"Just-In-Case-You-Have-a-Client" Email's

Do-it-Yourself Marketing?

One of the email's I regularly get are from acquaintances -- or acquaintances of my wife -- whose homes are on the market, and who shoot me their listing info "just in case I might have a client."

I really don't mind, because: a) I already get 100-plus emails daily; b) I'm glad to have people associate me with real estate; and c) it's like chicken soup, i.e., can't hurt, might help.

That said, it does reflect a little naivete about how modern real estate works -- and just a tad of desperation. (It also makes me wonder who their Realtor is.)

Wanted: 'Not Already on MLS'

If I'm representing a Buyer, it's a given that I have an automatic search set up with my client's preferred geographic area, price range, desired square feet, and other home preferences (rambler, Colonial, newer construction, not a rambler, etc.).

If it's out there . . . . it's a pretty good bet that I already know about it, virtually in real time -- and therefore, so do my clients.

The flip side of that is, if you're listed and I haven't already shown your home, the odds are about 98%-plus that it's because it doesn't match any of my existing clients' criteria.

That's why Realtors, in the course of broadcasting their "Buyer needs" to other Realtors, will often preface that they're "looking for something not already on MLS."

P.S.: In contrast to getting a heads up about something that's already listed, getting tipped about something not yet on the market is VERY much appreciated. Which goes back to my not discouraging folks who want me to know about their homes . . .