Do you regularly take top-producing agents to lunch to promote programs such as MIC?

[Nick Gromicko]

Considering that every "Move In Certified" inspection you perform generates more inspections by essentially putting a copy of the product that you produce as a professional, that being a home inspection report, directly in the hands of as many as dozens of homebuyers in your market area, each about to hire a home inspector, and considering that if the seller is moving locally, he/she will almost certainly use their "Move In Certified" inspector to inspect the home they are buying as well, and considering that "Move In Certified" inspections often lead to additional re-inspections, and considering that "Move In Certified" inspections could potentially lead to you landing an agent who wants all of his/her listings inspected, and considering that the liability associated with inspecting a home that your client is moving out of is drastically less than inspecting a home your client is moving in to, have you aggressively marketed this service by committing MIC talking points to memory, calling top-listing agents in your local market, scheduling a lunch date with them, explaining, over lunch, the many advantages the "Move In Certified" program offers their real estate business, and asking them to get you several "Move In Certified" inspections so that they can see how the program works for them and their clients?

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Sucking up to agents isn't how I market my business.

[James H. Bushart]

Next Thursday, I have a real estate salesman taking me to lunch. I might bring it up.

[Bruce A. King]

Many years ago when I used to drop by open houses to see if I could meet some buyers in the driveway, I found a few agents that were actually not too scared to talk to me about inspections. Many were scared to death I knew what they were doing like using their brother in law or the few local popular soft inspectors to get deals to close. These agents knew exactly why sellers did not want to know what was wrong with their house and told me.

1. They would have to disclose it or fix it and they could not afford to do either.

2. They were done with that house, ready to move on and had no desire to spend any more money on it.

[Nick Gromicko]

Open houses don't sell homes and agents that hold open houses aren't doing so, to sell the home.

[James A. Levy]

Originally Posted by gromicko

Open houses don't sell homes and agents that hold open houses aren't doing so, to sell the home.

Are you saying that open houses are held to apease the client...or, maybe to fish for new clients?

[Doug Edwards]

They are there to get as many of their business cards broadcast out into serious buyers' (and sellers) hands. The buyer that shows up at an open house most likely is in the early stages of buying / looking and most do not have an active agent working for them at this point. The agent that gets their cards into their hands has a leg up on their competition. I used to get invited to a lot of open houses by agents and builders I know but I only attended a few many years ago and decided early that I would rather go to the hospital and have my knee drained than go waste my time at those functions. Often, the people that show up at open houses are "sellers" and looking at what the market is like and these are gold for agents. Every agent I know want to get promoted up to being primarily a listing agent rather than strictly a buyer's agent.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

I disagree...
Ever hear the term "Lookey-Loo" ???
I'd bet only about 50% are serious, or even in a position to be able to purchase any home.
I personally know a couple of people that stop at open houses just to see what the house looks like inside.
Can you say "nosey"?

[Doug Edwards]

What exactly are you "disagreeing" with? I don't think I said everyone there is a serious buyer or for that matter a seller. I know there are lookers or just moochers who show up for the free food, hence, the use of the words "many" or "often". I noticed you like to disagree over semantics with a lot of people over who post comments seemingly just to be disagreeable or to hear yourself on line.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Originally Posted by dedwards

What exactly are you "disagreeing" with? I don't think I said everyone there is a serious buyer or for that matter a seller. I know there are lookers or just moochers who show up for the free food, hence, the use of the words "many" or "often". I noticed you like to disagree over symantics with a lot of people over who post comments seemingly just to be disagreeable or to hear yourself on line.

No point in discussing this, as you changed your post 3 minutes after I posted. Your post is no longer anywhere close to what you originally posted. I knew I should have "quoted" you, but chose not to, to avoid cluttering up the thread.

Typical of you.

[ldapkus]

Now, now girls, quit your bickering, this IS an open forum you know?

[Doug Edwards]

The only thing I added in the original post were the last two sentences which changed nothing in the content and the spelling of semantics in the second post. You just like to be disagreeable. You are one of those that when someones says, "the ocean was blue, you immediately come back and say, that isn't blue, it's azure."

[Nick Gromicko]

Doug writes:

They are there to get as many of their business cards broadcast out into serious buyers' (and sellers) hands. The buyer that shows up at an open house most likely is in the early stages of buying / looking and most do not have an active agent working for them at this point. The agent that gets their cards into their hands has a leg up on their competition.

Correct.

A very, very small percentage of home sales can be attributed to open houses, too small for agents to waste their time holding an open house for the purpose of selling the house.

[John Shishilla]

Good pictures get people to look at a home.

Nick, I ordered MIC signs today, I have flippers that want to market MIC! They even decided to have all future purchases inspected. When I give them a list they can make sure to address the issues in the report as they go through the home. They will then hire me for a follow-up for MIC.

The Realtors around here are starting to suggest listing inspections!

[Dennis DiVito]

Fortunately the agents in my area do not "get taken to lunch" by inspectors. They feel it may be construed as being unethical.

They will sit down with me in their office whenever I ask. These days with the depressed market, they keep the conversation going from lack of anything else to do.