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In Home Sale Quest, Your Yard Sign Delivers the Message to Buyers - 2008-08-03 |
I said several weeks ago that lack of marketing is one of the key reasons that any house won't sell. That's just common sense. If you have a great house for sale at a giveaway price, but no one knows that your home is for sale, it might take decades before someone would ask you out of the blue if you wanted to sell.
So let's define marketing, in its most basic form, as the process of making the home-buying public aware that your home is available, and that you are actually seeking a buyer.
Marketing your home begins with letting others know that your home is for sale. And the time honored way of doing that is to put a "for sale" sign in the front yard.
Amazingly, that works well on a number of fronts:
* Prospective buyers are already trained to look for signs in their target neighborhoods. The sign alerts them that you are open to offers for purchase.
It's not unusual for buyers to drive through areas where they think they might like to live, literally looking for new signs. And even though it can be a slow process, some buyers like to go that route.
This function of the sign gets you in touch directly with the buyer, who typically calls you and asks for additional information.
* Additionally, your "for sale" sign serves a second important purpose. It alerts neighbors that your home is available for purchase. People tend to like where they live already, and your home may have the features or amenities their current residence lacks.
Not only are current neighbors excellent prospects, they are also good salespeople for your home. Since they have already made the decision to live in your neighborhood, it is only natural for them to tell their friends, relatives, and co-workers about homes for sale in your community. Your neighbors are already "on your team," so to speak.
* Finally, the sign serves an important purpose of alerting the professional real estate community that your home is available.
If your ultimate goal is to sell your house, then you will want to use every method possible to bring a buyer to the table. And the fact is that a large segment of your buying population is already committed to working with a real estate agent in their home search.
In the Atlanta metro area, there are a relatively large number of individuals relocating here for employment reasons.
Some brokers suggest that 40 percent of the home-buying market in Atlanta is relocation related. And it's not unusual for corporations to buy their employees house when they are transferred, thus making them cash buyers in the Atlanta market. Furthermore, the company wants to see the employee get settled as quickly as possible, adding more fuel to the buying fire.
The bottom line is that corporate relocation buyers are probably the hottest and best qualified buyers you can attract, and they are almost all working with agents. Failing to make it easy for them to buy your home is a serious mistake.
If you have decided to list your home with a traditional real estate agent, it is likely that your agent is a member of either FMLS or Georgia MLS, or even both. These two organizations provide their member companies with internet listing services which allow thousands of agents to find specific listings in a hurry.
But if you have decided to sell your home without professional assistance, there is still a way you can market your home to more buyers - and that's by adding two simple words to your for sale sign. Those two words are "Agents Welcome."
Agents who work in your neighborhood will see the sign and know that you are wiling to allow them to show your home, and that you are willing to talk with them about payment of a finders fee or sales commission of some amount.
What you offer to pay the agent who brings an acceptable offer is entirely up to you, but I might suggest that in a buyers market such as we have today, an offer of 3 percent of the purchase price would seem reasonable.
When you consider the cost of allowing your home to sit on the market another month without a sale, and the resulting expense in interest, taxes, insurance and the accompanying waste of your personal time, I believe that some sort of finders fee is not only appropriate, but smart.
What ever you decide to do, know that your yard sign is an important part of your overall marketing effort.
And there's another phrase I recommend you add to your "for sale" sign that will work to your advantage and help you maintain your privacy as well.
You might consider adding the words "Shown By Appointment Only" to the bottom of the sign. This lets prospective buyers know that you prefer they call first and allow you an opportunity to show them your home at a mutually convenient time.
Real estate companies spend literally thousands of dollars studying the most effective color combinations and word layouts for their signs, and I can't honestly say that any one sign is much better than another. But if you are serious at all about selling your home, the first step is let the world know.
The easiest way to do that is by putting up an old fashioned "for sale"
sign.
NEXT WEEK: Using the Internet to Help Sell Your House
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To all owners, realtors, investors, property managers, contractors, electricians, plumbers and painters. Do you ever engage in any level of renovation? If so, read this:
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