Home > Blogs > Geoff Thomas > Geoff Thomas's (gthomas) Blog

Realtors break into the For Sale By Owner market!

By Geoff Thomas

Mortgage and Lending with Golf Savings Bank

August 30, 2006 08:22 AM

I've just got ahold of this new FSBO marketing program and wanted to see what you realtors thought about it. Basicly I have a service that sends me all the new FSBO listings for a certin area. I work the north and east Seattle areas. Then I call the people to give them the pitch. Being I'm a loan officer and NOT a realtor trying to get a percentage of their sale I don't get the instant stone wall and they seem to listen to what I have to say. Basicly I have a plan set up that I have a web site (http://www.byowner247.com/) that I list their house on along with haveing a yard sign with an 800 number in which people can call 24 hours a day and get a verbal walk through of the house. I leave one pice of information out so that they have a reason to call the seller which gives them the chance to talke with the lead.

The web site is set up so that when someone looks at the house on it will send me their info.(they have to sign up and log on to get info on the houses) Also the 800 number is set up on a call capture system so that when someone calls it for the info I get their number to call them as well. And lastly I give the seller a call log so that when ever someone calls them I can get that info to call the prospective buyer back.

Now for the real estate agent's part in this whole thing. Obviously a real estate agent knows the best pictures to take of a house and how to put together an attractive description so I team up with a real estate agent to go out to the house to take the pictures and take a look at the property so they can put together a good description of the house to set up on the web listing. They also put together a script for the verbal walk through to go on the 800 number. At this time the real estate agents need to understand this is NOT for them to get the FSBO to list the house with them.

So what is in it for the real estate agent you ask? Well for starters by starting the relationship with the FSBO you are put directly in front of them if their house doesn't sell over some time and IF they do decide to list it then if you have treated them good and built that relationship in the begining then hopefully they will list with you. However the big pay off here is in the buyer leads generated. Statistics show that the buyer will come into contact with 20-50 buyer leads. While only one person is going to be able to purhcase this listing that leaves 19-49 buyer leads. These leads are sent directly to me to try to get those people preapproved for the house they are looking to buy. Then I in turn send those preapproved leads directly to you so that you can help those people find a house.

So what do you all think of this little marketing program? It's something I'm just now getting up and going here in the Seattle area but it has been working very well for others in different areas around the country. I've got a couple agents I'm working with in the east side seattle area but if there is anyone in the north seattle area that would be interested in such a plan please feel free to give me a call.

Geoff Thomas

First Star Financial Corp.

Office: 425-259-8080

Cell: 206-778-0525

Comments(5)

Comment

Show All Comments Sort:

Jason Sardi

Auto & Home & Life Insurance throughout North Carolina - Charlotte, NC

Your Agent for Life

This is very similiar to systems of 'Lead Generation Techniques' being sold by mortgage gurus in the biz such as Dan Pinto. None the less, good way to generate leads.

Aug 30, 2006 08:23 AM

Golf Savings Bank - Snoqualmie, WA

Well the idea is that there is only going to be one person that is going to buy that house. Hopefuly as a Loan Officer I can get that loan and the loan of the seller when they buy the new home. The real estate agents are more looking to get the other 19-49 leads from people looking at the house. So your target in this whole thing isn't necessarily the FSBO or the person buy that specific house but all the other buyer leads associated with it. Also if you have done a good job building a relationship with the FSBO then if their house doesn't sell quick enough for them and they do decide to list it with an agent you have built that relationship with them and can hopefully get that listing.

Aug 30, 2006 08:38 AM

Toby Barnett

KW North Sound - Marysville, WA

Guess I'm not familiar with the lending industry. So the FSBO gets a free place to show off their home while all leads from signage and website listing are funnelled directly to you? I am confused on the real estate agents role other than if the "home doesn't sell" then the FSBO goes to a real estate agent and "hopefully" already has the relationship with you and teh FSBO uses you to obtain a mortgage.

Is targeting FSBO's in the mortgage industry new concept? I have no idea...a curiousity question :)

It is workable if your willing to do the leg work of contacting FSBO's. I would like to know how it works. I have never heard of this happening and I encourage the use of another technique for my agents. Good luck and loved the comment on the Cascade Mountains :)

Sep 07, 2006 05:14 PM

Real estate agents know how to list the house best. What to put in the listing to make it sound more enticeing and what pictures to take and how to take them in order get the best effect to get people to want to look at the home. The people looking at the home are directed directly to the seller and myself. Obviously only one person is going to purchase the listed house but all those other people (statistics show between 25 and 50) looking at the property are still going to be looking for someone. I try to get them preaproved if they haven't been already then I send them to my real estate agent who has been working with me on this FSBO. So hopefully the agent gets the several of those buyer leads that are all ready to go and preapproved for a loan. Nothing is a garantee for me or the agent but there is big potential to get several solid leads from each FSBO.

Sep 08, 2006 07:29 AM

Gordon,

Thanks so much for your comments. You are absolutely correct the point of this program isn't so much to get the listing but to get the buyer leads. This post was from a few years ago when I worked at First Star Financial. I am now with Golf Savings Bank and I actually am not using this program any longer.

Apr 15, 2010 11:00 AM

Comments(5)

Geoff Thomas

Recent Posts