Buyer tip: Speed Matters! Alerts BEFORE hitting the MLS!
This post is unbelievable.
(sidenote: I love that word. I once used it on a brother of a friend of mine. He was telling stories about his life that nobody believed. I said respectfully that what he was saying was awesome, but so awesome that it was Un-Believe-able to my mind. Beyond my ability to
comprehend. But in a “if it is true, you are a God” complimentary way.)
This buyer trick is like that. Maybe this will start to explain to you what a great thinking agent can do for you. Give you that leg up. None of this comparing agents by the length of their bullet point list of offerings. (see video on not picking a listing agent by comparing bullet point lists)
What if I told you, you could get systematically alerts for new listings BEFORE THEY HIT THE MLS/MARKET!
And you thought FranklyMLS.com’s every 20 minutes was the fastest out there (One investor told me FranklyMLS new listing alerts are his secret to winning deals. Nope! THIS IS FASTER.
With inventory as SCANT (great word, like an ant ice skating) as the market is now, things are going fast! Once a new listing had a written offer within 1 Hour of the listing. And yes oftentimes some advantage is given to the first offer (but sometimes being the last offer is best, that is why you need an experienced agent to guide you to each approach). Speed, availability, sharpness and technology if what puts you ahead to get that place (sending 6 others buyers home crying, but heh, at least they were gonna get a rebate or something).
With this new trick, buyers out there with non-Frankly agents, weekend warrior agents, friend-of-your-mother-who-happens-to-be-an-agent etc, will say to themselves “Why don’t I have that!” Agents reading this will say “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that?”
While we can’t reveal ALL of our tricks (like the big one FranklyCRA.com), tricks that either save you money, or more importantly “Win you the deal,” I figured I would share this one.
Here is how you do it. And I’m sorry it can’t be done on FranklyMLS.com. It has to be done by a Realtor that has access to the MRIS (sorry weekend warrior agents that don’t even pay for MRIS access).
Your agent signs you up MRIS alerts for homes that are TEMP OFF, with DOM from 0-2 days.
What is Temp Off and why haven’t you heard of it? It is a listing status that is not allowed to be made public on sites like FranklyMLS.com.
Why would an agent use this status? It oftentimes takes 1-2 hours of concentrated effort to get a listing up. So with interruptions it can take a full day. Well an agent is not going to want to make it LIVE until it is all pretty and ready to go. Sometimes an agent might leave it Temp Off for a few days before making it active.
Well the MRIS system lets you get alerts with this status. So for maybe 10-20% of the new listings, you can get a half day jump on new listings.
I hope now you are starting to understand how a sharp buyer agent can actually add value in your transaction. Starting to see how we aren’t just paper pushers? If not, keep reading.
Stay tuned for upcoming posts on why it is a MUST to list on Wed night or Thursday. Not Monday, not Tuesday, not Friday.
And this is to a buyer that was amazed when I responded quickly to a FranklyMLS.com feedback comment, No I’m Never Too Busy for Your Business (video).
IS THIS OLD NEWS? Does your non-Frankly agent already sign you up for Temp Off email alerts? No way! I’m impressed. Feel free to post their name in the comments, like a
free advertisement for them! Because that is a kick ass agent! (Maybe they can join FranklyRealty.com).
UPDATE on my 2011 post discussing Realtor Commissions was the topic of a Realtor Ethics class. Wait for it… on what NOT TO DO WHEN YOU BLOG! How great is that. They discussed how bad it was to talk about options and alternative real estate models. Even calling it unethical. Instead going back to the “Don’t talk about commissions mantra.” Do you find it unethical when somebody tries to explain the entire process to you? The inside scoop, or do you prefer being left in the DARK?
Last tip: Contact your agent (ie. us) EARLY! Don’t wait until the last second (ie, a perfect home just hit! Let’s hurry!!!) to contact your agent. Instead contact them a few months to a year beforehand (the average client takes 8 months from contact to close). Otherwise you will be stuck with a POPCORN Agent… Enjoy the video.
Thanks for reading,
Frank LL0SA J.D. – Broker FranklyRealty.com
p.s. For those that have asked for baby updates, Hartly is 21 months. Can swim 100% unassisted, half the length of a small pool and pull up on a ladder, speak 100 word in Sign Language and Spanish, and can recognize unprompted “this song is in French.” Sleeps up to 14 hours a night, is mostly in underwear and most importantly is extremely happy. Thanks wife!
Photo credit: Roller coaster shot by mindfrieze
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What is the MRIS, and/or what does it stand for? Just curious…
Oops sorry. MRIS is the local DC,VA,MD service that hosts the MLS. All Realtors that enter a home into the mls, do so via MRIS. They are the gatekeeper of the data and they push it out to 300+ sites.
Only Real Estate agents can join. It also shows non public data like lockbox combo codes and owner phone numbers.
I think this is a Sucker’s Bet. What’s the point of getting the listing early? So you can rush to make an offer? So you can waste time in a multi-bid environment. For a 7-figure purchase (common in many parts of our area), I don’t think supply-demand equilibrium should be the driving force behind your search. I’ll take my time and offer on properties that aren’t artificially priced to sell or gamed for agent-to-agent shenanigans. The current inventory lull will pass.