An estate agent cannot stay put and wait for clients to come to them: they also need to keep an active and constant search for new contacts so their business has longevity and safety in the near future. And, when we’re talking about searching and conquering new clients to expand your portfolio, FSBO properties are a good place to start.
Do you wish to track FSBO properties and know which sellers to approach? We’ve got you covered! Check our article about this subject and find out many ways of doing so.
4 ways to find property listings for sale by owner with CASAFARI
But, if you already have a few of them under your radar and it’s time to get into business, then keep reading to see what you should do to convince a private seller of working with you.
5 tips to grow your portfolio with for sale by owner properties
1. Study the property to prepare for a meeting
In order to be able to win the trust of a private seller and add an FSBO property to their portfolio, an estate agent must show the credibility of their work. And CASAFARI can support you with that.
CASAFARI Property Sourcing shows in its property page all the information about the real estate you’re trying to sell, allowing you to understand:
- Which are the main characteristics of the property;
- Where is it located;
- How long has it been available on the market;
- Where was it listed (with a link for the listing);
- How is the market for this asset type;
- The full history of the property.
Having this precious data at your fingertips allows you to understand the past of the property, figure out the strategy of the owner to try and sell it and prepare for your conversation with them. You will be able to show you’ve done a thorough research and show your skills to a potential client.
Property history: why is this data priceless to real estate professionals
2. Be ready to discuss property prices and use data to support your sales strategy
Properties for sale by owner are very often mispriced due to mainly two reasons: lack of market knowledge to properly valuate them, dragging the value down, or emotional attachment to the properties, pushing prices up. After all, it’s only natural that people hold in high esteem places they renovated, decorated with intention and lived in for a long time.
But, as you know, when it comes to the real estate market, a mispriced property may take much longer to sell or generate a loss of money for the seller. To avoid these consequences, the estate agent needs to be ready to educate the owner about the ideal asking price and sales strategy.
Here’s where CASAFARI’s Property Valuation enters the scene: our property valuation calculator is able to find the closest competitors of a property available on the market, taking into account the same location and very similar characteristics. And, based on these competitors, provide the fair market value for you to sell the FSBO you’re trying to add to your portfolio.
Besides the analysis of competitors, the property valuation report generated by our tool also shows:
- The property prices for that kind of asset across time;
- The sale price distribution for that kind of asset;
- How many pieces of real estate are there on the market, of that kind of asset, in each price range;
- The average time spent on the market for assets of that kind per price segment;
- Points of interest in the area that might help to close a deal.
Use all this data to come up with an infallible sales strategy, let your potential client know about it, show you’re knowledgeable about the market and that you know exactly what to do with their property.
How CASAFARI’s market analysis helps estate agents sell more and faster
3. Show the private seller the benefits of working with you
There’s no shortage of advantages in working with an estate agent instead of listing a property as for sale by owner. Some of the examples would be:
- The estate agent being able to negotiate for their client’s benefit, avoiding putting unnecessary pressure on them;
- The professional already knows and is ready to deal with bureaucracy, such as contracts, taxes and legal requirements;
- Being part of an agency allows the agent to already have a list of potential buyers in mind, due to being in constant touch with investors, other clients and networking with real estate professionals;
- The agent has marketing strategies and channels that have already been put to the test in the past;
- Access to CASAFARI, a powerful real estate software that allows them to have more on-point selling strategies, as well as market data to set appropriate property prices;
- A less stressful process, freeing up the homeowner’s time.
But you know that better than anyone, right?
So, openly talk to your potential client about all these advantages of working with you, making sure they know all the weight you would be taking from their shoulders and all the efforts you would make to sell their property.
4. Be ready to talk about their objections
Private sellers might have a bunch of objections to work with an estate agent, such as:
- Thinking they know the area where the property is located better than any professional;
- Not being in a hurry to sell;
- Thinking they know their property better than anyone, which leads to them being able to sell it better as well;
- Having lots of networks in the vicinity, allowing them to spread the word of the property being for sale.
In order to add this FSBO listing to your property portfolio, you will need to be prepared to break each and every possibility of objection. Therefore, besides having a great sales strategy based on data, you also should practise a few answers to be given in case these objections show up.
5. Don’t give up just yet: the power of following up
Even if you could not win that specific property for sale by owner on the first contact with the seller, don’t give up! The longer a property is on the market, the harder it is for it to be sold: potential buyers start to think that it probably has a problem, since it’s not taken yet. That leads to the owner becoming anxious, giving up and accepting professional advice.
So, keep a close eye on the FSBO you’re interested in to make sure it’s still available as time progresses. Meanwhile, get in touch with the private seller every now and then to show interest and make yourself available. After a while, they’ll know that you’re there for them and that you really care about their property.
When the owner starts to reconsider working with an estate agent, let them know about your strategies to turn this situation around and make their property be seen as a real opportunity.
Are you motivated to start for sale by owner listings to your property portfolio now? Then subscribe to CASAFARI and profit from our tools that will help you throughout the whole process, from real estate lead generation to the client conversion!
