The Unwritten Rules Of Internet Real Estate Websites

Hi Folks,
   Once in a while, there is information that I like to share with you, however, I like to try not to cross over the line of impartial (not by too much, at least) to "Sales Pitch". Today is one of those such days!

   As anyone in the Real Estate industry will tell you, with a few clicks of the mouse, you can have a seemingly infinite amount of resources to help you decide to buy or sell a property. Data on past sales, photos, floor plans, etc, can all be located on the Internet, and can speed up the entire process.

   However, "not all websites are created equal, and not every participant knows how to properly harness the opportunities offered by the Web", says David Bediz, principal of the Dwight and David Group, LLC of Coldwell Banker Dupont, in a story titled, "Real Estate in the Internet age", on the website, WashingtonBlade.com. Bediz points to some agents that are still relying on "blurry cell-phone-camera photographs to help them sell their listings". Bediz says that sellers need to monitor their listings for mistakes and to be more vigilant. As for the other side of the closing table, Bediz say that Buyers have a "responsibility to themselves to learn the differences in online information sources"

   When we talk about Real Estate data websites, quite often, Trulia and Zillow are quoted by major media outlets, but as Bediz says, "the truth is that most of their listings contain inaccuracies.", and he says that most notably, "Trulia and Zillow are notorious for posting listings as “Active” that have long since sold.", and says that they "rarely post listings at the moment they are listed. This prevents a serious homebuyer from learning about a new home listing quickly enough to act on it, especially in a situation where there could be multiple offers."

   Why do these "big fish" websites have these deficiencies?

   Bediz says that it, in a way, "it’s because of their sheer size", and adds that since they are nationwide sources of data, and "to collect data from every corner of the country, they cannot possibly rely on a direct connection to each online database (Multiple Listing Service, or MLS) for each area. This is especially true when some areas are served by several MLS’s, and also when many of these services charge upwards of tens of thousands of dollars for direct access to their services." The way they go about it, as Bediz describes, is that they rely on "relationships with the major brokerages that exist nationwide to feed information to them directly, and they also have built-in programs to scour the web for additional listing and sale data." For any properties listed by a smaller brokerage, those listings may never show up on these two major sites (since they wouldn't have a "direct method for feeding listing data to those websites").

   So how can a buyer ensure that they are seeing current (as well as accurate) listings, and how can a seller ensure their listings are seen everywhere (including Trulia and Zillow)?

   Bediz suggests that buyers should visit "REALTOR.com or, locally, HomesDatabase.com, which is the public side of the only MLS that serves Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas.". He also suggests checking out "Other individual and broker websites" (including his website, www.DwightandDavid.com), which he says has, "direct connections to the MLS". For Rent to Own Homes websites, such as our site (Lease2Buy.com and HomeRunHomes.com), there is no direct connection to Trulia and Zillow, however, we do Feed our listings to them, and they get picked up as for Sale, with the keywords of your descriptions absorbed within the listing on other major Nationwide Real Estate Data and Listing websites. This certainly boosts traffic to your Ad.

   Bediz suggests that you ask an agent that might list your home if "their brokerage has a direct feed to Trulia and Zillow.", and if the agent pays to "advertise on those sites, or pays to increase the visibility of their listings there.".

   What has your experience been with Trulia, Zillow, and other major Real Estate data websites?

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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
Rent to Own Homes and Real Estate Blog for HomeRun Homes: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com


TAGS: #RealEstateWebsite #Trulia #Zillow #MultipleListingService #MLS #brokerage #realtor #renttoown #listings #offers #pastsales #floorplans #homebuyer #feeds

New Widget with Scrolling Ads from our Site

Good Morning Everyone,


   We hope you have all had a great weekend.

   OK, so once again, we are referring to that "Magical Blog Post", where we asked for your input, and you gave it to us. Over the past few Blog posts, we have already addressed The Top Real Estate Investing Markets, What You Need to Know in Real Estate Investing, The Top 5 Things NOT TO DO When Selling a Home, and What You Need to Know when Buying a Foreclosure.

   Today, we are giving you access to a Free "Widget", which is a piece of code that you can add to your website or Blog, and it will continuously scroll with the latest Buyer and Seller Ads from our website (See Below). The Widget and the Code are shown below as follows:

WIDGET CODE:

   Once the code is inserted into your Web Page or Blog, it will look something like the image on top of this Blog Post.

   If you have any questions on how to use the code or any additional questions, please let us know via commenting on this post.

   Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Common Misconception: Realtors ARE Welcome !

Hi Everyone,

   We hope you had a great weekend, and welcome back.

   Today, we would like to address a very common misconception, and we would like to clarify this for all of those who have asked us about this. We receive countless E-mails from Realtors, real estate agents, real estate brokers, etc, with some wonderful comments about our website, but telling us that since they are Realtors, they cannot use our website. This is a huge misunderstanding on the part of these individuals and companies, and we would like to discuss this today, since this one fact is holding them back from finding buyers for their homes for sale (or homes for Rent to Own), and simultaneously, is taking away from extra responses that buyers on our website can have presented to them.

   We would like to put this right out into the open to all people in the Real Estate industry; We are not your competitors - we are your friends and your resource.

   We are here for buyers, sellers, investors, Realtors, and anyone who is selling a Rent to Own Home, Buying a Rent to Own Home, or is offering home-related services (appraisers, attorneys, Realtors, mortgage brokers, etc). I will admit that when we first started, we did rant against Realtors, basically, it was a "silly rookie mistake", and we realized that we are all here for one purpose - to help people buy or sell homes. So for our tiny mistake back about 8 years ago, we take full responsibility and we apologize.

   Now, we know that not all of your clients want to Rent to Own. Some of them would like to sell outright, and if they can, fantastic. However, should their listing sit dormant on the MLS and be in jeopardy of becoming an expired listing, this mean that the homeowner is not able to get out from under their payments, and a Rent to Own might be the solution to their problem. So, that is where we come in - and we reiterate - we are not your competition. Of course, we ask that you not contact any homeowners on our website and ask them to list with you as that would be a violation of the terms of our website (and of course, just plain unethical), but, if you are contacting them about buyers that you have, then by all means, make the connection with the homeowner, and identify yourself and your intentions.

   Occasionally, we receive E-mails from people asking if we send them listings, however, we have clearly defined in our terms and in our "About Us" section (http://www.lease2buy.com/rent-to-own-homes.php), namely, "We do not "send" you listings: All of the listings of Rent to Own homes, Rent to Own buyers, and home service providers are all listed on our website, and you can browse them for FREE !".

   So, to summarize, where the MLS is a listing of homes for sale, HomeRun Homes (Lease2Buy.com) is a listing of homes available for Rent to Own, homes wanted by Rent to Own, and Home Services available for homeowners and prospective homebuyers. This puts us in a unique position within our niche of the Real Estate Market, and not as a competitor with the MLS and Realtors.

   Hopefully, we have been able to answer your questions about who we are and why we can work together. Your focus is on transactions, listings, and deals, and our focus is on being a central meeting place for Rent to Own buyers and sellers, but we both share a common ground in providing customer service and helping people. Realtors definitely help people, and we would like to think we do, as well.

   Have a Great Week and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!!