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Fizzbos are the people who put out signs that read “For Sale by Owner”. Fizzbox are wonderful—I’ve always been very happy that there are plenty of them around. Why do I say that? Because whenever I’ve need to rejuvenate my business fast, I’ve done it by hitting the fizzbos. Experienced agents often need to rejuvenate their activity when, for one reason or another, their production has fallen off and they want to get back on the track. They can do it quickest with the for-sale-by-owner people. The same thing applies to the new agents—fizzbos are a quick way to get on the fast track to higher earnings for the first time, too. What a great place to start a real estate career. The need for your services as a real estate professional will continue to grow because financing and other aspects of real estate knowledge will continue to become ever more complex. This means that owners attempting to sell by themselves will encounter greater difficulties every year. To solve the difficulties, owners will turn ever more often to highly trained fulltime real estate professionals. Entering the twenty-first century, keep in mind that it’s a trickier business for a for-sale-by-owner to sell his or her home today than it was 20 years ago. With adjustable interest rates, indexes, 2.5% spreads over the life of the loan, and a million other facts people want to know about before they buy a home, the public mistrusts the average seller trying to sell his or her own house. Also, for-sales-by-owners are part-time, unlicensed people trying to market their most valuable asset—their home. Not only are they unqualified, but their chances of holding the sale together for 30, 60, or 90 days is questionable. When do most Realtors® do most of their work? After the sold sign is nailed on the front lawn sign. Buyer’s remorse, changes in loan amounts and rates, possession problems, geology reports, plumbing, and so on, all crop up before the close. The average homeowner is ill-suited to represent himself on such touchy topics. That’s why I remind agents never to give up on a FSBO they have good rapport with. Even after the fact (homeowner tells you the property is sold), changes take place. FSBOs have high cancellation rates. You should be waiting in the wings to help or list the home immediately. After a false sale erupts, the homeowner probably has had it up to his ears playing real estate agent. You need one effective tactic, one winning move, one system that produces. Once you have your single FSBO system perfected and are consistently bringing in salable listing with it, your success in real estate is assured. The fizzbo situation who you approach, when and how you approach them, and whether or not you’ll call back. So throw yourself into perfecting! |
