When working with expired listings, you need to first understand their point of view. They were motivated to sell, and actually hired a real estate agent to list their property and put it on the market. Now time has passed, probably at least 3 months, and a good chance of it being 6 months or more. Their house didn't sell, and now the listing has expired. So how can you swoop in and get them to choose you to re-list their house?
Well, one thing we have going in our favor is that we know how to find these potential clients. Each day you can search the MLS and see which listings have expired. So now what do we do?
First, let's try to understand how this person may be feeling at the moment. Probably disappointed that their house didn't sell. And in many cases they will blame their real estate agent. The number one complaint I have heard is that their agent never kept in contact with them. They never had any idea what was going on with the sale of their house. Even if the agent had done a good job, the property owner would not have known.
So it is our goal to come across as very professional, and make them feel certain they will get regular updates.
So let's begin. First, let's show them that we are very prompt. We need to contact the owners immediately. The same day a listing expires, they need to receive our notice. Here is what my packet consists of: A three page brochure that is designed to hang on a doorknob. The front, in large bold letters says: "Did you know your home is no longer for sale? Your listing expired on the MLS today."
I have found that in many cases, the owner didn't even know that their listing had expired yet. SO we are actually contacting them BEFORE their own agent does. Point one for our team.
The other pages of the brochure tell a little about the agent or real estate team. It talk about the communication guarantee.
The VERY next day, the owners receive a letter from us, again talking about how we can help, and would like to set an appointment.
After that, every three days a postcard arrives from us, each one making a different point about how professional we are.
Somewhere in this time frame, a member of the team will attempt to stop by the house and meet in person. Of course, many times the property owner has already contacted us, and we have a listing.
The real key to this is staying consistent. If this is put in to play and done properly, this can be a massive source of new listings with very little money needed to be invested in the marketing campaign.
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