This originally started as a draft about artificial intelligence, but the ads in my social media feed got me off my rear and and getting it completed.
Quick story:
Back in 2008 and 2009 as the market was cratering and distress properties became a larger part of the market share, I paid some companies to help me become an REO agent. I don't recall the fees, but I it was probably $100 for them to get my information to lots of asset managers. I might as well have burned the cash, at least it would have helped heat the room. I was fleeced by someone who saw an opportunity to use a crisis to sell something worthless.
As Littlefinger famously said in Game of Thrones, chaos is a ladder. It's also a great marketing opportunity.
Anytime something happens in the real estate market, I can count backwards from 100 and see a stream of ads in my Internet wanderings with "experts" promising to give me the secret sauce to success at the new thing. Here are just a few of the shiny thingies that heretofore unknown experts surfaced who were selling the keys to riches:
- Pinterest Success
- Beat Zillow!
- Leveraging (barf) Artificial Intelligence
- Using Crypto and Blockchain for Real Estate Riches
- Get $60,000 for your business with ERC (Employee Retention Tax Credit)
And of course, today, there are tons of gurus who know exactly what you need to do to thrive in the new real estate reality we all face in the wake of the lawsuits, even though the settlement everyone is talking about isn't finalized or approved by the court yet.
Think about that. There are people who are looking you in the eye and claim to have the answers to a new business model that isn't finalized or finished yet.
I'll agree that these folks are experts, but what they are good at is retargeting and social media marketing to real estate agents. It's kind of gross when you think about it. Anytime something new and unknown comes up, someone I never heard of appears who claims to be an established authority, even if the thing they claim expertise in never existed before. And they make bank on exploiting the fears and anxiety of our colleagues.
Hold on to your wallet. No one has the answers now because, until the courts finalize the wording, we still don't know the exact question.
Comments(28)