In this 3 part series, I’ll walk you through why the MLS is only 1 of 4 inventories we’ll search for your next home.
You think there are no homes for sale in Carlsbad. So you plan to wait until spring. Hold on. This post can help.
This post and the next two will take the mystery out of finding a home. By the end, you'll know where to look. And you'll know how to find your next home before everyone else does.
Watch the full episodePrefer to watch this episode on youtube?Who Is Steve Olson?
I'm Steve Olson. I'm a real estate agent here in Carlsbad, California. I've been doing this for about 20 years.
I've seen this business from every side. Technology. Coaching. Real estate development. Multi-family and single family. I've run a big team. I've worked as a solo agent. And I moved my whole business to Carlsbad about 11 years ago.
Why do I tell you all this? Because I've seen around a few corners that most agents haven't. Now I'm going to share them with you.
*This post was written with the help of AI and taken from the full transcript of the video and podcast linked above
Waiting for the Right Home Is a Failed Strategy
When we talk to people who want to buy in Carlsbad, we ask, "How's it going?" They almost always say the same thing.
"Good. I like my agent. The process is okay. We're just waiting for the right home."
Then I ask the most important question you can answer as a buyer. "When you say waiting for the home, what do you mean?"
They say, "It's just not on the market."
So they scroll Zillow and Realtor.com. Their agent sends them homes from the MLS every single day. It's exhausting. And they hope that one day they'll open their email and their dream home will magically show up.
That is a failed strategy.
Here's what most people don't know. Homes for sale in Carlsbad, or in any city, come from four places:
- The MLS
- Homes that were listed before
- Our agent network
- Ads and direct outreach to homeowners
I'm going to break down each one. In this post, we'll cover the first two. The other two are coming in the next posts.
Place #1: The MLS
The MLS is the big list agents use to put homes for sale. It's the obvious place to look. But most people use it the wrong way.
Here's the mistake. They look at every home that's even a little bit close to what they want. Then they get overwhelmed. They want to see them all so no stone gets left unturned. What happens? Stress. Overwhelm. And they start comparing features that never mattered in the first place.
Here's what I'd do. It doesn't matter if you work with me or someone else. Have your agent sort everything you want into three lists.
1. The non-negotiables
These are the things the home must have. If it doesn't have them, you are 100% not going to buy it. Think school district. Neighborhood. Zip code. Four bedrooms. A pool. More than 2,500 square feet. Under $2.4 million.
This list is how you say no fast. I can't tell you how many times this has happened over the 1,000 or so deals we've done. People start looking at homes. I know right out of the gate it's not a fit. But they fall in love with one feature. Then they want to find another home with that feature. All it does is pollute the water.
So what's non-negotiable?
2. The nice-to-haves
These are things that would be cool. But they won't stop you from buying the home.
It would be cool if it had a pool. If it doesn't, that's okay. It would be cool if it's a single story. If it's not, that's okay. It would be cool if it looked toward the ocean.
Me? I'm more of a lights person. I like to look inland. I love the views toward La Costa, Aviara and Bressi Ranch. If you've ever been in an ocean view home at night, it's pitch black. Not that exciting.
So ask yourself, does the view really matter? If the home has it, cool. If it doesn't, it's not a deal killer.
3. The disqualifiers
This one is almost the most important. What are the things that kill a home right away?
Maybe it's price. Maybe it can't be two and a half baths. It has to be three full bathrooms. Maybe it needs a mother-in-law suite. In a place like Phoenix, Arizona, you'd want a home that faces a certain way to dodge the afternoon sun.
What would make it a no, no matter what? Even if the deal is great? That's your list.
Set up a private search
Once you have your three lists, we set up a private search. It's a private door straight into the MLS. Not Zillow. Not our website. Straight into the MLS. That way you get the data at the exact same time I do. And we work on it together.
Here's the secret. We only send you what you want and what you might want. We remove everything else. So if a home doesn't show up for you, you know it doesn't exist on the MLS.
Place #2: Homes That Were Listed Before
Now let's say the home you want is not on the MLS. That's true for about half of the buyers we talk to right now.
So we look at homes that were listed before. These are the expired, canceled and withdrawn listings from the last 18 to 36 months. Yes, a year and a half or more. Some came off the market three years ago. Some came off last month.
Here's what those words mean.
- Expired. Every listing has a contract. Maybe it's for six months. If nobody does anything on the last day, the listing expires on the MLS.
- Canceled. The seller and the agent agree to cancel. Maybe life changed. Maybe plans changed. Maybe they couldn't find the home they wanted. Maybe they just decided not to sell. There are a million reasons.
- Withdrawn. This one is more one-sided. The seller made the call. They quit. And listen, a contract can't force you to sign, close escrow and move out. That's not how it works.
Here's a big mistake people make. They think every home that came off the market failed to sell. They think it was overpriced. Or the sellers were unreasonable. Or the home was in bad shape.
That's not true. Just because a home came off the market doesn't mean it was a bad listing. Often, plans just change.
What we say to the owner
We reach out and keep it simple. Something like this:
"Hey, my client is looking for X, Y and Z. While doing research, we found that your home may fit. But it looks like you took it off the market last March. I know this is out of the blue. But if my client wrote an offer that worked with price and terms, would you consider selling again?"
How we reach out
- Direct mail.
- A visit. If we're in the area, we stop by the home.
- Deep research. If we can find their email or phone number, we message them first. Then we call.
Why message first? Most people don't answer calls from numbers they don't know. That's just how it is right now. So we text. We email. And we keep it super easy.
No Pressure. Ever.
Before we get to any paperwork, we do a showing first. And between you and me, there is zero pressure. No obligation. No commitment. Just because we found a home that might work.
Walk in. Take 10 steps through the front door. If you think, "Yeah, this isn't a fit," that's totally okay.
My job is to help you and your family get the home you want. In the area you want. At the price and terms you want. With a smile on your face.
If we find that home off market, great. If it's on the MLS and we negotiate a great deal, great. I don't care how we find it. I only care that we find it.
Two More Ways We Find Your Home
There are two more places homes come from. I'll cover them in the next two posts. Here's a quick look.
Our agent network. This is every coming soon home. It's also every home we hear about early, because we know the agents in the area.
Ads and direct outreach. This is where most of our deals come from when a home is not on the MLS. We run ads and talk right to the homeowners who own the kind of home you want. We try to reach them before the home ever hits the open market.
Even a couple days of head start helps. The earlier you know about a home, the better the deal we can usually make.
There's one more thing. In past markets, homes got multiple offers all the time. Not anymore. Today, only homes that are priced right and look like HGTV get that. Most homes don't. So we want to get in quick. And we want you to have a look at all the best homes.
Your Agent Makes the Difference
Listen. No market is better or worse to buy a home in. It's only the agent you choose.
Ask yourself, is your agent doing everything they should for you? It makes no sense to hire an agent who just watches the MLS, opens the door and has you pay list price.
A great agent does a lot more. They get you into homes you don't know about. They negotiate deals you didn't think were possible. They're connected in the market, so the whole thing is smoother and a lot less stressful. And they know all the vendors you'll need.
Find an amazing agent who knows what you want, has done this many times and really goes to bat for you. I think you'll see it. The investment in a great agent is big. But it's probably the most no-brainer investment you can make.
Up next: how our agent network works. After that, how we find your home off market with ads and outreach.