jhanson8

Is there any rule that realtors have to wear overpowering perfume or cologne? That's my biggest complaint. Does Al Gore know how much these people are contributing to air pollution? But, staying on topic here, I've found the business casual look to be the best. Simple khakis or (clean) jeans with a polo and nice shoes. I started out doing the shirt & tie thing and besides being uncomfortable the whole time it didn't get any deals. Like Doug said, I got more questions and skepticism when I dressed nicer. I still don't have the courage to dress way down to meet someone, but maybe when I'm further along and have more deals under my belt.

Same here! I've got sellers like crazy but all my buyers suck and my business has almost come to a standstill. I haven't come close to a deal since October. I know things are supposed to slow down around this time, but c'mon... I guess the serious buyers, the ones who understand basic economics and finance, have all closed down for the winter. The last two buyers I spoke with could only afford rent payments at 70% of market and $1-2k upfront. They were both interested in foreclosed homes because they heard "you can get one for really cheap." These people really believe that they're qualified to own a home? Here's hoping things pick back up in January.

I do the same thing when I find yard signs. I send my letter in a handwritten envelope so they don't mistake it for junk mail, but the response rate from my letters has been disappointing. I agree with Rexford that calling on leads is the way to go because the people can't dismiss you as easy and you get immediate results.

Good answers from MC. Here's my $0.02... Before. If I'm showing it myself, I have the application with me and I encourage them to fill it out there. While they complete the application I can chat with them and get some background. Once they're done, I give it a quick skim and ask any questions. I expect people to lie to me, and it's easier to tell if they're lying when you're talking to them. If you have several interested buyers for one property, arrange to have them all view the house at the same time. Having other interested parties there creates a sense of urgency and makes the property seem more valuable. I have done this twice and it worked out great. In my experience, the local services are best. There are a lot of national companies you can find online that do this, but take the time to call some local banks and ask a loan officer. They may have a specific person or company they work with, or they may even have some services in-house. Either way, it will expend your contact list and may even bring more leads.

Hey efete. I've been giving the out-of-town thing a go since September with no luck. I'm running into the same problems as with my local contacts, except the out-of-towners buy into it even less because I'm not near them. Most seem to think I'm a scammer because I'm not there to meet them in person. But, when you think about it, 80-90% of the people we contact aren't going to be interested anyway. That number should be a little higher for people outside your area. The nice thing about this investing technique is that you don't need every contact to say yes.

Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, local ads, talking to (some) Realtors, driving around town and seeing yard signs, word-of-mouth.

It depends. I send out the standard "Do you want to sell on a lease-purchase" type email. If they respond positively, or if they ask for information, I send a simple follow-up explanation email. If I don't know anything about the home then I have to ask some more questions. But, if it's something local that I can drive by and see and get some dependable comps on, or if it's a Zillow listing or something that has information, then I send a second email with a short offer right away. Doing it this way accomplishes several things: I get to be proactive and control the conversation, I get the offer out there and let the seller know I mean business, the seller isn't asked for a lot of information without anything in return, I don't waste my time waiting for responses that may never come, I find out quickly whether this seller is serious, and I provide a starting point for negotiations. My short offer is weighted heavily towards my interests, but without lowballing the seller and insulting them. If they accept the initial offer, then my offer was too high.

Just a little story from personal experience... I use to be too talky. I mean, I felt I had to sell myself to these sellers to convince them to work with me. What happened? Nothing. I would send several emails and eventually I would stop getting responses without ever getting anywhere. So, I decided to just start contacting people, and if they were interested initially I sent a short offer. Suddenly I was getting consistent responses. More than I could really handle at first. I was so focused on myself that I forgot about what the seller wants, which is a solution to their problem. They don't want to be sold, they want to know what you're prepared to do for them. That has changed my whole approach, as well as my success rate. Ok, that's it. Carry on.

I just love these sellers, don't you? They know just enough to think they know it all...

First of all, I have never had any success with FSBO sites. Most of the people are no longer FSBO because they've either signed with a Realtor or already sold and never took the ad down. Second, the $1000 fine is intended to keep Realtors from vulturing (is that a word?) listings and taking business away from the site. The only way I can see you getting in trouble with a FSBO site is if you marketed yourself as a business that competes with them.

I've been sending short offers first, but then the people mysteriously disappear... Most of the sellers around here are upside-down and don't want to accept that their home is worth $100k less than a few years ago. So, when I send out that initial offer they are hit with that cold dose of reality and move on to the next Realtor willing to list their home way over market. I just let them know that the offer is still on the table if they change their mind. Plus, I've started following up with the rental assistance thing that has been discussed on some other posts.

That's exactly what I want to start doing. My trouble has been finding people who only want the paperwork and screening done. Everyone I've talked to wants me to do the whole thing, repairs and all - not gonna happen. But, I figure that if I can get them higher quality tenants then they may be more open to landlording themselves. We'll see...

This is just for finding a tenant, right? You handle it like a CA, with the owner taking over as landlord and you out of the picture? I've been giving this method a run the last week or so and I think it may work out.

I would be interested in new construction, but the builders either use their own in-house agents or they outsource it to a local brokerage. I tried contacting a few sales offices with not even a nibble. I feel there's potential but I can't get in the door.

Brokers suck Rex! That's why I didn't get my broker's license. Well, that, and California raised the state license fee to $300...