I was really surprised to read what these agents wrote about Househunt. Our agreement states it is a one year agreement that the agent can cancel with a 30 day written notice. For a short time yrs back, we had a 6 month agreement that after 6 months went month to month, but it was only for a yr and we decided to go back to the original agreement so that agents did not ever have to be locked in.

We explain to our agents that they need to call their leads ASAP… after 2-4 hours, many grow cold. The average internet buyer goes with the first agent who contacts them. Many leads do not respond to emails… usually by that time, they are working with another agent… especially after 12 hours.

Usually one sale pays for the entire investment with Househunt. This agent closed a deal and probably made a little bit of money… many other lead generation companies have agents cancel because they do not make any money back. This agent did. We can’t control bogus information that people type in. Most systems have some bogus leads… my question is, if this agent says that 20% were bogus… what happened to the other 80%? You are telling me that with that many leads coming in that there was not at least 1 propect per month with a timeframe to purchase? Many times agents need to have better follow up with their leads and a system like ours is truly only as good as the agent who is working it.

I have been here for almost 6 years and can give you many other agents to talk to who would say the opposite of what this person is saying. Feel free to call us to make your own opinions on what we really have to offer to Real Estate Agents.

Just changing my contact information from the post above.
Keith Jeppson
Keller Williams Utah Realtors

It’s been a good move. There is a lot more training and support for veteran agents than at your traditional shops. The training focus is on developing a team rather than just selling homes. More of an overall business approach.

Thanks for asking.

This comment is for Ken, who posted a very interesting message relative to Househunt.

I have been a subscriber of HH for (4) years, beginning with (4) sites and now down to (2) sites and counting. As Ken points out in Jamie Westman’s comments, this company began in earnest to generate R/E leads. As any growth company realizes, you must return some percent of profit to continuously re-invest in a company to make it run well and to stay relevant.

I believe that HH has had a great ride on many realtors (myself included) who have paid handsomely for R/E leads. Unfortunately, HH continues to have the same old problems……bad emails; bad phone numbers, etc…and seems to have done little about rectifying this problem. Just as the Salt Lake City folks mentioned in their email, the amount of time I have spent in calling and emailing these leads has certainly not returned my dollar investment. I agree with you, Ken, that Jamie Westman is very typical of the company’s sentiment. “If you close a deal that pays for HH, then you should be happy. There is not, however, any reimbursement for the tremendous hours of realtor time.

HH needs to stop “Fooling” its membership and begin to write or obtain some software that will build integrity back into their lead structure program.

I would not recommend them at this time.

Linda

I have 9 San Antonio Texas sites with HouseHunt at this very moment 4/25/08 and I am enjoying rediculous success. A lead can die if not given the proper attention. It is ultimately up to the agent to cultivate a lead and have action plans in place. I have done so and so have many other HH agents throughout the country. If the system did not work and was not profitable how would I be able to afford 9 different sites and an assistant? These posts with Realotrs mentioning how the service did not work for them are fairly one sided. I would say that around 40-50% of my leads are real and it is up to me and my team to convert. I have been late calling many of my leads and when I do finally reach some of them they tell me they have closed on a house. Sure you have to sift through some wrong numbers and bad e-mails and wrong numbers to find good buyers but so what… The bottom line is these leads eventually bought a home and I could have been their Realtor, sometimes I am, but if I don’t convert them it’s my fault. In my opinion the company is great and most of my current and future business is due to HH.

The income you can generate per month is directly attributed to how your follow up systems have been structured. The way it was for me from the beginning was I would spend money on the service because I knew I was speaking with real leads that were looking to buy whether it was now or 1 year from now which was many times more tangible than the local real estate publications I had tried or farming. I am currently partnered with a lender and I still spend a pretty penny for my sites at this point. However this month I will be looking at about $20,000 in gross commissions which would actually pay for my sites for the year. I enjoy assisting the buyers who inquire and I have found my job has given me much satisfaction in what I’m doing as well as in the compensation. In fact sometimes people call me from the site, which to me is very uncommon as they have not been referred to me or ever spoken or heard of me other than the site. Looking back on my previous post “rediculous success” sounds very sketchy, but for what I am used to and for someone my age $20,000 in a month even a “good” month is very rediculous. I actually had to take a break from school to get my business in order and I will be hiring a few buyer agents very soon.