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I'm selling my house in Ashland and i'm with a real estate agent. I'm just trying to think if theres an outlet of advertising that can be utilized other than the internet or paper. I am walking distance to the train station so i did put a couple of the agent's flyers there. Any other suggestions???
I'm selling my house in Ashland and i'm with a real estate agent. I'm just trying to think if theres an outlet of advertising that can be utilized other than the internet or paper. I am walking distance to the train station so i did put a couple of the agent's flyers there. Any other suggestions???
How exactly are you using the internet?
Creating a custom webpage for your home and adding additional details, pictures, videos, etc. can be an excellent selling tool. MLS onlyi allows for so many pictures, and so many characters for a description. If there's more to tell about your property (hell, even if there isn't!) get it on a nice website and do whatever you can do to get people out to see it. With so many buyers now doing their own search via the internet, it's very easy for them to bypass a particular MLS listing in whatever website they are using if the first few pictures don't WOW them or if a picture of the bathrooms are missing, or if certain attributes you do have but don't mention are missing... Also, social media for real estate is an avenue that is really over looked in my opinion. Get the word out anyway you can. Facebook and Google+ are no exceptions.
Did you choose the option to sell home yourself?
If not, the next contract you sign with any real estate agency, take the option to sell home yourself.
I did just that.
Once per month the real estate agent would publish in the Boston Globe a Sunday Open House.
So what I did was place an ad in the Boston Globe the other three Sundays. I had a real estate agent.
I sold the house myself. During one of the open house Sundays that I paid for. Note: you do get a lot of gawkers and folks just killing time by looking. And as they state on HGTV, get rid of the junk and clutter. And if you have a pet, get the pet away from home when people are looking.
You might want to hire a private home inspector now. Get all items fixed before you begin to receive offers.
You do need the services of an attorney if you sell home. Don't think of skipping on the professional services of an attorney. Not the buyers attorney or any mortage company/bank attorney. This is an attorney hired by you and works for you.
What I understand is if your contract with your realtor doesn't say so, the realtor gets the commission eventhough you found the buyer. But you could be desperate enough to sell to not care about this as long as you get it sold. But once the contract is up, you can find a realtor that agrees to what unit731 said. So if you do the hard work and find a buyer, you don't pay the full commission.
As for even getting people to come and look at your house in the first place, the MLS is what every buyer is looking at. Nowadays, people who are looking to buy (like me) don't even need a realtor to point out listings that I may like... I just go on any number of website to see the same listing that the agents do - house address, map, history, listing description, pics, etc. The only difference is we get a bit less behind the scene details.
I don't even go to a house that doesn't post good inside pics, so make sure you've got a least 5-10 pics (and not of furnitures or flowers but the rooms, kitchen, bath, etc.)
Like everyone reading this it's about the internet and a **standard** data set...
just like (ta dah!) what the MLS provides for buyers make comparisons.
And then it still comes down to Price:ZipCode
You're either within that first cut... or you aren't.
If you are... it's far more about convenience of the first walk through.
Being available... or (more often) being availabe to be scarce for the agent to walk through.
And all of this still depends on the buyer being qualified...
which gets you back to the agents and their role.
I'm selling my house in Ashland and i'm with a real estate agent. I'm just trying to think if theres an outlet of advertising that can be utilized other than the internet or paper. I am walking distance to the train station so i did put a couple of the agent's flyers there. Any other suggestions???
How much traffic exactly is your agent getting you? Are you getting weekly updates on the number of showings and people who came to the open houses, etc? What has the agent said is the reason for it not selling? I don't serve Ashland but I do know it pretty well and I'd be happy to take a look at some of the other comps in the area and see if anything with your listing stuck out to me if you want to DM me the address or MLS#
A couple things to think about right off the top. As mentioned earlier pictures are HUGE nowadays in listings. In general a buyer's agent only has so much time for each buyer, unless the client specifically mentioned that they really liked a property and wanted to see it then they aren't going to spend time on something that is a huge wild card, unless the price is right. Long story short, get a professional photographer in there if you haven't already, the agent should pay for this if its a long listing contract. Also, definitely look into what percentage commission the seller's agent is offering to buyer's agents. Usually its 2-2.5%, while it goes against the job of finding each client their dream home you'll see some agents definitely favor taking clients to homes offering 2.5% than 2% if possible. Those are a couple quick things to think about.
I think the website idea has some validity but I wouldn't sink much money on that, MLS pictures are usually adequate and if you get a website its not going to do you much good without getting traffic to it so you're probably better off just focusing on the portal listing sites like Zillow, Trulia, etc. Once again though, this should have already been done by your agent.
~Justin
Just to clarify. Before signing any RE contract with any RE agent you must ask/require that owner has the right to sell themselves and zero commission is paid to RE agent or agency. You still get all MLS with the RE agent and if RE agent sells, yes, they do get full agreed upon rate/commission. But if you sell, then no commissions is paid. Now, you must understand that many RE agents don't like this option. But it is the law in Massachusetts.
I have sold two homes this way. Listed MLS and with RE agent. No commission paid. So it can be done. And I ain't no super sales person. Just time and making sure you are realistic about selling price. The homes were clean and all junk removed and no pets present. And it was the old fashioned newspaper advertisement and an old fashioned open house. But certainly, do use all media available.
Thank you everyone for your postings. I really appreciate all your input. I'm not trying to sell the home myself. I do have a real estate agent . I will suggest to her that we advertise it in the paper. Do people still read the paper nowadays?
I would suggest you talk openly with your current agent. Maybe she already is doing all things suggested and then some. Talk about her marketing plan, and mention what was suggested here (all good stuff by the way).
I could also add : blogging about your listing (and advertizing open house through blog posts - works even better than a single website, as you can have more "google juice" so to speak...), craigslist ads, flyers...
There are a lot of options.
others mentioned "selling on your own with the agent" - there are different types of agreements. One is called "exclusive right to sell", where even if you as owner find the buyer, you have to pay commission. And there is "exclusive listing", when the owner does not have to pay commission if he sells the house himself. As home owner, you have the right to choose the type of contract, but just as well, agents have right to choose the type of listing they are taking. If one party disagrees with another, no contract is signed, you part ways.
I would suggest you talk openly with your current agent. Maybe she already is doing all things suggested and then some.
start with googling your address... to see what comes up.
Then google a few more examples of what a prospective buyer will be asking; such as:
"for sale" + the zipcode
"for sale" + the local elementary school name
"for sale" + the immediate neighborhood name
"for sale" + the local church denomination (repeat as needed)
"for sale" + the closest rail station
"for sale" + the closest whatever else that draws people
if the listing for your home *doesn't* pop up...
hth
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