From Homescape

written by Amy Le on Thursday, April 24, 9:01AM

Amy Le

The recent housing bust has churned out some pretty interesting news stories. After reading about abandoned pets in foreclosed homes and a Wisconsin man offering the title to his $500,000 life insurance plan to anyone willing to buy his home, I thought I had heard it all. That was until my friend sent me a CNNMoney.com article this morning about two real restate agents giving tours of foreclosed homes.

Bus Tour
Instead of sitting on their rears complaining about the bad luck that’s plagued their industry, Barbara and Marshall Zucker are taking their clients to see it firsthand. As they watched the Las Vegas foreclosure rate skyrocket 169 percent from 2006 to 2007 — making Nevada one of the hardest hit states in the nation — the clever couple had noticed that 40 percent of all home sales were foreclosed properties. So in February, the Zuckers bought a 24-seat Ford bus for $40,000, named it the Vegas Foreclosure Express, and began offering locals and out-of-state investors tours of repossessed homes.

The trip is free, but the couple requires riders to sign exclusive-representation agreements covering any property included in the tour. In addition to viewing the sites, they offer onboard finance consulting and educational seminars on home buying.

Out-of-the-box
Now I thought the Wisconsin man’s marketing ploy to attract homebuyers with a life insurance plan was a little off-the-wall. But creating a tour of foreclosed homes is brilliant on so many levels. The quicker the number of foreclosed homes get sold and taken off the market, the sooner home values will climb back up as inventory shrinks. And as for the agents, these are hard housing times, and the opportunity to close a deal on a single home is better than not selling anything at all.

Before the Foreclosure Express hit the road, the Zuckers brokered annual sales of $150 million, worth an estimated $4.5 million in commissions. They have since scored 120 new clients — first-time buyers as well as out-of-state investors — and anticipate netting an additional 15 to 20 sales a month as a result of the tours.

What do you think of Foreclosure home tours, brilliant or bozo idea?

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com.