Listsource???

[Tim Puffer]

I'm trying to add another means to search for property besides driving the neighborhoods. Does anyone have experience with Listsource, or anything similar.

I will be checking the MLS for my area in a few weeks once I gain access to it. So that would open another avenue.

[Sean OToole]

Great response rate @Joseph Caracappa! Nice job, you're absolutely right that it is not just about the leads, but also the market, the marketing piece, and overall exposure (number of time mailed, or use of other ways to reach the lead).

Having spent a lot of time reviewing every list provider, I think there is little question Listsource is the best national provider. That said it does have some disadvantages to local and regional providers, including:

1. Pay per lead, vs. all you can eat. And while the leads themselves are reasonable, costs escalate quickly if you want to add additional information like property value.

2. Out of date the minute you download it. The download model of getting leads is very broken, especially if you plan to mail repeatedly over some period of time (which you should). That list will change every day due to new loans, sales, etc.

3. No tools for tracking, managing or marketing to the leads, you just get an export of raw data. Best practice is to use a CRM, but that adds additional cost.

4. Data is dumbed down to work nationally, and local / regional providers often have better data and additional specialty data that may improve your results in your region.

5. You really still need additional tools for doing due diligence - property report, transaction history, etc. Here the best national tool is probably RealQuest (also a CoreLogic product), but like Listsource it is expensive, and there are local / regional alternatives.