What Every FSBO Fears

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Strategy 9 of 9

In a minute we will share with you one man’s explosive story that will revolutionize the way you look at FSBOs forever. And if his message gets out, I promise you it will have FSBOs across America reaching for the phone to call the nearest REALTOR…

And you could be at the head of that landslide of listings.

Broker John Veneziano is not out to scare any one. Instead, he’s on a mission. And you can tell…

When he talks about it, he gets fired up and passionate. Immediately you know this guy is genuine.

What is John so worked up about? Simply this: FSBOs and their willingness to welcome strangers into their homes.

John can’t understand why anyone would EVER let a stranger into their home. In a chaotic, unpredictable world, a person’s home is their last sanctuary. And an unpredictable stranger can very easily violate that sanctuary.

That’s why John doesn’t have a problem approaching FSBOs and saying, “Are you crazy?”

Commission v. Family “What is your family worth?” he’ll then ask. “Don’t you realize that you are going to let strangers into your house? Would you let the cable guy or the phone guy in with out an appointment? What about the dozen or more people who want to see your house? If they drive up, are you going to let them in?”

Like a deer trapped in headlights, they stare blankly at him.

“Or what about a phone call like this: ‘I saw your ad in the paper this morning and was wondering if you’d be around Monday about 2pm?’ ‘No, can’t do that, my wife and I’ll be at work,’ you say. ‘Fine, how about 6pm?’ ‘Great. See you then.’

“Then the next day around 2pm your house is broken into.”

“Or how about a call like this: ‘I live in a bad neighborhood and my family and I want to move. Is your neighborhood safe?’ ‘Sure,’ you proudly respond with your big, strong voice, ‘so safe nobody even needs an alarm.’ Know what happens? You guessed it, that very home is burglarized the next day.”

John says these are just a few of the things that could happen. A creative criminal could come up with a dozen things to say or do to an unsuspecting FSBO.

Then John will confront the FSBO with this: “Listen, when I don’t come home from a showing, my wife knows to call the police. Who knows that you’ve been showing a home to a stranger? Who’s gonna call the police for you?”

The typical response is, “I didn’t think of that.”

REALTORS Are Worth Their Commission Then, John changes tactics. He says, “On average, it takes me 60 days to sell a house with the help of 300 other agents and their 1500 pre-qualified buyers.

“I know you want to save commission, but qualified buyers will generally gravitate to the homes that are sold by reputable brokers because they represent 97% of the homes for sale.

“FSBOs, on the other hand, who have only 3% of the homes for sale attract less-than desirable traffic…buyers who also want to save the commission will look for FSBOs…and don’t be shocked when they beat you up on price. The commission you’re wanting to save, they will easily take.”

“What if I just try,” says the FSBO, “and in 3 weeks, if it’s not sold, I’ll call you.”

“And you still feel okay letting strangers in during that time?” John says. “Listen, why don’t you just do the right thing and protect your family and let us help you sell your house safely, quickly and for more money. You have nothing to lose.”

You’ll Never Forget John Veneziano John said that the classic response from a FSBO when confronted with this argument is usually resistance.

He explains it’s human nature…”They don’t want to look like they’re wrong, stupid or foolish. But eventually they come around. And you know what, they’ll always remember me as the guy who got in their face to protect them.”

To some, John’s approach may appear to rely on sensational or deceptive tactics to get the listing. John angrily disagrees…

“When you’ve had 3 colleagues in the past brutalized or murdered by criminals disguised as ‘buyers,’ I think you too would make it your mission to educate the public about the dangers of going FSBO.”

Of the 3 colleagues, only one survived. She was raped, beaten and had her throat slit while showing an empty home. Fortunately she crawled to a phone that was supposed to be disconnected and called for help. The other’s weren’t so lucky.

One was raped, strangled, found dead on the side of the road. The other shot dead while a “buyer” stole his car.

Going Public A lot of people, including his wife, say he’s crazy for his approach, but John explains, “A lot of emphasis goes into protecting agents and training them to be safe, and even they still get hurt or sometimes killed. That’s why it’s easy for me to ask anyone, ‘Are you crazy? Don’t let strangers into your house.’ When someone’s life is in danger, I won’t shy away from telling them simply because someone might think I’m overreacting.”

If you would like to contact John Veneziano, email him at jevenez@aol.com or phone 781-395-7676.

(John’s story was originally reported by Blanche Evans in Realty Times.)

The FSBO Strategy Report is a Proquest Technologies publication.
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