All Forum Posts by: Chris Jensen

@John Warren, great perspectives, thanks for sharing. The flat fee approach is definitely a good option for getting exposure to the MLS without having to pay for unneeded or undesired services. How often have you had sellers approach you regarding this option? And I hadn’t considered the difficulty in contacting fsbo sellers. I guess if a seller were truly motivated to sell their home they’d make it very easy to be contacted. Good insight. And yah, I’d love to see verifiable statistics on success rate, profitability, etc of going fsbo vs. listing with an agent. Any idea where data like this would exist? Thanks!

So I'm genuinely curious about this topic, and I apologize if it's been covered previously.  I've been thinking a lot lately about sellers who go the fsbo route but say they are willing to entertain buyers with agents.  I did this recently with a flip home and had my own experience, but I'm curious to hear about yours.

Buyers... have you ever approached your agent about a fsbo property and felt like your agent steered you away from that property just because it was fsbo?  I'm interested to hear what experiences you've had.

Agents... how do you really feel about fsbos? Do you avoid them because they potentially degrade your trade, are you impartial to them, or are you big fans?  I'm curious to learn where on this spectrum you lie.

And sellers... I'm interested in your experiences.  Do you feel shunned by agents because you chose fsbo vs. listing through an agent?

Thanks all!

@Rosie Geller  I partnered with a fellow real estate investor several months back to flip homes. The arrangement we landed on, and that we feel was fair based on what each of us brings to the relationship, is 50/50.  As @Charlie MacPherson said, we got everything in writing. We hired an experienced real estate lawyer to form our LLC and draw up a detailed operating agreement. Partnering up is a great way to start out, but it has its challenges just like any meaningful relationship. The important thing is to talk openly and frequently about questions and issues as they come up. Best of luck on your REI journey.

Wow, there has been an amazing amount of detail, experience, perspective and insight shared on this post.  I learned a TON not just about how Zillow and Trulia (and other sites) work, but more importantly how they are viewed from both a Realtor's and an investor's perspective.  I'm going to have to attempt my first blog entry and summarize everything from this post into a crisp reference guide.  And yes, @Tony Wooldridge I'll have to calculate a final score in the battle of the "do trust" vs. "don't trust" camps!

@Fred Heller that’s crazy, I’m glad she came around and you were able to complete the sale. I just wonder if those Zestimates are more trouble than they’re worth.

@Max P. totally feel free to jump in, it's an open forum.  It does seem like at some point both sides are going to need to figure this out.  It will be a great day!

@Elbert D. awesome!  Everyone needs to laugh out loud every now and then :)

@Victor S. interesting.  Redfin doesn't have listings for my market yet, but it looks like a great tool.  Can't wait to explore it and see what value it adds.

@Russell Brazil, your comments make a lot of sense and seems to paint the plight of both sides in a fair manner. A system that takes a lot of time, money and people to set up and maintain... I would be hesitant to give the generated information away for free, especially to another system that is fraught with accuracy issues. Sounds like if Zillow can crack the nut of interfacing accurately with all the different systems, and if there can be a fair price paid by Zillow for access to the MLS data, it could end up being mutually beneficial for all parties. Sounds like a huge "if" though. Thanks for the perspective.

@Todd Letourneau, so that's an interesting perspective.  I didn't know Zillow worked like that.  A realtor's listings can be lost to another realtor if that monthly fee isn't paid?  That would certainly cause me some angst as an agent.