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HomeGain vs. agentBOOST: A Cost Comparison

agentBOOST is the latest innovation in real estate lead generation, and we’d like to help you understand how our system works. To do that, we thought it might be helpful to compare agentBOOST to a similar service you may already be familiar with: Home Gain’s Agent Evaluator.

Both sites find leads in much the same way. Users come to either site and indicate they need the service of a real estate agent to buy or sell a home. If the user is located in your area, you will have the opportunity to send your contact information to the user who then decides which agents they would like to contact.

The biggest difference between Agent Evaluator and agentBOOST is how much they charge for the opportunity to send your information to these potential clients.

Agent Evaluator charges a $29.95 monthly fee which, according to their site, should provide you with 30 leads per month (although this is not guaranteed). Agent Evaluator also takes 30% of your commission after closing.

agentBOOST charges no monthly fee, takes no percentage of your commission, but charges a fee for every lead you wish to contact. The fee ranges between $20 and $29 depending on how many you purchase.

Ok, let’s run some numbers!

If we assume that each month you’re able to obtain and close one of Agent Evaluator’s leads, this would give you a closing ratio of 1 out of 30. Let’s also assume that the lead is for an average home, which at the time of this writing is priced at about $220,000. If your commission is the standard 3% you will be paid $6,600. However, 30% of your commission goes back to Home Gain, leaving you with $4,620.

Whew! Are you still with me? The bottom line is that if you close one lead per month with Agent Evaluator, your costs are $2,010 and your profit is $4,620. Not too shabby!

Now let’s run similar numbers through agentBOOST’s cost model.

If we assume that you continue to close 1 out of 30 leads, and the home price ($220,000) and commission ($6,600) stay the same, your profit with agentBOOST is $6,000. The only cost you incur is the $20 for each of the 30 leads ($600).

That’s a difference of $1,380 for every transaction!

Looking at the numbers another way, agentBOOST is more profitable even if you are only able to close 1 out of 90 leads. In this scenario, your costs are only $1,800 which is still hundreds of dollars less than Agent Evaluator.

We truly believe agentBOOST is the most cost-effective way of generating real estate leads. If you have any questions about our service please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you’re ready to get started, we’re ready to help you make more money! You can register your free account in seconds and be up and running in no time!

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Posted in For Agents on May 8th, 2007

The Most Expensive Home In America

If you’re in the market for a new home, why wouldn’t you at least consider the most expensive house on the market?

Surprisingly, America’s most expensive home isn’t in Manhattan, San Fransisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego. It’s a $125 million mansion in Palm Springs, FL. Here are a couple pictures of the estate, dubbed “Maison de L’Amitie” (House of Friendship):

While the location of the property may surprise you, the owner should not. Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, reality television star, and author holds the deed to this beautiful, beach-front home. “The Donald” acquired the property in 2005 for a mere $41.35 million through bankruptcy auction. After pouring $25 million into renovations, the house now stands to make Mr. Trump almost $60 million.

That is, if he can find someone who can afford it!

So what does writing a check for $125 million give you? Here are just a few of the amenities the estate has to offer:

80,000 sq. feet of living space
7 acres of land
475 feet of beach front
4,000 sq. foot pool
18 Bedrooms
22 Bathrooms

At the standard 3% commission, the real estate agent stands to make almost $4 million off the sale of this home. Let’s hope Mr. Trump used a service like agentBOOST to cut his costs!

Want to see more? Take a look at this video from Forbes.

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Posted in For Buyers & Sellers on May 7th, 2007

State Real Estate Commissions

Before signing a contract with an agent, we recommend performing a quick background check at your state’s real estate commission. This should tell you about any infractions that the agent has in their past and allow you to make a more informed decision.

We hope this list of each state’s real estate commission’s website will make your research a little easier!

We’ll do our best to keep this list updated, but if you find a link doesn’t work, or doesn’t send you to the place you expect, please let us know in the comments below!

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Posted in For Buyers & Sellers on May 7th, 2007

More Information = Better Results

In response to the feedback we’ve received from agents and clients who have been using agentBOOST, we have added two new fields to our users’ profiles.

The first field was added to each property description at the request of several agents. They were hesitant to use agentBOOST because other online services have provided leads that were already under contract with another real estate agent. We want to avoid this situation so we now ask all of the buyers and sellers if they are already using an agent. Anytime we can give our real estate agents information that helps them make better decisions it’s a win-win!

The other field is the agent’s zip code in their agent profile. If you’ve already created your agent profile, your zip code is currently “?” and should be corrected as soon as possible.

We have a few more ideas that we’ll be rolling out in the next few days, including more fields that help agents and clients share information.

If you have an idea on how we can improve, we’re always listening. Feel free to leave a comment below or contact us privately.

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Posted in About agentBOOST on May 5th, 2007

How To Interview A Real Estate Agent

agentBOOST makes it easier than ever to find a real estate agent who is willing to work for less than the standard commission percentage. However, you shouldn’t hire an agent based on commission alone.

Once the bidding period for your property is over you are encouraged to interview all of the agents who placed a competitive bid. Here are some discussion points that will help you decide which agent is right for you:

1. Let them know you found them on agentBOOST.
Agents give agentBOOST members discounted rates, so let them know that you found them through us. Also, be sure to describe the property that you uploaded and the bid you received. Agents do not have access to personal details of buyers or sellers, so don’t be surprised when the agent doesn’t recognize your name!

2. Understand the terms and conditions.
An agent’s bid may be contingent on a number of terms and conditions. For instance, a seller’s agent may include the stipulation that a lock box is placed on the door of the property. This allows buyers access to the home when the seller’s agent is unavailable. The earlier you know about any deal-breaking terms, the less time you waste with an agent who isn’t right for you.

3. What marketing materials are included?
If you are selling your home it is important to understand how the agent plans on marketing your property. Will the agent have an open house? Will the agent place advertisements in the newspaper? This question could also be rephrased, “What are you going to do to make sure my home sells?”

4. Discuss when you would like to move.
If you need to move before a certain date (or cannot move until after a certain date), be sure to discuss this with your agent. It does not make sense to choose an agent who is going on vacation the week you need to close!

5. Agree on a contract length.
The real estate agent is going to want you to sign a contract which ensures the agent receives exclusive rights to your transaction. Contracts typically last around 6 months.

6. Do a background check.
Before you sign a contract, check with your state’s real estate commission which records any disciplinary action the state has taken against the agent.

7. Full-time or part-time?
For most people, whether or not their agent works full or part-time should not be a deal-breaker. If you work 9-5, does it matter if your agent isn’t available during those hours? What is more relevant is whether or not the agent is available when you need him or her. Considering to work with a part-time agent is also one way to get the lowest commission rate available.

We recommend that you interview all the agents that placed a bid on the opportunity to work with you. Finding an agent you can trust is often worth any extra commission you may have to pay.

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Posted in For Buyers & Sellers on May 1st, 2007

How To Win More Bids

When you place a property bid on agentBOOST, you are possibly competing with several other agents in your area. Here are some tips that should help you obtain more clients for every bid you place:

1. Prepare for the interview
We encourage our users to interview all of the agents who place a bid. If your bid is not the lowest, you’ll have to make a great impression if you want the client to hire you. The best way to do well on a test is to know the questions beforehand, so we recommend studying some of the questions they may ask.

2. Be friendly, open, and honest
It won’t do anyone any good to make promises you cannot keep or claims that you cannot substantiate. However, it does make sense to tell potential clients a little about yourself, why you chose real estate as a profession, and what you plan to do to make their transaction as smooth as possible.

3. Lower your bid
Although we know that you often get what you pay for, many people will choose the agent with the lowest commission percentage without interviewing anyone else. If you are in a position to offer a lower percentage than other agents in your area, you will soon find yourself with a large number of clients.

4. Expect the call
Keep track of when bidding periods are about to expire and be prepared to take the phone call. If you are in a position where it wouldn’t be professional to answer the phone, make sure you call the potential client back as soon as possible.

5. Know the area
One of the pieces of information available to you before a bid is placed is the zip code of the property that is being sold or where the buyer is looking. Ideally, you should be able to tell the potential client about homes you have bought or sold in that area or at the very least demonstrate some knowledge of the neighborhood.

Following these tips should help you use agentBOOST more effectively. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.

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Posted in For Agents on May 1st, 2007

Welcome To The Blog!

If you’ve never been to a blog before, fear not! A blog is just a fancy name for a website that is easy to update.

We’ll be using this blog to communicate with our users. There will be the occasional advice and commentary on the real estate industry for agents, home buyers, and home sellers as well as news about agentBOOST.

If you have a comment or question on anything we post, there is a link at the bottom of every post that we hope you’ll use. If you have a general question about agentBOOST, there are better ways to get in touch with us.

If you want to keep up with what goes on here we can email you a summary whenever we create a new post. Simply fill out this form and we’ll keep you in the loop!

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Posted in About agentBOOST on May 1st, 2007