Search Phase
Tutorial Item 4

We believe in casting the widest possible net, including the Exclusive Listings of all area Realtors, For Sale By Owner Homes, and potentially off-market homes. 

While cast the net, the focus is held on properties with the features that are most likely to satisfy the needs of the buyer.

Some buyers have relatively tight location needs.  In cases like these, we may conduct a more intensive search within a specific town, or within a specific neighborhood, or school district within that town.  A buyer like this is shopping location first, and then working to find the most suitable house within that restriction.   In a case like this, we might apply additional search techniques in conjunction with showing all realtor listings.   When a specific neighborhood can be identified, we may cold call targeted streets to see if a home can be located which has not hit the market quite yet.   When a town has been identified, we can offer reverse compensation to agents within who might know of a home not yet listed which might suit our buyer.   Because we are not in competition with listing agents, they can share confidential listing lead information with us that they would need to be reluctant to share with other listing agents within the town.   This, ironically, can potentially put us in a position  to more comprehensively penetrate the market within a specific town and offer more to our buyer than the largest realtor within  the town.    Where the largest realtor may have 20 agents, an inquiry of this type can potentially tap into the collective contacts of 200.

Other buyers are looking for a specific home type over a wide regional area.   While listing agents are typically focused on a few towns, we are not tied to the obligation of servicing listings and often search for a specific property for a client looking over many towns.   As we know what the towns offer in terms of price and lifestyle, this is something we can methodically accomplish.     It may be an antique home, and equestrian home, waterfront, or another specialty property. 

As some of the techniques are time intensive, they are employed in those situations where they make sense, as part of the plan set out by agent and client.   It must also be remember that the spectrum from most motivated sellers to least motivated sellers moves from:   1) Property on the market for some time   2) Recently Listed Property  3) For Sale Buy Owners Homes, and 4) Pre-Market Homes.    This notwithstanding, the "longer shots" are sometimes where the right home is found given the right situation.     

Depending on the situation, it can be worth the effort.  We believe you have the right to it. 

For Sale By Owner homes (FSBO) are searched by both our agents and our clients as a team.    Searching the widest spectrum of homes has not traditionally been the focus of listings agents.   It is ours.