Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Bisha and Michael Greiner.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The business was started in 2001 by childhood friends Gary Bisha and Michael Greiner. Having sold previous homes in out of state via “FSBO”, we recognized a need for a similar type business here in Houston. Our goal was to provide a low-cost alternative for homeowners to buy and sell properties without paying the costly Realtor commission. On a shoestring budget, we began the business out of Gary’s house and eventually moved to our office on the Northwest Freeway.
We began purely as a For Sale by Owner Magazine and website. As time went on, we discovered that our clients enjoyed the ability to sell “FSBO” but also liked having the option of additional services. In 2003 we began our My Castle Realty Brokerage to offering Flat Fee MLS listings, as well as discount & full-service MLS listings and cash back on home purchases.
The TexasFSBO/My Castle Team has been in the Houston Business Journals Top 10 realty firms list for most closed transactions since 2007. Rising to #6 in 2016.
In addition, we have been a Texas Monthly Five Star award winner since 2010. An award based on customer service and results given out to less than 5% of the Real Estate firms across Texas.
Has it been a smooth road?
If we were an ice cream company our business would have been more like “Rocky Road”. Not only did we have the normal startup challenges; underfunded, lack of manpower, no name recognition, we picked a pretty difficult year to start a business. 2001 was marked by Tropical Storm Allison, The 9/11 attack, Enron etc. Through 80 hour work weeks, and a strong belief in our concept we persevered.
Another challenge we faced was a multimillion-dollar industry we were disrupting. Needless to say, we were not welcome by most Realtors. Eventually, the industry began to accept us and recognized we simply were not going to go away
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the TexasFSBO.com story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a multi-faceted Real Estate Company offering For Sale by Owner advertising, Flat fee MLS as well as discount and full-service MLS. We offer contract assistance as well as Free Home Selling Seminars. We also represent buyers offering cash back on purchase.
We call it “Real Estate Your Way”. We are not bound by the limitations that many of the Big Box Big Business Real Estate Firms have. We tailor our program to meet our client’s needs
For Sale by Owner – advertising in our magazine and TexasFSBO.com website – sell your home yourself and pay no commissions.
Flat Fee MLS – same as above. Plus we list your property on HAR, Zillow, Realtor.com, Chron (plus dozens more). Clients retain their ability to sell without an agent and pay no commission. If a buyer agent brings the buyer, the seller typically pays 3% to the buyer agent.
Discount & Full service – we recognize that homeowners have different needs and we tailor our program to meet those needs.
Cash Back on purchase – not only do we help our clients save money on selling a home, we can save them money on their next purchase also. Many home buyers do a considerable amount of research on their own before they start to shop for their nest property. We recognize this and form a collaborative relationship with our clients. Depending on how many showings we perform, we rebate up to half of our commission to the buyer to be used for their closing costs.
Pricing, Contract & negotiations assistance – these can be one of the more challenging areas when buying or selling a home. We offer as part of our packages or a la carte.
We are most proud of the fact we have helped so many families buy and sell homes and literally saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars in doing so. We have helped some families avoid foreclosure, other to get into homes they may not have otherwise been able to
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We see a continued shift towards our type of business model where the client has several buying/selling options to choose from.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10560 Northwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77092 - Website: www.TexasFSBO.com
- Phone: 713-683-0050
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TexasFSBO/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TexasFSBOGuy
- Other: www.askmycastle.com
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
