From National Association of Realtors
The slow housing market has forced a number of real estate agents to close up shop. Real estate practitioners can benefit from purchasing the client databases of those exiting the business, but there are several considerations to be made before sealing the deal.
Executives at the National Association of Realtors advise the following:
• When buying customer lists, rather than paying cash upfront, agents should agree to give the seller referral fees for closed transactions over a period of two to three years.
• Agents should first exclude clients who also are in their own databases, as well as friends of friends who are not on the list.
• The agreement should require the selling agent to retain an active real estate license in order to legitimately pocket the referral fees.
• The practitioner who is buying the customer contacts should ensure that the “image” being purchased is transferable. That means his/her name and photo must easily replace those of the selling agent, which can be a challenge since businesses whose brands are built on personality often dry up when the original agent is no longer in the picture.
• Agents also should make sure the seller has a method in place to track the success of Web and direct-mail marketing efforts and that all of the client contact information in the database is up to date.