In the world of selling a home online, others have gone before me, and much farther. Kim Moldofsky set up a blog for the house she is selling, as did Jonathan Blundell. People have varying degrees of success with that, and I am watching them closely.
But all I’m trying to do right now is find a real estate agent on Twitter.
Back when Stewart and I had just started talking about moving, I tweeted it, of course. And wouldn’t you know, I instantly got about 20 new followers, all of whom had something about real estate in their user name or profile. “Wow, this thing works great!” I thought. But I wasn’t ready to act yet. Now I am. I’ve interviewed two REALTORS – the first was a personal referral, the second was an agent who moves a lot of inventory in my neighborhood (her words, sort of). I thought I’d try to find a third who thrives on the internet the same way I do.
Email is the best way to get in touch with me, followed by direct messages through Twitter. (Facebook works too but I have an unidentified chip on my shoulder about Facebook. That’s an investigation for another blog.) I’m a blogger, and I use the internet for EVERYTHING. Why wouldn’t I want to do business with someone who feels the same way?
Within the last two weeks, then, I put a call out for REALTORS in my area to get in touch with me. I was actually kind of nervous to do it – I thought I’d be overwhelmed with responses. I waited. And waited, and waited some more.
I got one little tiny bite, and that was through a friend who said “I know a REALTOR, want me to hook you up with her?” My answer? “Only if she contacts me on Twitter.” Yes, it’s starting to sound spiteful and a little bit childish, but hey, sometimes that’s how I roll.
Either I have a very overblown sense of my own reach, or there are very few REALTORS who are paying attention to Twitter in Los Angeles. If it’s the former, well then, I have some work to do. And if it’s the latter, I think that’s a shame. Real estate professionals have so much to gain from using social media tools, and coming late to the Twitter game may mean losing out on opportunities.
I’d love to hear thoughts from this peanut gallery, and get some followers who can help me! I still haven’t met that third agent.
kimtracyprince on 
John Badalamenti on 
uberVU - social comments on 
Bob Phillips on