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Selling Site Rental Model to Real Estate Agencies?

by zannix
17 replies
Hi guys,

I was wondering, I have a KW here, "apartments for sale + city", the competition is really low, I've got an EMD and it gets 1300 exact/month.

I was thinking of establishing a good SEO ground for this website and then renting a listing on it to a real estate agency - anyone ever done this?

If you have any experience with this, please let me know. Also, I would like to know how these agencies work so I'd know what to charge them - do they take a % of the sale of an apartment or (because I think they do)

Also, for 1300 exact local searches, how much would you charge for such listing? (keep in mind I'm from a small country and standards here are 30% lower than in the USA - people are also sceptic towards the new "SEO" thingy - many of them haven't heard of it before at all, that's why there is 0 competition right now)

P.S. I know many of you are going to say "it depends" and "it's all relative", but give me some figures so I know where I'm standing

Thank you!
Zannix
#agencies #estate #model #real #rental #selling #site
  • Profile picture of the author zannix
    Anyone?
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  • Profile picture of the author jacquic
    You'd need to ascertain how many clicks there are through to the site itself. Also, find out how much one new client is worth to them. Also depends on what they want the visitors to the site to do as a result (eg, call them, download a report, etc) as this will determine the sort of site you make.
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    • Profile picture of the author zannix
      Originally Posted by jacquic View Post

      Also, find out how much one new client is worth to them.
      Any good ideas on how to accomplish this?
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      • Profile picture of the author jacquic
        The way I find out is always just to ask them

        The best way is to ask them is in a networking setting (eg, at a Chamber or BNI meeting)..."How's business?", etc. Sound (and be) truly interested, and show you're really listening, and people will tell you all sorts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Blindbiz
    Own the phone number, the URL, the address and then you will know how many calls and emails they are getting.
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    • Profile picture of the author zannix
      Originally Posted by Blindbiz View Post

      Own the phone number, the URL, the address and then you will know how many calls and emails they are getting.
      Haha sorry can you clarify on that one?
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  • Profile picture of the author Moneymaker14
    I would try lead generation.. First off talk to your local apartment owners/managers or whatever and ask a few different ones how much they would give you if you gave them a lead.... Get to a price that you're happy with.. Get a WP theme/plugin perfect for it then send the leads to the apartments that give you the most amount of money....???

    Just throwing that out there..
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    • Profile picture of the author zannix
      That's an interesting sounding idea, but I have no idea how I would implement that. Finding the home owners, alright - I guess I could do that through various sources, but contacting them is another thing... how would I position myself?

      Secondly, if I put their listings on my website and someone actually calls them up and wants to make business with them, how do we know he/she came from my website?
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  • Profile picture of the author redcell1
    Seems like you need to think about this business model a bit more. Renting a apartment rental site to a realtor would not be highly advisable. The reason is because people who rent may want to buy but right now they are in the "rental" mode where they know/only care for apartments.

    Think about it like this, the visitors have limited themselves in their mind to only get apartments. If your buying a car and your set on a honda, it's really going to be out of your budget/difficult to sell you a BMW.
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    Just here to see the shenanigans.

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    • Profile picture of the author zannix
      Originally Posted by redcell1 View Post

      Seems like you need to think about this business model a bit more. Renting a apartment rental site to a realtor would not be highly advisable. The reason is because people who rent may want to buy but right now they are in the "rental" mode where they know/only care for apartments.

      Think about it like this, the visitors have limited themselves in their mind to only get apartments. If your buying a car and your set on a honda, it's really going to be out of your budget/difficult to sell you a BMW.
      I'm sorry, it may be just me, but what you're saying is completely unclear to me. The situation is simple:

      1) People are searching online for apartments that are for sale in my city
      2) I get them onto my site and make a big recommendation for "X" agency
      3) Agency converts them and reaps profit
      4) I get paid

      Should be fairly easy to do this...
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      • Profile picture of the author Klickbanker
        Zannix,

        Your idea is sound. I'm not sure of your background with Real Estate, but I take it you are collecting opt-ins on your website and then passing these onto an Agency.

        Here are some thoughts:

        a) If I am a buyer and I'm searching online, I am "researching" but not necessarily qualified. I'm only testing what's out there. My real purpose is to find property cheaper than the market value.

        b) Based on (a) you would be better off trying to identify the money keywords such as, "property with 3BR under $120,000 in Suburb X" as these show intent and drive.

        c) If you don't target (c) you are just gathering people with a weak interest in being converted by an agency.


        What you are better off doing is the reverse. Contact your local agencies and ask for their Sales (not Lettings) and ask for the most popular types of houses being sold, eg. 2BR / 3BR, Flat/House/Bungalow...etc. The more types you get, the more keywords.

        These then represent your "Digital Product" which you then put on your site as carrots and get real people to click on a particular House Type thus confirming their interest or intent. You get them to opt in and now you have matched interested buyer with the right "stock". Keep track of who wanted what and you should reconcile back to potential commissions.

        That's a business model in its own right. If you can automate that, then you've succeeded.

        (Hint: This has been tried and tested in the UK).

        Best regards,

        Vlad


        Originally Posted by zannix View Post

        I'm sorry, it may be just me, but what you're saying is completely unclear to me. The situation is simple:

        1) People are searching online for apartments that are for sale in my city
        2) I get them onto my site and make a big recommendation for "X" agency
        3) Agency converts them and reaps profit
        4) I get paid

        Should be fairly easy to do this...
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        • Profile picture of the author zannix
          Hi Vlad,

          Thank you very much for your reply, I enjoyed reading it, you gave me something to think about.

          I've just found out however that the site ranking #1 atm for the keyword is actually a site that probably does what you recommend I should do, and does that for several real estate agencies who probably pay him good money to do that...

          Now this makes it a bit awkward for me, you know? First I outrank the guy, steal some of his SEO traffic (thereby stealing traffic away from real estate agencies) and then offering a real estate agency to advertise on MY site lol...

          That may be a little bit crazy... I don't know if I should do that or not now, I'm confused
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          • Profile picture of the author Klickbanker
            Hi Zannix,

            Sorry, I've been away. I'd love to PM you but I can't yet as my posts are low.
            email me on vlad "at" idefyproperty dot com.

            Vlad
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  • Profile picture of the author Kirahster
    Hi Zannix that is good search volume for a small town!

    Realtors typically get a percentage of the sale price (2-3%).
    If I were you, I would contact brokerages and give them a run down of the site stats and then tell them that they can place their IDX onto the site for a fee. If it is an indexable IDX solution then the will start to rank for all kinds of longtails.

    If the site converts, then this will be a great asset to the company and they will be willing to pay probably into the thousands/month.
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  • Profile picture of the author ebizman
    apartments usually aren't for sale...:confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author BarbaraP
    re: ebizman - in UK, Europe, and New York City, "apartments" are the equivalent of "condos" in multi-unit buildings and are sold like single family homes are across the US.

    Zannix - Interesting concept, good luck with your new venture! Pls share results.
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  • Profile picture of the author keyuria
    I am starting a local real estate directory but for rent purpose. ie. houses for rent in 'city' and by that I am helping the advertisers as well as the needy. Initially I am planning to go for free listings, but side by side I will give option to upgrade to show their house pics, featured listing, category top listings, Google Maps., etc

    I am planning to use the wordpress theme Realtorpress. Which IMO is the best suitable for my plan.
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