I read and interesting article (below) sent to a reporter by a home owner. His (homeowner) take on the market is that real estate brokers should share in the losses created by a declining market.  What he doesn't understand is that real estate brokers already are.

What I think is more important about this article is recognizing an opportunity. One of the many great things about the Assist-2-Sell concept is saving people money and charging a fair commission in any market. Make no mistake about it, home sellers need us now more than ever. Home equity in America is at historic lows and every dollar counts.  Not only is Assist-2-Sell the best option, In many cases we may be the only option.

As a real estate broker/agent you are a problem solver. Someone has a need to buy or sell a home; you can solve that problem for them. What is one of the biggest problems home owners are facing right now? They need to sell and most have very little equity.  Assist-2-Sell can solve that problem better than anyone else.

DEAR BENNY: I had my home priced under the market price and recently took it away from the brokers so I could lower the price even more. Why? Well, I have a beautiful, wonderfully priced home and did not get any offers.

In this period of downturn in the real estate market, each week we are told, "Price your house under the market value or pull it off the market."

My question is this: Why is it entirely on the homeowners to take a hit when this whole mess was not their fault -- except some got greedy on the price? Homeowners would be less resistant to lowering the price if the real estate brokers would also lower their commission rates. Is it a state law that they cannot lower their fees? We are in this together and we need some incentives from the real estate brokers. --Bob

Full Story 

We have all heard the saying, "real estate is all about location, location, location." But I have a nice home in a great location why doesn't it sell?

What does it really take to sell a home in today's real estate market? Is it location, new carpet, fresh landscaping, offering a free trip to Hawaii, paying closing cost, or offering more commission to buyers agents? No. The saying sellers and agents should get to know and love is, "real estate is about price, price, price."

The right price will overcome anything. Think about it, if a home is in a bad location but the price is right, it will sell. If the home is in bad condition but priced well, it will sell. If a home stinks and has no landscaping, with the right price tag it will sell.

Auctions, bank owned properties, and short sales seem to get all the attention, why is that? Is it because buyers and agents love the excitement of an auction and want to fight over the house with countless other buyers? Or maybe buyers love the idea of buying a home that was foreclosed on, has a dead lawn, hasn't been lived in for over a year, and needs a lot of maintenance? Or maybe agents and buyers like the challenge of trying to get a short sale approved and closed? I am being sarcastic but I think I made the point.

Get your home/listing priced right, make it a "deal" and it will sell. Think about adding value with creative financing options. Lease options and owner carries. If the home has a loan with a great interest rate, find out if it is assumable. Many loans are assumable with qualifying. If the loan has a 5% fixed rate assumable loan this can be a great "deal" for a buyer.

Final thoughts on the street corner agent. 

The last part of my conversation with Paul was about some interesting ideas he had for making contact with potential customers. For example, he buys lottery tickets every week and staples them to his business cards. He passes out the cards to people he runs into at the grocery store, bank, gas station, and yard sales, etc. He tells people "this card could be worth 25 million." If someone wins, all they have to do is buy a house from him.  As he puts it, "I figure the card has at least a week of shelf life because people need to hang on to it to see if they win!" He says it is a great conversation starter.

Speaking of yard sales,  Paul says he tries to visit yard sales whenever he has a chance.  He plasters his car with signs and graphics and even has a trailer with graphics.  He goes not only to find good deals, but to make contact with people looking to buy or sale a property.  He says many people have yard sales when they are getting ready to move. He also tries to go to as many estate sales as he can.  Great deals and many of the properties need to be sold.

Assist-2-Sell gives you a great edge when it comes to marketing. You have a great conversation piece built in with your system. "I will sell your home and save you thousands." Try the above ideas and incorporate the Assist-2-Sell advantage, I bet you have great success.

Making human contact is the key to success with both prospecting for new business and taking care of the business you have!

So I decided to take action and find out what the video below was all about and see if this guy got any business out of it.

I called him and got voice mail, his name is Paul and he works in Jacksonville.  I Figured I might not get a call back.  To my surprise he called me back with 3-4 minutes. Nice!  Ok, so I had to ask him if this was a set up. He said yes it was. He told some friends and coworkers he was going to do this and they set up the video.  He decided to post the video on youtube and it got picked up on the local evening news, the newspaper, and web sites.

He picked out a place he knew panhandlers normally would be and went out there. Apparently the panhandlers weren't happy, he was on their turf! He wound up paying them to let him use their corner.  

So the next question is why? Paul tells me the market in his area is slow as it is in many areas and he felt he had to do something different. He was tired of the same ol' marketing that did nothing for him. He wanted to get out there and make contact with potential customers. As he put it "get face to face."  This was one way to do it.

I asked what the reaction has been; he said it has been across the board. Some think he is nuts and is giving real estate a bad name. Others thought it was a great idea. He says everywhere he goes people know him as the street corner realtor, or the sign guy.  He doesn't care it got his name out there.

So did he get any business from the exercise?  He said he has made a number of contacts which turned into business. So in an indirectly he may have. As he says "most people I make contact with are not ready to buy or sell right now but they will be at some point. I want them to remember me." So who knows what kind of business he is going to get but as Paul puts it, "it is already paying off."

I have to hand it to Paul for taking a risk and trying something different. Like it or hate it, it worked for him. He shared a number of his other ideas which I will share later.

Below is a video of an agent on a street corner in Jacksonville, Fl.  Most people's first reaction is to make fun of the guy.  I have to hand it to him, he is taking action and trying to make contact with potential home buyers and sellers.  Am I recommending you do this, no.  If you are at least get a better sign!

I think he could take his energies and focus on a neighborhood that he works, talk to fsbos and expired listings, do some open houses and talk to buyers, etc. Go talk to local banks and get a relationship going with loss mitigation dept and try to pick up some REO, etc..

The bottom line is he is taking action and trying to get out there and do some business. He could bury his head in the sand and hope things get better or he could take action.

I would be interested to see if he got any business from doing this. You know what I am going to call and find out! I will let you know what I find out.