Email to Realtors?????????

[Grits]

I picked up one of the local Find a Home mags the other day. My wife likes to browse. I was looking through it and realized that there was a LOT of realtors along with their e-mail addresses. Do you guys think it would be worthwhile to compile their email addresses and email them, individually, an electronic flyer targeted to realtors? The cost of this would be right up my alley. Also, do you receive payment up-front with realtors? Thanks!

[DaughtryLC]

Say Away, they always want something for nothing! They will tell you it was mowed a couple of weeks ago or SO, which means a couple of months ago!

[Prestige-Lawncare]

I wouldn't exactly say stay away from Realtors ... just be very careful when dealing with them. Never accept a property without first looking at it (like you would anyway). The reason I say this is ... if you do work with a Realtor in maintaining some properties for them while they are listed ... be careful that after you work with them for a while that they just don't call you up and say "can you do 123 Maple Lane for me?". It may well be overgrown and or in pretty sad shape. They'll expect miracles from you ... and want to pay what they would pay for a regular mow .. though you may have to mow it a couple of times to get it to look half way good.

I have one Realtor I work with ... and she is pretty much family. She is my sister-in-laws, sister-in-law (married to her brother). She won't steer me wrong, nor expect more then what is expected of me.

I would suggest finding one or two to work with .. but remember that these may very well be temporary mows ... until the property sells. I always look at them as extra money above and beyond.

:weightlifter:

[PMLAWN]

Good-Bad, people all have there opinions but most are based on their own ideas, and most with out much to back up.
Every provider/ customer relationship is what you make it. If you set the stage right from the start any customer can work well for you.
E-Mail would be a good thing to do but be sure to keep it short. We get 20 to 30 "ad" mail a day from loan guys, inspectors, and every other vendor, so best to make your point fast and short!
Check with a Realtor you know to see if there are any flyer people working the offices. We have 2 services around here that pick up flyers from your home or office and than deliver them to all the local agents (1200 in our area for $25) That is great exposure, but again we get a ton so make your point fast.
Now you have to understand your customer, of course every Realtor needs their own lawn cut, but the relationship you want to build is as a vendor for the agent.
An agents job is to sell homes, and is the only way they get paid. you need to be the person that helps them do that. there are many ways to do that.
There is staging a home to build first impressions and this would be going in to do a clean up and refresh of the land scape--trimming bushes, edging the lawn, mulch,etc.Vacant listing maintenance is another area. Depending on your market that could be a few weeks to many months of work. Vacant lots sometimes sell better cleared off. Check if the office has a rental dept. Many investors like to do the landscape maintenance as it keeps the place in top condition,(some tenants do not maintain well:laugh: ) This could be constant work.
Understand what an agent wants and help them get it. Bottom line is that they too are building a business and need a great customer base. They get this by providing super customer service, which leads to more referrals and than more money!
Good customer service includes setting up the house right so it shows in it's best light. making sure the house stays that way throughout the listing period, and getting that house sold for the highest dollar in the shortest time. What can you do to help them do that.
Getting a few Realtors on your customer list can work great for your business.
But just like any other lead, research it first before jumping in. And it is up to you to build your relationship right. A good Realtor will pay good money if you can help him or her make money.
Remember that a good Realtor should be very busy, and needs you to know what to do without them spending a lot of time directing you.
Know your pay!! most of the ones we worked for would pay me direct and they would get it back from their client. If the homeowner is paying you, your agent becomes a sales person for you and will convey the value of your service to the sale of their home. Again you need to build the relationship right from the start. Avoid being paid from closing, If that happens be sure to contact the closing Attn. or title company and get put on the HUD. Good luck!

[topsites]

I wouldn't risk a spam complaint, but that's just me.

[GrassQuester]

I like working with realtors always been paid in a timely fashion...some of my best clients are realtors

[gandk06]

I also like working with realtors. I keep properties maintained if a person has been relocated so these are vacant homes. I ended up getting this job because the last guy never kept up on them. I guess he felt that because no one is really checking on these properties he could just skip them. I think working with a realtor is like working with any one else. It all depends on the person, some are great and some are pita's.

[ECS]

Realtors would not give you the sweat off their a$$.

[BQLC]

I think it could work out if you set the standards up front and look at each job first

[Grimmy]

I have an excellent relationship with a well known real estate organization. I mainly do the properties that went belly up. 1st cut charged accordingly. After that set the price and maintained them. Once they are sold, I have have been fortunate enough to have the accounts on a few of them which has helped my business grow.
Although payment is delayed due to the red tape from the banks, I was always compensated well and at times some extra was thrown in from the realtor. I jump at the requests especially when other realtors through referrals from the one I mainly do work for ask for quotes.
Money in the bank. No pun intended.

[Dunn's]

There are some good and some bad. The thing you have to look out for is that alot of people get into realty that are looking for a quick buck,but much like lawn services find out after they are in that it is far from a quick buck. And that there is alot of work to get houses to sell unless they are just selling to rehab guys. Most of the ones we have delt with even the good ones never pay on time because they think the house will sell real quick and that they can pay you after they get paid. This hardly ever happens and then they try postponing your payment as long as you will let them. If the house is vacant charge a little more than you would normally because vacant houses become the neighborhood trash can. Hope this helps!

[jmkr02]

Realators are a way of maybe getting long term customers when the new people move in. Thats the way i look at it its worked for me

[DoetschOutdoor]

The people that complain about realtors not being good customers simply need to learn how to weed out those "bad" customers just like they hopefully have with their residential/commercial accounts. I LOVE working for realtors because they are a group of people that know alot of people around town. The ladies I work for have no problem what day of the week the yard gets cut on and they usually pay top dollar since they know Im fitting them into a busy schedule.

[fiveoboy01]

I wouldn't exactly say stay away from Realtors ... just be very careful when dealing with them. Never accept a property without first looking at it (like you would anyway). The reason I say this is ... if you do work with a Realtor in maintaining some properties for them while they are listed ... be careful that after you work with them for a while that they just don't call you up and say "can you do 123 Maple Lane for me?". It may well be overgrown and or in pretty sad shape. They'll expect miracles from you ... and want to pay what they would pay for a regular mow .. though you may have to mow it a couple of times to get it to look half way good.

I have one Realtor I work with ... and she is pretty much family. She is my sister-in-laws, sister-in-law (married to her brother). She won't steer me wrong, nor expect more then what is expected of me.

I would suggest finding one or two to work with .. but remember that these may very well be temporary mows ... until the property sells. I always look at them as extra money above and beyond.

:weightlifter:

Good advice.

Fully HALF my customers this past season were realtors. One gave me 13 properties, and accounted for a good portion of my gross this year.

Just be careful, like was said, and always look at the property before giving a price(this goes for ANY type of customer).

I have found some of them to be very cheap, but others have paid what I wanted with no complaints.

It's sort of a mixed bag.

And to answer the original question-yes, I emailed a TON of them this past season. I'll bet 200+. I did not recieve a single "spam" complaint. And it resulted in a pretty good amount of business for me.

[Grits]

Excellent advice and suggestions from everyone...as always! Thanks!

[Frontier-Lawn]

i personal stop by the office and talk with the head Realtor/owner/ gm and that way i can put forward a more professional image to them.

[Luvs2Play]

We mow a realtors property, and alot of their rental and office properties they own. There has been several sale properies we have done the day before closings. They call us, we go take care of them, even the ones that have not been done for a while. These payments come from the closing costs of the seller. Because of this, when they do the closings with the new owners, they include our business card in the folder. We have gotten several new permanent customers this way. We also use them when we sell our properties, and they seem to sell them really fast. The realtor is not responsible for paying services for houses for sale, they either have to get approval from the owner, or have the owner get with us directly. Realtors have no rights to hire anyone, payment for those services is not their responsibility.

[PMLAWN]

I wouldn't risk a spam complaint, but that's just me.
The one safety net you have here is the fact that Realtors live and die by E-Mail. I do not believe any person that makes a living using E-Mail and the phone would sue someone for doing business that way. Most of us realize that that form of communication is the fastest way to do business. Non of us will fight to remove it!
I would not worry about spam complaints with Realtors