by Linda Davis

The National Association of Realtor’s 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reports that 23% of home sellers used the agent they previously used to buy or sell a home.  Let’s do the simple math; that means that at least 7 out of 10 sellers did not use the agent who sold them their home.  Uh oh.  That’s not a very good statistic.  It is, however, one you can take advantage of.  By the time most sellers are ready to sell their home, their agent is out of business or didn’t keep in touch.  Regardless of the reason, this is good news if you plan to be successful in the real estate business for the long term.

Orphans have always been an important part of my business.  Last year I was on a listing appointment and as I went through the kitchen with the seller, I noticed one of my calendars on the refrigerator. Mr. Seller had been receiving my "stuff" for 18 years - calendars, magnets, postcards, newsletters.  Mr. Seller was proud of the updates he had made to the house since I sold it to him.  He had me convinced.  When I went back to the office and went through the file from 1989, I realized I hadn’t sold Mr. Seller the house after all.   In 1989, I added Mr. Seller as an "orphan" in my database.  The agent who had really sold him the house had been out of the business about 10 years.  I get more than a few listings from "orphans" every year.  Most of the time they are convinced I sold them the house.  They say that when they call in to make the listing appointment.  "Remember us? You sold us the house about 10 years ago". 

The odds are very high that with the exception of maybe a holiday card for the first couple of years, a client’s own agent will abandon him.  And the odds are just as high that their own agent won’t be in the business after 3 years.  In fact, it is business you can count on it.

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