Gardnerville Web business targets for-sale-by-owners

John Giaimo and Greg Johnson helped pioneer online real estate marketing in the 1990s. Now the two businessmen have developed another online venture based in Gardnerville designed to help homeowners selling their properties without the help of a Realtor.

The Web site www.SearchHomesOnTV.com allows homeowners to post data and up to seven photos of their property for free until sold.

Where's the money? Through the site homeowners can purchase additional services ranging from $199 to $799 that include a 40-second video commercial of the property which is covered on the nationally television show SearchHomesOnTV. The show airs locally on DirecTV channel 221.

"The industry has changed," says Giaimo, who operated HomeSeekers.com in 1995. Fidelity Title purchased the site in 2006. "Consumers are unwilling or unable to pay

6 percent commission to real estate agents or brokers. Home valuations have tanked, and many people owe more than they can sell for. When you factor in 6 percent that puts them even more in hole, so a lot of people are putting their houses on the marketplace on their own."

SearchHomesOnTV differs from other online real estate sites, Giaimo says, because homeowners can purchase services from licensed real estate agents tailored to their needs and their budgets.

"Consumers are more than willing to pay for expert services, they are just pushing back on 6 percent," he says. "But they are totally willing to pay $200 an hour or a flat fee to an agent to manage the escrow process."

In addition to reaching a broader audience via the television show and through high-traffic Web portals such as YouTube and Google, Giaimo says the concept also fuses two previously separate entities.

"We have created an environment where for-sale-by-owners and real estate professionals can cooperate with each other. Now (homeowners) can call on a local guy to help them in some aspect of a sale or the closing of a property."

The privately funded firm employs 22 in 3,000 square feet at 1503 U.S. Highway 395 North. As the business model grows Giaimo expects to expand facilities in the area.