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I was a Realtor & co-owner of a Re/Max Real Estate office for years. I know many of the agents in my local market and derive a substantial portion of our income from agent referred business (20K+ per year). First off, remember this, most agents will do the absolute minimum possible to get by in a transaction. 10% of all agents account for 90% of the transactions, so its pretty useless to market all the agents. Its important to find out who the good/productive agents are court those folks. These good agents will go the extra mile and recommend their customers to whats needed to put the house in tip-top shape for market positioning. Find out who these agents are and market them!

We do 5 or 6 Realtor meetings per year, where we go to the agent's office and provide breakfast or lunch and give a 5-10 minute multi-media presentation. Pictures really are worth 1,000 words in this business, so we come armed with power point presentations. Sometimes, we'll offer a drawing of a free house wash at the end of the meeting (up to a $300 value) , but not always .

Most agents (and homeowners for that matter ) either 1) don't see the problem with their roof or 2) don't realize the roof can be cleaned. As roof cleaners, we tend to notice every roof we drive by. Honestly the general public doesn't notice the stains for the most part, until you point it out to them. Sometimes, we'll take pictures of a house for sale with a dirty roof and include a before & after pictures of a simlar looking house we've cleaned, and deliver that package to the Realtor. This approach has given fairly good results, but it is work/time extensive.

Repetitive consistency is important with the agent too! You'll need to see them over and over again to breed familiarity with them. Don't drop off cards one time to an office and expect your phone to start ringing. However, it you put this time investment in place, it will pay off in the end. I've got 8-10 agents who send me almost every house they list for sale for a clean-up.

-- Edited by sweetwaterfish on Monday 13th of August 2012 06:11:30 AM

-- Edited by sweetwaterfish on Monday 13th of August 2012 06:13:02 AM

-- Edited by sweetwaterfish on Monday 13th of August 2012 06:18:53 AM

Realtors only understand whats in it for them. When I approach them, I ask if they think the dirty roof will affect the sales price and the time to sell the property.  All usually agree and give you a figure they think the roof will degrade the asking price.  I then quote them my price so they can see the difference, and ask them how much commission they are losing by not persudading the HO to have the roof cleaned. Most never look at it that way and see how they are fukking themselves.  (6% of $10.---$12K) is a lot of money over a years time.  I also pay them a $25.00 finders fee.

These same questions have been entering my mind.  Understanding that I have had a real estate license for over 30 years and just let it lapse, I now think that maybe the Home Inspector is who we should be courting.  Give them the knowledge and let them tell the buyer that those ugly stains can be removed and I know of the company to do it.  This information can be passed on to the seller when they are negotiating any and all repairs that are brought up during the home inspection.

I plan to develop a piece to send out to home inspectors regarding our services. Unfortunately there are over 1800 licensed home inspectors in IL

Something to remember which I believe was discussed in a previous thread. Many insurance companies ARE NOT renewing policies for homeowners who are already in their homes and not even selling them. What do you think is going to happen when the new owners have the roof inspection done and the insurance company refuses to insure the new homeowner because of the roof?

Just something to consider if your planning on pitching the roof cleaning to the seller or the realtor.

Not to mention the obvious.... Curb appeal plays a HUGE roll in the sales world.

Here in SW FL, I have a few realtors that call me regularly to spruce up the home they are trying to sell. They basically tell the HO that this needs to be done and they call me to do it. They usually don't even want me to give a discount. One has even pursuaded his neighbors to clean their roofs with me. I think that realtors can be a great way to get more work. I also have a couple of home inspectors that I get referrals from. If there is a way to get a list of recent home buyers, I think that would be beneficial because they usually have some $ to spend on their house and they want their new home to be perfect.