Marketing Your Property - Mistakes by FSBOs and Realtors
When will Realtors "get it" and stop trying to keep information on close hold? For that matter, when will sellers get it? Whether they're FSBOs (for sale by owner sellers) or working with a Realtor, sellers tend to complain about nosy neighbors, and try to withhold information, too. This is not wise when you're marketing your property. Let me tell you about a case in point.
A business friend was telling me recently about a house that has just gone on the market in her neighborhood. It's listed with a Realtor. She went to the Realtor's website to check on price, number of bedrooms, and so forth. Imagine her disgust when she found that, in order to get any information about the house, she had to sign up. Well, she's no dummy. She realized that signing up would bring on emails, probably a phone call, a sales pitch, and who knows what else. She simply left the website.
I can tell you that driving this woman away was very short sighted of the Realtor. My friend is a professional who gets around town, knows lots of people, and has actually been the procuring cause of other home sales in her neighborhood. She has not received a commission, but on more than one occasion, she has been the initial source of property information for people who bought houses in her neighborhood.
If you want to sell your own home, it's important to know that about 70% of home buyers start their search on the Internet. There are many websites that give full information about houses for sale. They include price, number of bedrooms and baths, address, interior and exterior photos, and much more. If the property you have for sale doesn't have this kind of Internet presence, you are putting yourself at an extreme disadvantage.
Heaven knows the real estate market is enough of a challenge without tying one hand behind your back, so make sure potential buyers AND people who might talk to a potential buyer can easily find out about your house on the Internet. After all, nosy neighbors have family members, friends, and colleagues who might want your house and be well able to afford it. It pays to get full information posted on one or more good real estate websites. That's a great place to start.
Beyond that, do everything you can think of (and can afford) to get information about your property for sale by owner "out there." If you're working with a Realtor, be sure he or she does the same. There are lots of useful tools for this. Real estate signs (for sale and lead in). Newspaper classified ads. Brochures in a brochure holder at the curb. Notes to neighbors. Open houses. Ads on local bulletin boards, and in newsletters. Word of mouth at work, church, school, clubs, etc. The recording on your home answering machine can be changed to mention information about the sale of your home, too. Use your imagination and get creative.