Good morning, Robert.

I try to look at each handshake listing as soon as it appears on my site.  

I block all listings (not the agent, just the particular listing) if it shows the listing agent's contact info or their brokerage sign/logo; if it has less than 8 photos, if the photos are substandard, or if it does not include an MLS #.

If I have time, I look up the MLS# and block all listings which are no longer active (sold, expired, canceled).

And that's my two-cents worth.

Phil

I block if there is no MLS number listed, for personal contact information in listings and if it is obvoiusly not a real estate site (some do make it in there.)  I see "test" sites come through, too and I'll block those.  I don't have many blocks and I do go back and re-evaluate them from time to time.

Handshakes are very difficult to manage.  I'm pretty liberal about approving them, BUT, if I see that someone has a very high block to approve ratio, I usually block them.

I also look at their site briefly to make sure that they are legit and I look at their listings to see if there is contact information in them.  Those are my grounds for blocking.  

I block 'handshakes' for areas of the business that I do not specialize in so I am not confusing or misleading customers.  For example, I do not handshake listings for rentals.  

I block for reasons of too low a commission structure, no MLS #, signage in photos, contact info in information, really bad photos or a really bad website!

I have no blocks. I did take some time to go through completed handshakes and found three sites that were not a real estate professional, builder, or property manager. These were reported to P2, two were removed.

I understand the reasons for blocking certain listings but why block agents requesting handshakes?

I recently was blocked on a new website I had just set for my brokerage and before you could say "jack robinsion" I was blocked by 4 members. 3 out of of the 4 gave the reason that "member does not paticipate in handshake" How would you know? when a site is newly posted would be my question. Where do these particular members-which also blocked my personal agent site for same reason get their info? I always approve when asked unless something unethical is brought to my attention. I have not even blocked those who blocked me for "not participating in handshake" because the way I figure it is their loss not mine.

The only reason why I would block a listing is if it's not in my selling area.  Other than that, there's absolutely no reason for blocking someone with a low score or no score at all.  Some day that agent might have 15 listings and they would all appear on your site.  Someone browsing your site, might find one of those listings and contact you.  There's your lead.

Russell Volk

http://www.ephiladelphiarealestate.com

Russell,

I used to block for selling area.  But I made several sub pages that filter the listings by areas that I serve and one page with all handshakes in it.  I have the rentals filtered out on the pages so I don't have to block them.  If someone across the state wants to advertise one of my listings I don't have a problem with that.  :)

Mary Matero

http://www.VolusiaHomeFinder.com

Comment for Mary Matero:

Mary,

I would like to do that. I don't block anyone, but I like your idea of managing the listings into area subdivisions. Could you give me a quick tutorial on how you went about doing that?

Gary Lorenz

I don't block at all.  I don't see the point.  The more listings I have on my site the better.  If I get a lead that is not in my selling area, I refer.

I have only ever blocked one listing and that is because it had the agents contact information in the remarks section. Other than that I think we should never block an agent or a listing. I have only been blocked once and the person who blocked all my listings said it was because I wasn't in her selling area. Even though I have 2 listings that were less than 3 blocks from her office.

This is a community that prides itself on helping each other and I think we should continue to not be selfish and continue to show why agents that use the p2 network are the cream of the crop.

Todd

Contact info in the descriptions is about the only reason I block.

Why?

Because I don't see the point in driving people off of my site onto another agents site.

And yes, it happens. I've had two calls from people saying, "I found this listing on your site, and when I called the number in the listing and/or sent an email, no one ever responded." How many others have done that and have the listing agent answer? Who knows, but I suspect it happens.

I *want* my listings on as many sites as possible. If my listing is on Joe Realtor's site and he sells it, more power to him! I also want as many listings as possible on my site, and I'd think Joe Realtor would be happy if I sold his listing.

But why I should promote Joe's listing, and send MY visitors to HIS site or cell phone so he can double-side it is beyond me. I work very hard to market ME -- not Joe Realtor -- on my site.

Jay

The more people u hand shake, better it is. Thw open end approach is always fruitful. u can always refer to other realtors in that area.

I agree, I don't block anyone unless they have their contact information or block me.  If anything you can get/give a referral.

Robert-

Unless there's an issue, i.e., no MLS#, sign in photos, etc. I don't block anyone.

Where I am, agents tend to block all agents that work in the same area that aren't from their brokerage (the brokerage wants both sides of the commission I guess) so I tend to have more blocks than average - and I'm mostly a buyer's agent!  I can't figure it out.

I am glad you are bringing this up.  I have only blocked a few.  I am also beginning to rethink my process.  I have not been blocking the Northern part of Utah, because I would be able to refer a potential client.  However, I think this may just jam up they system.  It is a hard decision to make.

News Flash….

Approve hand shakes and we will all do better.  All agents please review for pending hand shakes.  If you learn to share, you can watch your business grow.

http://www.agent-of-choice.com

In response to Virginia's post...

As far as I know when someone blocks you and the reason is "member does not participate in handshake" I think that it is referring to them, not you. Not everyone utilizes handshake and those people, as far as I know, automatically block everyone with that reason tagged to it. That's at least what I gather from the blocks I've received as well. But maybe someone else has more insight.

I had been approving all handshakes initially, but due to another post somewhere on a message board I learned that not everyone is considerate and they do put their contact info. in their pictures or descriptions...sneaky sneaky, so I went through and blocked those. Also, if their pictures are bad I don't want that on my website representing me and the way I present my listings.

So, what do you guys think of separating all the handshake listings on a different page than your own listings and putting a 'disclaimer' if you will, before them.  Something that lets your visitor know that these are not your own listings and you have no control over the content but can assist them as a buyers agent to see them and make an offer if desired.

I have done this recently and it has given me a certain level of comfort.  I also ask that, if they see anything they believe is inaccurate in any listing or inappropriate to let me know.  I haven't had any feedback since setting up my pages this way so I don't know if it is effective or not.

I have one page with our listings, another with "more Jax area listings" and a third for the rest of Florida (I am considering breaking this down into the other major Florida markets - South Florida, Tampa Bay area, Orlando, Pensacola, etc.

Any thoughts or opinions on this?

I believe in broker receprocity and exposing as many listings as possible because the more listings you display the more internet activity you will receive. In the end everyone will benefit. You will receive more potential leads and the homeowner will get maximum exposure for their most important asset.  

I believe in broker receprocity and exposing as many listings as possible because the more listings you display the more internet activity you will receive. In the end everyone will benefit. You will receive more potential leads and the homeowner will get maximum exposure for their most important asset.  

I block all handshakes out of my selling area. Living in NW Florida I don't advertise South Florida listings. Living so close to the AL state line I have to be careful not advertise Alabama listings as I am not licensed in that state. I usually check out the agent's website and see what the content is like. Are they a newbie? If so I will give them time to get it together, then go back and see if it looks professional enough to "handshake".  

My question is, how do you know if it is a test site?

My PET PEEVE right now is that it has taken me over 3 hours to go through all the listings that I advertise and I found multiple discrepancies.

* Reasons for blocking the broker:

Out of their 64 listings I found agents names and contact info in the content.

* Reasons for blocking the individual listing:

Out of a total of 171 listings I checked all the MLS numbers and found 32 that were either sold, withdrawn or expired. Some contigent ones and pending also. I should keep an eye on those right but who has the time?

I found many, many more where there was no MLS #. I do not have the time to check the addresses in the MLS to see if there are still active. So I will leave them for now and check later. I went to the agent discussion forum and it is a split decision what to do about that issue. Some agents block all listings with no MLS ID #. Some trust the listing if they trust the listing agent. If they know the agent to be professional then they don't penalise them as it can be an oversight.

So this handshake situation has really p'd me off today. Why should I have to go behind everyone and check up to see if they are doing their job properly. Now 4 hours into it there should be a better way than this tedious, mind numbing exercise!! When I am handshaking with a top local agent who has over 25 listings, I should trust them right?? Agents in my office who are top sellers... I should trust them right? WRONG.

Right now I want to block all handshakes. Great idea but way too difficult to monitor.

Okay that is my RANT over for today. Got to get back to blocking.

I block those that I think are not real agents, ones that are not in my selling area, those with really crumby photos or incomplete information, and those who put their personal id in the photos or description.  To add in response to Virginia's post about the quick blocking by some agents, some sites are broker sites that only handshake with their own office agents and have their site set to automatically block all other agents' listings, and some agents just want to use their site to showcase their own listings.  I personally like for my browsing customers to have access to lots of listings and photos but feel like it reflects negatively on me if their listings don't look good.

This is a question I have often asked as well; why would an agent block another agent listing? I've read most of the comments and I think it's better for my clients and enhances my site to have as many listing as possible. Also, with the number of listing my site has through handshake, to look at them all would be a job in and of itself.

I generally block those that are not in my selling area.  I would love to know how to filter the listings into sub sections... how do you do that?  

After reading this post I approved them all then went through and blocked inapropriate ones, and then set filters for my handshake listings.

Bob Mitchell

I would like to ask how many of the above comments are from broker or sales people in Ontario? I block all handshakes since I do not have a signed agreement with the individual brokerages.  Here in Ontario it is a very touchy situation with our laws.

It really hurts not to have that free advertising but it would hurt alot more to be in trouble with the powers that be.

I would love to hear from other Ontarians to see what they think.

Hey Tim and Susan,

    I just approved your handshake a few hours ago, at the time I was correct in believing it was for referrals. Don't be afraid to give me a call, real estate or mortgage..

I just added my 2 cents on the message board about the ideas and reasons behind P2's handshakes. I block for contact info, logos and not enough information such as price. As for MLS#'s, I don't mind if they are missing, although I wish they all had them. It sure makes life easier.

If anyone gets a chance to read the message board, with my response to P2's current methods, I would like some feedback. Especially considering what I added on the fact that the P2 NLS is now getting alot of attention. I think P2 should strong-arm those who add contact info. I am currently getting beat in the stats by an agent who continues to place contact info in their listings. Not all of them, just a few to squeeze them in, so you litterally have to look at all 33 of their listings to find the 5 that had a 3rd party VT with contact info in it in the description area.

HA....... the nerve!

Laurie,

I am also in Ontario and I agree with you. I only Handshake with Agents from our office due to the regulations put on us regarding advertising other Agents listings. I would like to Handshake with other Agents in my area but I would have to get signed consent from them and their sellers.

Thanks George,

I was beginning to think I was alone in this!  I feel kind of mean blocking my friends and collegues from my area but I also want to ensure that I am in compliance with the law. Do you use the syndication feature? How do you feel about it? I personally do not anymore since I have learned a lot more about the big picture.

Appreciate your feedback.

Hi Fennells,

I too am experimenting with offering out-of-area listings on separate pages. I actually have the pages hidden (to keep the menu clean) and visitors must click on a link from my local page. I just reviewed them and decided my disclaimer language was too weak, so I hope you don't mind that I used yours for inspiration. It will be interesting to see if web visitors like and use this feature, or if it will lead to any problems (or conversely, any referral business). As a vacation/second home market, our buyers often start out looking at several locations. I think this might possibly be of value to them.

Canadian colleagues, it sounds as though there are some issues there with this. Could you please elaborate? Did these restrictions come about due to abuse of the system?

Thanks.

It has more to do with our advertising and privacy laws than abuse.  It is not that we can't advertise other people's listings, we just have to have an agreement with them and their sellers. So you can see why we would not want to use handshakes indiscriminately!  The paperwork would take an eternity to manage.

So what you are saying is that the mechanism of handshake approvals is simply not enough to establish the relationship. I may have to take a closer look at this myself.

Jay Thompson - You are in Arizona. What do you think?

I only block sites that are not in my selling areas. I don't want to lose visitors who came to my site thinking they would be searching for homes in my city only to have listings that are 100 miles away.

I would also like to know about filtering listings into subsections. If it isn't possible maybe when can all send a suggestion to P2 for it to be added.

Hello All,

I've been reading these posts to educate myself about handshake.  I became a member in '06 but didn't manage the site for reasons that I won't bore you with.

I've found this community to be extremely informative and supportive.  Handhshake has been a mystery to me (as well as the PI) but I decided, based on these posts (and others) that I would simply approve all and manage it from there.  

My market is Cape Cod and there are a lot of people out there who want to "summer" here.  There are also plenty of "Snowbirds" who want to winter elsewhere....South, South West, etc. Why would I block anyone?

Noting some of your valid reasons, though, I'll go through them and determine if they are valid.

I'm having a great time in this community.  I've been doing this for just over 7 years now, but can always learn more.  Y'all are a wealth of information!

My hat's off to you!

Cathy

I have found out that members with contact info in the descriptions or photos are new members that do not know how the handshake works. After I contact them and explain that they should remove the contact information to avoid being blocked, they tell me that they did not know. Maybe it is in part due to Spanish being our first language in PR.

Maria

I just came from that area, approving new members.

I would prefer not to block at all. Even when I am blocked by a member for some silly reason that doesn't apply.

Out of area, to me, is nonsense. Heard of Referring???

I am blocked by the "elite squads" as I like to refer to them. Those that have such a large inventory, they must feel you're not worth the time.

So, I unblock those. I have 108 blocked to date for various other reasons.

The choice not on the Blocking List is "Because they blocked me"

Why is that? <S>