We start with a quick question on Zestimates and how Todd got into a Twitter war with Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff. Todd pointed out that the Zestimate was about 60% high on Rascoff’s own house in Seattle, which recently sold for 700,000 below the Zestimate. Todd also answered the question of how a buyer agent should look out for in a short sale situation, explaining that patience and short sale experience is the key.
Then Todd shared how he stumbled onto the short sale/foreclosure market through a chance opportunity to be an expert witness. He gave a Broker Price Opinion in a bankruptcy case. Todd asked who would get the listing, and the attorney explained that banks have lists of preferred agents, so Todd doubled down and spent 6 months finding every bank in the US and getting on their lists. Todd also cold called agents who sold REO, went to every conference and joined every group, so he was ready when the REO market exploded.
The growth was so quick that Todd scrambled to create the systems to handle this growth, eventually growing to over 600 listings and 120 agents working the leads and listings. Those systems also helped get more systematic and more experienced, so even as the REO market declined, Todd’s team can head off problems before they come up. “It was nice to have 60, 70 closings a month, but payroll was over $100k a month,” Todd explained. “I was very fortunate, I was in the right place at the right time, but I did the right things to put myself there.”
Next we dug into Todd’s background in video blogging. Todd was one of the first to use a Flip cam to record educational videos for his database. He shared where he gets his topic ideas, how he systematized the process, and the results of video blogging. Todd can directly attribute over 130 deals to leads coming from his video blog, which now has over 500 videos.
Then we dive into the app Todd has created in conjunction with Kristian Peter, another former REO mega-agent (and former guest of the show). HomingIn is a crowdsourced home valuation tool consumers use to request real home value estimates from real agents. Consumers request an estimate, which then pings all agents in the area, allowing them to submit a home value estimate with reasons, request pictures from the homeowner, and set themselves apart for other agents.
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HomingIn is in the early stages, so get in on the ground floor and try it out. It has great potetial to take off and become a go-to platform for sellers to find listing agents online. And when you spot an opportunity, double down and put everything you have to establish yourself in that niche.
Todd Miller is a top listing agent in Las Vegas specializing in Fannie Mae properties, and together Todd and his wife have sold over 3000 homes. Todd is a former #1 worldwide agent for KW, at one point carrying 600+ listings and working with 120 agents. Todd also runs a popular real estate video blog to which he directly attributes at least 130 transactions. Connect with Tood and check out his video blog at toddmillertv.com. Be sure to download the HomingIn app on the Apple App Store, or learn more about the app at homingin.co.
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