GREAT gimmick you can use to sell (believe-it-or-not) REAL ESTATE AGENTS!

GREAT billboard I just saw in Fargo...idea you can adapt to radio in your market...

The silver lining to the housing slump is that RIGHT NOW is chance-of-a-lifetime for a qualified first-time buyer.

I'm always impressed when-I-hear/see:
1. non-traditional advertisers;
2. "swimming-against-the-current;"
3. with copy that cuts-through-the-clutter.

Example of all-three-of-the-above: North Dakota-based Remax agent Chris Thomsen, using billboards, with lean copy that grabs the eye.
Chris calls himself www.FreeTVguy.com

Buy a house through him -- whether or not it's his listing -- and he gives you a 42" flat-screen HTDV.

REAL smart.
Suppose you've already found a house you like.
The SELLING broker will make 6%.
If you-bring-in a BUYER'S broker, both brokers split the 6%.
YOUR cost doesn't change, and Chris can MORE-than-afford to buy you a big TV.
Thanks to ADVERTISING, your business found HIM.
BY USING MEDIA -- this broker cuts-through-the-clutter.

Consider buying a similar URL -- so YOU control the brand -- then offering the package to local agents.

Worth brainstorming?

HC
www.HollandCooke.com

Real Estate brokerage is regulated at the STATE level.

In cars, your mileage may vary.

In real estate, your STATE may vary.

Do your research. Realtors lobby hard to protect their income stream. Some states severly limit an agent's ability to start 'kicking back' commission.

Think DOGS are territorial???

As a long-suffering landlord, I witnessed that body language many times, because I often went in with a buyer's broker.

Technically, BOTH brokers work for the seller, since that's who pays the commission.

But -- in the process of selling-anything-to-anybody -- FINDING BUYERS is currency.

I was always struck by now cordial SELLERS' agents were to the BUYER'S (my) agent.
After all, the buyer's agent had a-fish-on-the-line (me).

I think the idea is interesting... but what about the kickback concern? You could scare away the least of agents who were scared of their state's laws, and hang out to dry an agent who didn't pay close attention to the same. As a guy who likes the idea, I would want to help the realtor realize a way around it if it was an issue.

"Kickback" is such an ugly word...

Think "finder's fee."

It's what they do.
And law firms.
Take it from a consultant.

Or do nothing.

Well, like I said, I really like the idea (and I have always found value in your ideas), I just wouldn't want to run into that mess accidentally, or be the one who put it in front of my GSM or GM without asking the question first.

What I keep thinking, and maybe you have some input on this; we have a great relationship/account with a wholesale distributor of TV's and general electronics and could make this offer by an agent particularly attractive. We're talking about a difference in price for him/her of around $500/unit. It's attractive, and I'm trying to make this "an offer they can't refuse" so to speak.

Thanks for the follow up HC!

Developers do this all the time in North Carolina. One developer offers a 10,000 home theater package to everyone who buys a home in one of their communities. Everybody gets the deal, so there is no lottery involved.

There might be a law in your state, but it is legal in a lot of them.

Meanwhile, a lot of states (I know North and South Carolina) have a "buyer's agent" law that allows a buyer to contract with an agent and agree to pay the buyer's share of the commission. Means the agent really works in the best interest of the buyer. Commission still comes out at closing - selling agent gets his 3% from the seller and buyers agent gets it from the buyer. All comes from the same pile of money and you actual purchase priced doesn't change.

Benefit is the agent negotiates on your (the buyer) behalf.

Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:

Real Estate brokerage is regulated at the STATE level.

In cars, your mileage may vary.

In real estate, your STATE may vary.

Do your research. Realtors lobby hard to protect their income stream. Some states severly limit an agent's ability to start 'kicking back' commission.

Click to expand...

The basic idea to solicit advertising from real estate agents is an excellent one.

Goat Rodeo Cowboy is correct. Real estate laws vary by state.

Based upon my experience selling new homes in Virginia and being a real estate broker in North Carolina, some states prohibit paying a commission or "finder's fee" or "referral fee" to anyone who isn't a licensed real estate agent. Some states may allow the buyer's agent to offer a rebate or "kickback" (whether in cash or merchandise) to the buyer so long as the value is disclosed and listed on the HUD-1 statement. Even if the state allows it, large rebates or "kickbacks" MAY negatively affect the appraisal of the property, depending upon the appraiser's opinion and upon the prevalence of such "kickbacks" in the local market.

In North Carolina and Virginia, sellers - including developers and builders - may offer incentives in order to sell properties that they own. The amounts that they can offer toward closing costs and other fees associated with obtaining a loan may be limited by federal regulations. If these incentives are substantially higher than what other sellers offer in the local market, than these incentives also can negatively affect the appraisal of the property.