New Products for a New Market

Posted on March 31, 2008

Dear Customers,

The Real Estate industry is going through some major changes right now. Traditional ways to brokering real estate are fine when times were good, but your needs have changed and you’ve made that abundantly clear to us. You’ve told us that you need flexible real estate agents, not agents who are constrained by conventional methods of selling and marketing; You’ve asked for innovative marketing techniques that transcend MLS; You’ve challenged us to implement competitive pricing structures that take into account your reduced profit margins; You’ve asked us to un-bundle our services and to sell you custom-made real estate solutions.

We’ve been listening, and over the last few months we’ve been testing products and services that will make your life a whole lot easier. Here are just a few of them:  

Fee-For-Service Representation.

Also called Flat Fee or A-La-Carte Services. Many of you are in positions where you cannot afford to pay a professional to market and sell your property. Many of you are also well educated, talented consumers who can do a lot of what we do all by yourself. We recognize these facts and have unbundled our services so you can pick and choose the products that are right for you. Now you can list on MLS and Realtor.com with a Showcase listing for an affordable up-front fee; or you can purchase a Home Encounter for-sale sign for your property; or we can list your property on 25 real estate web sites…. In fact, all our services – right down to contract negotiation – have been unbundled and are now being offered to you for up-front fees charged to your major credit card. No more 6% take-it-or-leave it restrictions here. You want flexibility, you’ve got flexibility. You can now choose between traditional full-service representation or fee-for-service seller representation. Contact info@homeencounter.com for more information

Renter Placement Services.

Home Encounter Consultants love Renters and we gladly work with renters to help them find a home to rent. We have established relationships with hundreds of Landlords and we’re ready to share our inventory of rental homes with you. Landlords pay us to find them qualified Renters like you, so don’t worry about paying us. Just take advantage of our expertise in property-finding, negotiation, and renter representation and we guarantee that your rental experience will be a whole lot easier. Contact rentals@homeencounter.com for more information.

Tenant Finder.

Landlords, hundreds of Renters contact us every week looking for a home. So tell us all about your vacant property. When we find you a qualified Renter, you pay us half-a-month’s rent. No catches, no commitments – It’s that easy. Contact rentals@homeencounter to experience our huge Renter network today.

The Apartment Showcase.

Got vacancies that need to be filled? Want exclusive advertising in MLS, Realtor.com, Google, Yahoo Real Estate, and over 23 other huge websites? Then you need the Apartment Showcase. For only $99/month, you can advertise your vacancies in the most robust network of real estate sites in the world. Big, glossy, picture-filled ads show your apartment’s finest side while you’re reaching tens of thousands of qualified Renters at a fraction of the cost that you’re currently paying for the Flyer, newspaper classifieds, or other media. Contact rentals@homeencounter.com more information.

www.TheTenantList.com.

TheTenantList.com is a first-of-it’s kind free “bulletin board” for landlords to share information on Tenants. Fully in compliance with Landlord-Tenant laws and with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, TheTenantList.com is a long-overdue method of telling the whole-truth about Renters. It’s free, it’s easy to use, and it’s growing every day. Contact info@thetenantlist.com for more information.

This phase of product innovation is not a destination for us – it’s a journey. Home Encounter is “Real Estate Done Right,” and Real Estate, when “done right”, is constantly adapting to the needs of the marketplace. We’re always watching for signs that your needs are changing, but we also gladly welcome your comments and suggestions on how we can meet your needs even better. Feel free to write us any time on this Blog or at info@homeencounter.com.

Thank you for being our customers. Here’s to many more years of prosperity in Real Estate!

Peter Murphy is Co-Founder and Head Broker at Home Encounter, a Tampa-based real estate Consultancy with specialties in Residential & Rental Properties, Investment Real Estate, Property Management and Land & Commercial Properties. Murphy’s analysis of the Tampa Bay housing market is featured extensively in local media and in trade publications, including the St. Petersburg Times, the Tampa Tribune, the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the Lakeland Ledger, and the Orlando Sentinel. He has appeared on ABC Action News and Bay News 9 for his reporting on significant local developments in the real estate market. He is a regular contributor to Fox’s 970 WFLA news broadcasts and is a guest panelist on Fox 13s “Your Turn”, where he consults on local and national real estate market issues. Murphy has a B.S. in Economics from the University of South Florida and an MBA with an emphasis in Finance, Economics and Marketing from the University of South Florida School of Business. He resides in Tampa with his wife and child.

February Sales Trends and Statistics for Tampa Bay from the Home Encounter Residential Real Estate Report

Posted on March 11, 2008