Who's winning the RACE for Seller's homes? Investor or Realtor?

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, the client, and the cash, and so on. We've all heard that phrase before but how many of us are practicing it? With over 7.3 billion people on the planet I think you should leave your oil can at home, and go on ahead and make some noise!

Competition is tough these days, for any kind of business, but sales (of any kind) edge out most careers. We have to be more creative, more tech savvy, more educated, more skilled, more social, more, more and more! Thanks to the super highway of information these days we have to be even more determined to win!

Get out of our pit...you ain't part of the crew!

Here's a little secret. Guess who just wandered into the pit, toolbox included? Street Flippers. That's right! A bunch of smart, equipped investors. They've learned our tricks and they are using them...in overdrive. The starting line for business is beginning to look like the 405 at rush hour!

The good news is we have one thing they don't...a license, and that still carries some clout. Yeah, you will find some sellers that want to save that commission and will shake a grease-monkey's hand instead of a skilled Realtor. Certainly that is their option and best of luck to them. Yet, stats from the NAR say only 9% of the property sales are FSBOs. Basically, most folks eventually called a real estate agent to get that home sold.

The question here is not what lug nuts have these house flippers loosened that keep this business spinning, but how have we failed to apply our pit crew finesse to win the race? Why have we parked our Formula 1 car in the garage? You says there are no homes to list, no buyers to be had? Not true! What is real is how we forgot to speed after them. It's time we got out of 1st gear and show the street investors that we learned how to downshift, first!

“Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary… that’s what gets you.”

― Jeremy Clarkson

Don't let them pull ahead...3 "Refresher Laps" to win the race

From the new bumper car sales agents to the Mach 1 Realtors, here's a quick refresher lap to stay ahead of our opponents...

Want to beat out the direct competitor for listings? Here's how...

1.) Sellers are being enticed with the "cut out the middleman" gibberish. Awesome thinks Mr. Seller...if I sell directly to the investor no commission needs to be paid. Oh, I'm sorry Mrs. Investor were you going to help the homeowner look for their new home too, in this sluggish inventory market? Oh, that's right, for you it's about the win. Yeah agents, were about the client. Frankly, sellers are in park these days and others are just in neutral. All they need is a little push to get rollin'. I promise you it's not the interest rates keeping their brakes on, that's for sure. Most people that want to sell want to buy too, but are cautious. I've yet to meet a client that is okay listing their home in a seller's market and take a chance they will find a new one, given this crazy low inventory. This would render the seller, homeless. Yeah, not an exciting option.

2.) You betta burn some rubber to the small landlord's doors. Big time property management companies usually have their own pool of investors that are well taken care of. However, the not so big dogs might be "over" being a landlord. Granted, you need to approach them at the right time, but no one really knows when that is. So, you maybe just want to hover around the hoods to see who's skipping out.

3.) For Sale By Owner Seminar. Um, nah. What person in their right mind would come to a FSBO seminar run by a Realtor? That's a single-lane, dead-end road to a potential homeowner. Yet, if it were hosted and sponsored by a lender, would they go? Vroom, Vroom! Oh, you Ms. Realtor? You'd just be the behind the scenes "guest speaker" that happens to mention all the statics regarding FSBOs. Ya' know, just a little brain fuel to mull over. I'm thinking a registration sheet and a few weeks of their home on the market and they just might remember that "lil' old Realtor" at the seminar. Just sayin'.

YOU, be the high-octane fuel to MOVE the market forward 

Bottom line, there are sellers with homes to list, but they need a little push on their Big Wheels to get moving! More importantly, these homeowners need a secure feeling that the numbers are going to work and they will find a replacement home. It's not the commission that's keeping them from starting their engines, its, the unknown. Remember, an investor can't write an offer either, but you sure can.

So...on your mark, get set....go, Mario!