Hi All, new agent here, working part time until I get the nerve to go full time.. Anyway does anyone know a good place to find tips about FSBO's? I would really like to start working these leads but I am not sure where to start. Call, go over, mail stuff??? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

open up the newspaper and start calling. i know of a technique that most agents dont use, so they lose the potential business right off the bat.

ok agent 007 what is the technique if you dont mind sharing?

I was wondering the same thing myself..care to share??

Sure. Most agents that call FSBOs introduce themselves on the phone to the seller and ask if they can list their home right off the bat. Wrong move! These sellers have already had probably 15 other agents call up and ask the same thing. You have to make yourself stand out from the crowd and there are only a few ways of doing that on the phone. Asking to list the home right away is not one of them.

Do we have to guess what it is that you do? LOL! What I am wondering is just how to stand out in the crowd. Any tips would be helpful.

Before you call, make sure they're not on the Do Not Call List or you risk a fine. Your office probably downloads an updated list every month.

I am new and haven't dealt with a FSBO yet, but does the Do Not Call list apply if they put a sign in thier yard with thier phone number on it asking people to call?

Yes it does TexasJeff because they are not putting a sign out there asking agents to call to try to list the property. The only time it's ok to call a FSBO is if you *genuinely* have an interested buyer.

Define 'genuine'.

I hear this all the time but my thinking is this: how do you know if you have a buyer who might be interested unless you see the home? You don't. For all you know, you might be interested.

But, everyone is so scared of the DNC that they look for any reason to not call to see the home.

Here is what our training manual says...

"You may call a FSBO Seller if you are a buyer’s agent with a client who has
interest in the property. However, the substance of your discussions with such a
FSBO Seller should be limited to the interest of your buyer client in the Property.
This is the case regardless of whether or not the Seller is listed on the “Do Not
Call” Registry because your contact as the buyer’s agent is not an attempt to
solicit the Seller’s business by obtaining the listing."

And I stil say that if I am calling solely to view the home, I am in no way soliciting a listing.
And on my first visit, I do not even mention the word listing.

sounds to me like you are with a company that doesn't want you to try and convert FSBOs. your company's training manual means nothing to us anyway. it is only to try and protect your company. if a seller advertises their home and their number is present, it does not apply to the DNC list.

When I call a FSBO, I genuinely want to find out how much they are listed at, questions ab the property, etc. I do take notes and find out if they pay a Buyer's commission. If they do, I tell them that I would put them on my list, so that when my clients do search, they have a list of houses that meet their criterias, including those FSBO. When they wont work with Buyer's commission, I put that on the note too.

We share this information with the company.

Here is the interpitation from the NAR. Also your broker does not care about a fine you are an independant contractor and in this for yourself. The broker is not giving you lists of people to call you find them yourself. It's your fine if it comes to a court battle.

Justin B sounds like your broker is trying to save you a 10K fine.

http://www.realtor.org/rmoprint.nsf/pages/featurenov03faq

There are two instances when a real estate professional would call a FSBO seller. The first would be a real estate professional seeking of a FSBO listing, and the second would be a buyer's representative who believes his/her client might be interested in a FSBO property. NAR does not see any problem with a buyer's representative contacting a FSBO owner whose number is listed in the Do-Not-Call registry about a client's potential interest in the property, as this call is not a telephone solicitation by the buyer's representative. Note that the buyer's representative can only discuss his/her client's interest in the property and not use a purported client's interest as a way to also discuss the possibility of the FSBO owner listing his/her property with the buyer's representative.

However, a real estate professional would be prohibited from initiating a telephone call to a FSBO seller whose number is listed in the Do-Not-Call registry in an attempt to obtain a listing. The rules prohibit anyone from making telephone solicitations to telephone numbers that are registered in the database, and a call initiated to obtain the listing falls within that definition. NAR is seeking clarification from the FCC for calls made to consumers in response to a yard sign or an advertisement in the newspaper that provides a telephone number. Until this clarification is provided, it is advisable to take a conservative approach and check the registry first for the telephone number, and refrain from calling if the number appears on the list.

What I mean by *genuine* is you are *actually* working w/ a buyer - your buyer is real. A lot of agents claim to have a buyer interested just to get their foot in the FSBO door. FSBO's aren't stupid & they will catch on to those agents. But I had success saying that I would like to preview the property in case I come across a buyer & were they willing to co-op. Most FSBO's were willing to co-op.

And an in person visit/knock on the door is a much more effective way of prospecting FSBO's IMO. There's no reason to be scared of the DNC because you can knock on the door

Exactly, but when I call a FSBO, I don't know if I have someone genuinely interested in their home, since I have never seen it. Who can say with 100 percent certainty that they have a buyer that is genuinely interested in a home that the buyer has never seen? Noone.

Regardless, my point is that I do not call a FSBO to get the listing. I call to get some information and to view the home. Then I can either forget about the home for whatever reason, keep it in mind for potential buyers, buid rapport to continue speaking to the Seller, etc etc.

I'm not arguing with you Tanya, I actually work pretty much like you do. I just think the rules for calling a FSBO on the DNC are stupid.... unless you are stupid enough to lead off your call with "Let me list your home!" , which, actually, a lot of Agents do.

Agent 007 ..."You have to make yourself stand out from the crowd and there are only a few ways of doing that on the phone" ..... I am still waiting to hear how you do it....

I agree with you ScoFla & my point was not to "pretend" you have a buyer & go to the home with your brother as the interested buyer just to get inside. I don't see a problem approaching them with the attitude that you meet buyers every day so you'd liek to preview the home & have it in your inventory

Yes this thread has gotten way off topic while we all wait for Agent007's response. I was originally inquiring on how to work FSBO's, not which ones I could or could not work.

I think his answer was to simply go see the house, build some rapport and work the lead, instead of barging in their door demanding the listing which many Agents do.

First, I only visit FSBO's in my immediate area. Although I cover the entire county, I concentrate on my own city. I do go to broker's open houses and open houses in general in order to know what is on the market. I explain to the FSBO that as I see buyers all the time, I would like to preview the house in order to know the entire market - not just listed properties. I put it in the context of just "doing my job". I don't see this as a violoation of the DNC list. Its a sensible request and its pretty obvious that it is in the sellers best interest that I actually see the property. I would never discuss a listing on the first visit. think its smoother than "I have a customer that may be interested in your home". This way, you are never stretching the truth.

I have listed, sold, and double ended two FSBO's within the past 3 months so I know a thing or two about working with FSBO's. I am actually going to be covering this on one of my upcoming Conference Calls. You new agents, contact me and I will give you a script that I use and learned from along with a great website on working with FSBO's. I highly suggest you read "Mastering the Art of Selling Real Estate" by Tom Hopkins.

Hey, I'm from Providence, RI. Can you send me that information about FSBOs? My email is: lenm@americanagrp.com. Thanks.