Critique my idea - Local real estate squeeze page
- Thread starter CygnusX
- Start date
There are people in that very thread that called their local boards and there are people in that thread who have direct experience, like myself, who explain everything in detail for you.
If you want to take that chance, then go for it. Just remember how cutthroat real estate is and it will only take one phone call.
This and you're headed towards a headache, + someone who types in "city houses" wants to see listings of what's for sale... not submit personal information and wait for a realtor to call them.
From what I could find regarding Texas law, my reading unfortunately seems to concur with mgtarheels, but then again, usual caveat of "I'm not a lawyer" applies.
If it is illegal why do most apartment companies pay its resident 400-500 bucks for a rental referral? Is this different?
They'll typically discount your rent, not give you $500 cash.
I have come in contact with apartment managers that had no idea such laws existed, though, so I'm sure there are some that do give out cash without knowing what they're doing.
In California it is legal to get a fee as a property "finder". Even if non-licensed. Trust me, I post on the internet. No, really, you can trust me because I already hashed this out with a lawyer and the DRE.
I do know it is illegal in AZ.
I do know it is illegal in AZ.
Just go the Christopher Moltisanti route, find a smart asian guy to take the Realtor test for you. You'll be free to arbitrage leads all over the place without having to go through all the course work.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEpbfSlMVco]Sopranos - Webistics - YouTube[/ame]
Because local leadgen clients are usually idiots regarding everything you'll be talking to them about.
The Ugly Side of Local Online Advertising | Ad Hustler
Just got back from that real estate agent.
He liked the idea of the squeeze page and the paid traffic from Google, but not the idea of having to bid for the leads against other real estate agents. This would cause problems, because they (=local real estate agents) are not used to bidding for something. Google can get away with it, because it's so big. Local business cannot do this in his opinion, because it's about people.
The reason why they are not using Adwords is because they are already advertising on most real estate listing sites in the top 10. They feel they have to do this anyway, since these sites are well known. So they don't see any extra value in using Adwords. He also doesn't see much value in the lead at all, since people are already finding their way to them through the listing sites, local advertising and their brand. On the other hand, they would be willing to pay a fixed subscription fee for a service that brought them exposure and leads.
All in all, the idea isn't good enough yet.
Ok, so do a different approach. You can't sell the leads, and he's already advertising on the sites in the top 10. So make a list, and have them pay for the result # listing. They receive "x out of every z (1 out of every 3) inquiries on the site for a flat rate of yyy.yy per month". It's not compensation per lead, it's advertising.
More risk for them, but may get you around the issues of "selling leads".
I have found that the price is too high. Most lead providers want to get paid per lead, of course. But Realtor's really are more believers in paid per closing, not even per listing, but per closing. Though per listing is a close second.
Most Realtor's cannot budget. They pay you for a bunch of leads, they get a few listings, then 90 days later, when the house gets sold and the Realtor gets paid, they do not remember where they got the lead and by then they are broke and need every last dime. The overall sales cycle is very long in Real Estate. Even then, if they are selling a $200,000 house and get the commission reduced to 5% overall and have to split it with another agent they are only making $5,000 part of which they have to split with their broker, and then you need to account for advertising, gasoline, signs, time at the open house, etc. That comes out to a few thousand over a 90 day+ sales cycle.
You have to understand, for a Realtor to get a listing all they have to do is send out a few hundred targeted postcards or knock on a dozen doors. So your total cost in leads has to cause them less pain, in the form of money, than it would for them to go through a little manual effort.
If you team with a good Realtor, put in all the effort, then ask for a check out of escrow and wait until closing you will get business. But because the online RE niche is so tough, so I am told*, nobody wants to follow this model.
If a lead provider told me that he would provide me fixer upper leads that I could purchase (even nationwide), and did not want to get paid until I actually got the home in my name, then I would pay for that - and much more than a per lead price. Probably a value based on the value of the deal $1000-$3000+. But just to get paid for leads? There are dozens of what is called "Real Estate Wholesalers" or "Finders" that do this for investors like myself all of the time offline.
The reason mortgage loan brokers will pay per lead is because getting a loan is a lot harder than getting a RE listing and they have a lot less time invested in each deal. They just push paper and do not have all of the time, effort, etc of a RE agent. Plus the loan broker can make $10,000-$40,000 per loan.
*Earlier I said "so I am told" because I have never done online REI marketing, though that is why I signed up on this forum, hence the name. All my REI is offline. Though someday I will take the time to develop an REI strategy to bring in investment leads.
This is an important point. Frame your pitch as advertising. They are used to throwing a lot of money at advertising.
You mentioned they do not like the idea of "bidding against others" correct. One thing RE agents know is that a bidding war results in lost money. This is why they keep the good listings for their friends/investors. RE agents like to think you are loyal to them. That is how they make the most money - when they work with others that are "loyal" - call it collusion or whatever - but that is one thing RE agents know very well.
You'll go bankrupt expecting a Realtor to pay out of the closing proceeds.
You will quickly become a collection agent.
Fuck you with a cherry on top is pretty much what you'll hear.
Payment upfront or no deal in my book.
I do lead gen and local lead gen and this is true. Go for the lead or the fixed price as advertisement.
Do not do comission deals if you value your health in any way