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September 20, 2007
Real Estate Broker/Agent Solicitations
I have a question (or 2) for all the homeowners in BROWNSTONER-land.
1- Do you still receive mailings from brokers/agents asking if you're thinking of selling your home?
2- If so, do you recive mailings from only the LARGER or SMALLER brokers?
3- Have any of you ever listed with one of these agents?
The reason I'm asking is that I used to send out 1000 or so pieces per month and got reasonable results. Lately (last 1-2 years) I get VERY little response.
Just wondering how people choose a realtor these days!
Comments
The last apt we sold we asked a friend who had recently sold theirs if she would recommend the broker they used.
She loved the broker and so did we.
So my advice, as one of your potential home sellers.
1. Stop sending impersonal junk mail.
2. Work your ass off for everyone of your current clients. They will remember you when asked for a recommendation.
Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 3:29 PM
1, Yes
2. Both, but more small brokers
3. No
I have no plans to sell my house (ever) but, if I ever did, I'd go with a broker who has sales people living in my neighborhood who I knew had a good track record.
IMO these solicitations [at least the ones from brokers I don't know] are an annoyance similar to the advertising flyers being discussed elsewhere on Brownstoner.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 20, 2007 3:31 PM
1. Yes
2. Big broker (regular postcards from various Corcoran brokers) and one small broker who had one listing in my building
3. No
I found my real-estate broker in 1999 at an open house. Although I didn't buy the property she was showing, I liked her and have used her to look for my new place and to sell my current one.
If I did not know someone, I'd go by friends' recommendations first. I use those glossy postcards from Corcoran as bookmarks.
Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at September 20, 2007 5:23 PM
We've only received two mailers so far this year. One was from a newbie realtor at a big firm, and one was from a nobody independent realtor who set up shop on his own nearby. Mailers seem desperate.
I agree people hire their broker via word of mouth. You have to network the same way anybody does in any business. Join a charity board or committee, or a museum members group. Also get active in your own local neighborhood, because if you are known by residents, they'll hire you when they sell.
Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 6:00 PM
I would not list my house with someone I found through a mailer for the same reason I would not use a contractor who put his card in my front door.
I would list my house with someone a friend recommended. If the realtor who sold my house to me was not a total freaking crook, I would have listed with him. If I have any advice to add, I would say that being fair and good to the buyer is a good way to create business in the future. So few realtors, IMO, see this.
Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 6:06 PM
Yes! When I was buying my apartment, I couldn't stand so many of the agents who lied, lied, lied. I bought a place listed by one who was straightforward and honest - I couldn't see conducting such a big transaction through someone I couldn't trust not to lie to me.
When I sold, I would have liked to reward that agent by giving her my listing, but the smaller, independent, Brooklyn real estate brokerages don't market as widely or as well as the larger ones that have since moved into the neighborhood. The smaller ones don't represent sellers properly - by design, it appears.
Why don't they all market properties to all other agents citywide and willingly co-broke? Why can't they produce well-designed websites that are easy for buyers to use to find what they are looking for, and include floorplans? Why do they need to exaggerate -why can't they stick to the truth?
That said, my selling agent still lied to a prospective buyer, which I had call the agent on and to correct, and which pissed me off. And didn't seem to get that treating me well was the way to get repeat and more business. So, while I liked the brokerage's marketing and website, would I list another property with that particular agent again? NO. Would I recommend that agent to my friends as a selling agent? NO. And that is just a stupid business model on that agent's part - and so many of them seem like that.
They just don't get it. Or maybe I've just worked in businesses where customer service is given more emphasis. My experience with agents has made me think that I could do very, very well if I started selling real estate. Or maybe there's so much money to be made selling real estate that they have no need for good customer service.
Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 6:44 PM
One of the most important aspects of sales is to emphasize the positive and de-emphasize the negative.
No house is perfect so some brokers just go too far.
Posted by: slick at September 20, 2007 6:49 PM
Yeah, slick, but in other contexts, that is generally known as fraud.
Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 7:02 PM
i base all of my major financial decisions in life on postcards i get!
and i found my financial planner on MySpace! he's in a band!
Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 8:40 PM
Ugh, i HATE all those fliers I recieve from brokers. It's like e-mail spam but much much worse. I would never in a million years sell my place with a stranger who floods my mailbox or door with unsolicited junk.
Such a pet peeve of mine..
Posted by: BrooklynZoo at September 21, 2007 10:12 AM
And you can probably see what a waste paper(trees) these mailings are. It shows a disrespect of the neighborhood and people living in it.
Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 12:01 PM
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