surprised in a Recession that sellers will not, perhaps cannot, pay commission dollars that could be used for utility bills (oil still over $125/bbl), moving expenses, food, college funding.

If your model is successful it means the consumer, or a segment of the market, is benefitted. The real estate license doesn't mandate the licensee to practice unequivocally a universal strategy.

Let's respect the man, his message and the freedom to make a legal living as he chooses.

Well said, Mr. Lenza. While it is not the model that I believe provides the most benefit to MY clients, far be it from a true professional to tell another what works for OTHER professionals. I do wish I wouldn't see the vitriol regarding the "charlatan" agents who charge more for their services. In the free market, we are worth what the consumer is willing to pay for our services. I happen to think that I am worth more than $595, but those who disagree with me will hire someone else. Best of luck to all in finding a model that works for them individually in these challenging times. There is no collective business. We must all find our own way.

JUN

2008

Paul, agreed. Perhaps the marketing approach can do without the charlatan reference.

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