Marketing my House

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   Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

   Our house is on the market, we have a an agent.  I want to market it myself more aggressively, any thoughts?
   
   If you can tell, I'm anxious to move to Cali to be with my hubby!
   
   I thought about starting a blog, but rethinking it, I'm not sure it makes any sense.  It would take forever to get it indexed googles front page.
   
   Brainstorming ideas?

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   lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

   Have you had an open house?
   
   What is your agent doing to market the house? I ask only because that is what she/he is making their commission on and if you add in additional marketing which actually sells the house if you don't have a clause in your contract you still have to pay them even though you brought the sale and not them.

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   Mark Knowlesposted 14 years ago

   What sort of a house is it and where is it? If you are thinking of selling it online - the problem with most websites is the vast amount of property on them. I mean - it is all well and good doing well in the search results, but if you are one of 13 million properties - how do you get found?
   
   I have seen a few people using  the address successfully - so http:// 1226gardnerstreetchicago.com as an example.
   
   Plus - you may find - depending on your agreement - that you are obliged to pay the agent even if you find the buyer. I would check that out first.
   
   The only real advantage to doing it yourself is saving the agent's fees - which you can pass on as a discount to a buyer.

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   lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

   If you feel your agent isn't doing enough, ask to review their marketing plan.
   
   Have they done flyers and put them out on the sign. Is the home on the company website, realtor.com, etc. there are any number of realtor sites that she/he can list for free. Does your agent have their own website and is the home a featured home on that site? Is your agent blogging about her/his homes for sale?
   
   The open house that I mentioned should be done as often as possible and if your local realty association has a special day for just realtor open houses that should be done too to get the word out about the house to other realtors.

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   Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

   I'm thinking of marketing it along with what he has already done.
   
   He has fliers that are printed & in a a box attached to the "for sale sign"
   
   My husband doesn't like open houses and neither does our Realtor.
   
   It is on the MLS so search engines like Homes.com and realtor.com are picking it up.  There are 7 homes in our zip code that are all in the same price range.  Most of the homes around us are listed for 10,000 - 100,000 more than ours.  We priced it low to sell.
   
   I just want to do more!

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      Has_aWayWithWordsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Believe it or not pricing too low can scare buyers, a home that seems priced way lower than similar can make buyers think something is wrong and you are hiding it. I assume the realtor has printed flyers like they give at open houses with all of the home information on it, you can put these up in places you frequent that have bulletin boards. Places like hair salons, grocery stores, anywhere that someone likely to be in the home market would visit. Also if your area is a prime area for people relocating from outside the area be sure the realtor is promoting it in a way that poeple not already in your town can easily find it.

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   lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

   A realtor open house could offer you a lot of feedback especially if the house is not getting shown. There may be things that are putting people off that a realtor open house might enlighten you and your current agent hadn't thought about. Small things like overly cluttered counters in the kitchen or rooms that have boxes packed and ready to move in them will put people off when viewing a home.
   
   I'm not sure if they are doing all of this already what else to tell you to do since the open house doesn't sound like an option.
   
   9 out of 10 homebuyers will search the internet first so it has to pop up in their search criteria.

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      Jane@CMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      My house is pristine clean.  There isn't an ounce of clutter.  Seriously.  No boxes, we moved them all out into storage.
      
      Our price isn't so low that you would think twice about it.  It is above market value but priced just below what many of the other houses in the area are listed at. 
      
      I'll talk to hubby about doing a realtor open house.

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         Home Girlposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Then don't worry, just be patient.
         If the area sells, house looks clean, no clutter, the agent is busy, what else can you do? Just wait Open house is not a bad idea. The more exposure - the better.

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   lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

   Jane I didn't mean to offend if I came off that way. I just know from being a realtor myself that having fresh eyes on the property with a feedback form to review later can help.
   
   You may love the rhododendron on the side of your house but others may view it as an eye sore.
   
   Couple of tricks to showings. Before you leave the house when your agent calls to tell you someone is coming by, make sure there is light that means making sure the blinds are open to let in an even gray day, lamps are turned on etc.
   
   If you have pets make sure they are out of the way of the potential clients and the house does not smell like them.
   
   Light a candle in the scent of a baked good. Apple pie, chocolate chip cookie, birthday cake. It makes people envision home and hearth when they are greeted by those smells.
   
   You have a daughter away at college is her room a momento to her former high school days or has it been stripped clean of trophies and the like. I'm not saying clean everything out but if a client can see what their children's furnishings will look like in your home as well as what their furnishings will look like it makes for an easier sale.
   
   Closets should look roomy even if they are tiny. So if there is a coat closet make sure to pull out anything but the bare essentials.
   
   Have your realtor follow up with the other realtor after a showing. Find out what the client thought whether good or bad.
   
   I don't know how long you have been in your home but it is an emotional experience to have it critiqued in such a way.
   
   Offer incentives for things like carpeting, painting, or a home inspection, get the realtor to do a virtual tour and post it on the internet. If you can't afford the virtual tour have them post as many pics as possible.
   
   Make up a booklet on the home that has local information for those who might be shopping from another city. Give them the local school info, shopping info, crime rates, etc. A lot of people are statistic driven when shopping for a home. Make sure the booklet has pics of the home on every page with a notes page at the back so they can remember what the house looked like and what they liked and didn't for their own personal reference.
   
   You can get document stands pretty cheap at office depot put a flyer up in various rooms of the house reminding them of the great deal they would be getting.
   
   Make sure the garage if there is one is clutter free too and that the attic is accessible and not full.
   
   Have someone come in who knows about furniture flow come in and see if your traffic flows smoothly through your home or if there are blockages.
   
   And above all else try and leave the home every time it is shown. Buyers like to poke into cabinets, closets etc and if the owner is hovering they may just take a quick scan and leave not really getting the feel for the house and how it would suite them.

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   Greg Cremiaposted 14 years ago

   An open house will not help sell your house. All it will do is get more buyer and seller leads for your agent. There is no reason to open your house to people unless they are qualified to buy it.
   
   All the ads and flyers will do nothing except make the seller happy. Advertising does not sell houses, it gets leads for the agents.
   
   Most buyers start out using the internet when looking for a house, so if you are in the MLS then your house is already being sent to tons of sites.
   
   The only thing that will get a buyer interested in your house is the price. You wrote "It is above market value but priced just below what many of the other houses in the area are listed at." This is not how you price a house.
   
   If you are not priced at market value or below then you are over priced. The buyers are out there watching and waiting for a deal. When you price your house right they will come out of the woodwork.
   
   If your real estate market is declining and you price your house above the current market value then when you get fed up and lower your price to what was the market value there will be a new lower market value in place and you will end up chasing the declining curve always just a little behind it.
   
   This will cost you more money than going ahead and just cutting your price to the current market value. Don't get caught chasing that curve down, it is a very expensive chase. The market value now is more then the market value will be in 6 months.
   
   I have been selling real estate for 20+ years.

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   Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

   Greg & Lynne thanks for your comments!
   
   Lynne, this is the 7th house we've sold, so I know what to do, but loved your advice Our daughter's room is stripped  
   
   Greg, we based our price on comps.  We could have gone a bit higher with the comparibles out there.  The houses selling two blocks east of us were built 5 years ago, listing at 500,000.  Yes, it was more expensive to build then - but their homes are smaller, on a busier street and the are all identical.

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      Greg Cremiaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Stop looking at what is for sale. You need to be looking at what has sold. This is what the buyers and appraisers are looking at.
      
      You can be the cheapest house in the neighborhood and still be overpriced if the solds don't match up. Appraisals these days are brutal.

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    Crazdwriterposted 14 years ago

    woohoo Jane is coming to Cali oh sorry you were talking about Marketing your house I'll leave now hehehe

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       Jane@CMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I can't wait!  I'm tired of snow.

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    lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

    Greg I'm just curious...where you are what is the DOM like? While 3 yrs ago at this time ours was around 90 to 120 it is now about quadruple that in my area. With the amount of foreclosures that are still popping up on a daily basis etc, the banks still in crisis, we really can't expect it to improve any time soon.

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       Greg Cremiaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       DOM depends on the seller. If it is priced right it can be sold in 30 days. If it is over priced it will never sell.  There are some listings in the MLS for over 1,600 days.

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    sunforgedposted 14 years ago

    Last year, i got a similar request from someone selling a commercial building for a decent commish on successful sale (whether it was proven that my efforts had any relation to sale)
    
    In addition to creating a flyer, I created a mini website that had tons of photos, some local interest information, google maps functionality and the MLS info.
    
    I bought multiple domain names including (changed for your purpose)
    
    [city]forsale.com
    
    [zip code]houseforsale.com
    
    homesforsale[zip].com
    
    homesforsale[city].com
    
    homesforsale[county].com
    
    
    Dont know how effective it was for final sale on the building (450,000) but the site did generate phone calls for the property and I took over the local search for all those terms.
    
    When I have time I should be able to repurpose those domains for some lucrative stuff.
    
    
    Worked for us..i know nothing about real estate though, i just approached it as what terms do property buyers search for

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    lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

    Yep, we have some here like that too. We also have the ones who think they are being sneaky and will pull the listing wait a week or two then relist to start it out like it just got listed. A good realtor though will check that info.
    
    Your right on about the price. I'd rather go in at market value than have to come down.

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    Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

    Our realtor said it could take five months.  Greg, I'm sorry, we did list it on the comps of sold homes in the area, but of course we took into consideration other homes.  Frankly there are a few houses around her that are priced way to high and they've been sitting on the market for a considerable amount of time. 
    
    @sunforged - you wrote exactly what I was thinking of doing.

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    lyricsingrayposted 14 years ago

    Maybe, hope this doesn't come out stupid but work with surrounding area bookstores and produce some attractive, informative bookmarks that the store will insert into each new book purchased, I've seen many people do this and if they use the bookmark, your sale stays top of mind  and creates word of mouth ? 
    
    So excited for you

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    GoTo Galposted 14 years ago

    Have a virtual open house.
    
    Create a Youtube video doing a walk through of the house and yard.  Narrate and point out good qualities of the home.  Benefits of the neighborhood, etc.  Have the realtor link to the video in your house listing.  Post adds through local resources with a link to the video.  Newspapers, craigslist, real estate forums

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    lender3212000posted 14 years ago

    Be sure to make good use of Craigslist with posts containing pictures and as much descriptive information as possible. It is much more accessible to the general public than MLS and a lot of people start their home searches there.

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