Expired Leads

As you may already know, most homeowners that work with real estate agents agree to have their home listed for a certain amount of time. Once those listings expire, the homeowner may continue with this agent, take their home off the market, or be in the market for a new agent. This means that you can use these expired leads to your advantage in order to increase your real estate sales.

Of course if someone has taken their home off the market because their circumstances have changed, there is probably nothing you can do about selling their home. Most expired leads however involve some other reason such as not being happy with their first agent or being too stubborn about pricing, and understanding these reasons can mean increased business and sales for you.

Approaching These Leads

It's important to remember when you're approaching expired leads that their situation is different than when dealing with someone new to the market. Chances are the homeowners are somewhat frustrated with the situation, as their home hasn't sold after this time. You need to be prepared for some impatience and even an "I give up" type of attitude.

If you're prepared for these types of attitudes then you can approach the homeowners properly. Stress your more aggressive approach to selling their home, and mention what methods you might use to present it better. Talk about home staging and cosmetic work that might be done. Often expired leads need just a bit of a personal touch in order to bring the home up to comparable standards so they're more competitive.

Marketing the Leads

When a home has been on the market for some time, chances are potential buyers have already reviewed the listing online and may have even toured it once. Marketing expired leads means overcoming any negative impressions they may have already formed about a property.

It's important to note any changes that have been made to these expired leads since they were on the market previously. If there has been maintenance or upgrades done, these must be noted. If the homeowners agree to some home staging suggestions, new photos can help to get potential buyers through the front door.

Of course pricing strategy is always important, and homeowners may need to have comps actually shown to them so they understand how their home should be priced to stay competitive. This can be a difficult subject when dealing with expired leads as many homeowners just don't understand that the price they demand is not the price they may receive, especially in today's tough real estate market.

Be prepared for these challenges and emphasize to the homeowners that they don't want to be on the market again without a sale. Being aggressive with your approach is the only way that these expired leads will actually finally appeal to potential buyers. If you can overcome these challenges when dealing with these types of properties then you may find that these leads are very helpful to your real estate success.