All Forum Posts by: Chris Jensen

@Chris Mason, nice! BP helps you maintain focus and clarity. I like it. Definitely better than the mind-numbing effect of other social media sites. Thanks for taking a few mins to share that perspective.

@Dean H. sounds like you're spending a good deal of time here. Do you find other aspects of your life are suffering a bit, and how do you balance it all? 

@David Cruice, definitely true about Karma. I personally find that I try to pay the universe back by serving others, but it ends up blessing me even more! BP can serve many purposes, and certainly one of them is to help others be generous.

@Mark H. so your personal situation allows you to spend lots of time on here, but you narrow your focus so you can dive deep. Nice strategy. There's a lot going on at BP... I'd be curious to know which forums you find most helpful.

@Russell Brazil, interesting that you consider BP part of your job. Even more interesting that it generates so much business for you. Great to have something you enjoy doing also pay dividends. A virtuous cycle. Thanks for sharing.

@Trevor Chapman, good point about building relationships. That's what we're working on now... one or two sources, same general requirements (stainless steel vs black, ice maker or no, top-down vs side by side, etc).  Trying to remove as much hassle as possible.

When do you buy online have you ever tried to install them somehow, somewhere, just to verify they do indeed work, prior to officially installing them? Easier to do with fridge, stove and dryer. More difficult with dishwasher and washing machine, which require water hookup. Curious what kind of testing you do and how. Thanks!

@Mike Cumbie, thanks for the perspective. Gets back to the risks and challenges sellers face going the FSBO route. This has been an interesting thread. Some realtors will work with FSBOs and some won't. Very interesting pros/cons with each path. I really appreciate your time and thoughts.

Recently an acquaintance shared with me an interesting analogy of buying a used piece of electronics.  "Do you want to buy that at a garage sale being sold directly by the owner, or would you rather buy it in a store, sold by a salesman, backed by some kind of guarantee? Certainly the one in the store will cost more, but most people would gladly pay extra for the value of peace of mind."

That got me thinking of a tactic I used to use as a newer rehabber of stocking my rehabbed homes with used appliances purchased on Facebook marketplace. I stress "used to use" because I absolutely refuse to buy any more appliances on FB marketplace. More than half the time, we'd finalize the rehab and install the appliances only to find out they didn't work and required expensive repairs. Yes, I know... buyer-beware, you get what you pay for, etc. But I've come to the conclusion that I'd rather save a LOT of hassle and stress and pay a bit more to buy from a used appliance store where the items are tested and come with some kind of return policy.

So my question to my fellow rehabbers is this: how do you feel about FB marketplace, and what's your experience been... is it a gold mine or a money pit?

Thanks all.

@Daniel Akerman, wow what a helpful post. Great comments about marketing and customer reach, as well as the competitive forces working against a FSBO listing. I also liked the analogy of buying a used piece of electronics. Lots of good insight there, thanks for taking the time to pull it all together and add it to the thread. Several agents who've posted here have mentioned some of the strategies, tactics, and tools they use. I must admit that as technology has evolved over the last couple decades I've become skeptical of the value agents bring to the process. Your comments have me rethinking my assumptions.

@Brian Pulaski thanks for putting yourself out there like that.  Awesome post.  I'm almost a year down the rehabbing path, and I've developed my own analysis/tracking system (I'm an excel junkie too!).  I'd like to add my name to the list of those who'd appreciate a copy of your file once you figure out the best way to share, just as a way to "compare notes" and see how I might improve my system.  I'd even take a normal email if that works (my contact info is in my profile).  Cheers!

@Jonathan Minerick excellent job laying out the benefits of MLS flat fee approach. I hadn't heard of this concept until recently, so thanks for building on that strategy. I'm definitely going to look into that!