A quick Google search on "for sale by owner" this morning returned 5,890,000 possible results. The popularity of for sale by owner, or FSBO, continues to grow, despite what the NAR wants consumers to believe. Its popularity is attracting more than active home buyers and sellers however. Businesses who market to home buyers and sellers are jumping on the FSBO bandwagon in droves. By the late 1990's, websites promoting for sale by owner started springing up overnight. Most sites offered free listings, or charged a very low fee to home sellers who posted an ad. Home sellers didn't seem to question why the advertising fee was so reasonable and were eager to respond, then sat patiently next to their phones, waiting for buyers to call. They got calls, but not from buyers. They heard from mortgage companies, moving companies and real estate agents.
It was during this time that we were approached by Picket Fence Preview, a very successful for sale by owner marketing service based in Burlington, VT, to offer a similar service as theirs in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. We began researching the FSBO market very carefully as we prepared to open our own business. What we found when noodling around the Internet gave us an eye-opener into the sordid side of real estate and FSBO lead generation. It was then that we began our quest to help consumers avoid the pitfalls of do-it-yourself real estate.
Real estate agents have incorporated many lead generation devices over the years, using companies like Warnocks, now LandVoice, and others. Mortgage companies are now realizing that there's big money in for sale by owner and have tried their hand at technology which uses sellers to attract buyers as in websites such as IsoldMHouse.com, ZeroBrokerFees.com and others. Leads are channeled by requiring buyers to register (opening the door to pre-qualifying) and blocking buyers from contacting sellers directly. Allied Home Mortgage pitches its website, The Yellow Sign, to FSBOs by giving them a free listing AND a free yard sign. Using call-capture technology, the unsuspecting home seller whose buyer calls are rerouted to a mortgage company is once again sitting next to his silent phone.
HouseValues, a real estate marketing and lead generation company based in Kirkland, Washington, agreed to pay $51,000 in costs and attorney fees recently to settle a case alleging the company's real estate lead generation services violated the state of Washington's consumer protection laws. The ruling found that the company was selling made up leads while boasting that 20% of its leads would turn into sales for real estate agents. See full story by the Seattle Post Intelligencer here.
It's like your Mom always said, there are no free lunches.
It was during this time that we were approached by Picket Fence Preview, a very successful for sale by owner marketing service based in Burlington, VT, to offer a similar service as theirs in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. We began researching the FSBO market very carefully as we prepared to open our own business. What we found when noodling around the Internet gave us an eye-opener into the sordid side of real estate and FSBO lead generation. It was then that we began our quest to help consumers avoid the pitfalls of do-it-yourself real estate.
Real estate agents have incorporated many lead generation devices over the years, using companies like Warnocks, now LandVoice, and others. Mortgage companies are now realizing that there's big money in for sale by owner and have tried their hand at technology which uses sellers to attract buyers as in websites such as IsoldMHouse.com, ZeroBrokerFees.com and others. Leads are channeled by requiring buyers to register (opening the door to pre-qualifying) and blocking buyers from contacting sellers directly. Allied Home Mortgage pitches its website, The Yellow Sign, to FSBOs by giving them a free listing AND a free yard sign. Using call-capture technology, the unsuspecting home seller whose buyer calls are rerouted to a mortgage company is once again sitting next to his silent phone.
HouseValues, a real estate marketing and lead generation company based in Kirkland, Washington, agreed to pay $51,000 in costs and attorney fees recently to settle a case alleging the company's real estate lead generation services violated the state of Washington's consumer protection laws. The ruling found that the company was selling made up leads while boasting that 20% of its leads would turn into sales for real estate agents. See full story by the Seattle Post Intelligencer here.
It's like your Mom always said, there are no free lunches.
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