Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

How to Prepare your Home for Sale

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

I Think It's Looking at Me....
Preparing and staging a home for sale is an important part of the whole process and shouldn?t be skipped if you?re looking to make a quick sale and get the most money for your property. Use the following tips to make sure your home is ready to go on the market.

Clean

This can?t be stressed strongly enough. If you?re not into cleaning your own house before the sale then hire a professional, in fact it might be worth the money to hire one anyway as they will notice areas you routinely overlook. But no matter who does it, a top to bottom thorough cleaning is a necessity.

Remove your Personality

Most people can?t imagine themselves in someone else?s home, the key is to make your home look like their new home, not your old one. Take your personal items and photographs down, remove your collections, and let go of the home emotionally. As a side note, be sure to remove anything of value before your home is open to the public for other reasons.?

Strip the Room

Take as much as you can out of each room. This means take out all unnecessary furniture pieces and accessories. Less furniture will make the room look larger and more appealing to prospective buyers. Really skilled stagers will be able to bring in just the right amount of accessories to make the home look like an interior decorating magazine, attractive but depersonalized.

Creative Commons License photo credit:?army.arch

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Ways to Advertise your Property

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

To attract tenants to your vacant rental units you?re going to need to let them know that you have rental units available. The only real way to let people know you?ve got space for rent is by advertising, but there are a number of different ways to advertise.

Yard Sign

The yard sign is still one of the most popular and useful ways to advertise your property has a vacancy. People see these signs when they drive by and tenants see the signs and inform their friends. It?s simple and effective and one of the best ways to advertise.

Print Ads

Whether you?re going to advertise in the newspaper, an apartment booklet or a penny saver, or you?re going to do all three, print advertising is a great way to draw attention to your property, list the highlights and basics, and add a picture.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth advertising is one of the most effective ways to ?get the word out?. If you?ve got tenants you like, let them know you have a vacancy, they may have friends who need a place. Mention your opening to your friends, to professional acquaintances, to neighbors, tell everyone that you?re looking to rent one of your units.

Internet

More and more people are starting the home buying and renting process online in the comfort of their own homes. This is an excellent tool for really detailing your property highlights and adding several photos. Don?t be afraid of the technology, dive in and you?ll be amazed at the return.

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Create Good Rental Listings

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

The first step in successful property management is getting tenants interested in your property. Good rental listings are an essential part of bringing tenants in to your property. Create good rental listings by using the following tips.

Grab their Attention

Much like writing a newspaper headline, rental listings should reach out and grab the reader?s attention. Be creative and come up with a headline that would even catch the eye of someone who?s not looking to move.

Create a Visual Impression

Use descriptive words really bring the highlights of your property to life. Pump up the good points and use effective wording to seal the deal.

Provide a Visual Impression

Don?t rely on your words alone, add photos to your rental listing to get the biggest impact and to really show off the property.

Note the Neighborhood

Find something about the neighborhood to brag about. If your rentals are in a great neighborhood then let the reader know you?re located in the coveted or prestigious neighborhood X. Or advertise the close bus route which may be helpful for students, whatever appeals to your typical renter.

Remember the Basics

Don?t forget to list the basics, how many bedrooms, the rent, parking, your rules on pets, hours for the showings, lease length, your website and contact information. Include those things that most people want to know right off the bat, this will help draw the right people to you and will avoid some wasted time on phone queries.

?If you create a good rental listing that really does your property justice you?ll attract the right type of renter and you?ll be much happier in the long run.

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Host a Successful Open House

Friday, June 12th, 2009

The purpose of an open house is to get as many people into your home as possible and then come up with a buyer. So to have a successful open house you need both elements.

Advertise?

To accomplish the first element you’re going to have to advertise to draw a crowd. Take out an ad in your local paper and any real estate flyers you may have in the area. Purchase some signs to place in your yard and on any adjacent busy streets. Then flood the internet with advertising about your open house.

Set the Stage?

It should go without saying that your home should be spotless but unfortunately many people miss this and they ignore messes they’ve just gotten used to. Have a friend that will be honest with you come through and look for messes and smells that may be offensive. You should also remove all personal touches so that visitors can picture themselves in the home.

Play the Host?

Set out some refreshments for your guests. Many realtors recommend baking cookies because the smell is homey to people. So why not give them the comfort food rather than simply treating it as an air freshener. You can also set out small bottles of water and little candies to make it more of an experience for prospective buyers.

Provide Information

Create glossy and full color handouts for the visitors. Include all the pertinent information that people may be looking to compare in the future and add some beautiful pictures so they remember how wonderful your home is.

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Open House Marketing Tips

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

shutterstock_23855695Are you selling your home by owner? If so, you know that an open house is a great way to generate foot traffic and hopefully a few offers. That being said, if nobody knows about your open house you are not going to have any success. Do you know how to market your open house? Any method you use is going to work in your favor.

First things first, put an ad in a few local newspapers. The more people who know about your open house the more traffic you are going to receive. Remember, buyers will spend an entire day going from one open house to the next. If you advertise in the right newspapers you can reach a large audience of potential buyers.

Do you have a sign in your yard? Sure, you probably have a ?for sale? sign but it is important to also have one with information on your open house. This will help to draw in interested consumers who drive-by.

Finally, don?t be shy about telling real estate agents in your area. Remember, they have more connections than you can imagine. Not to mention the fact that they have clients that may be interested in what you have to offer. It is important to tell as many real estate agents as you can about your open house.

Simply put, the better you market your open house the more chance you have for a large number of visitors. And as you know, more visitors mean a better chance at a sale!

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Neighborhood Stabilization Program

Monday, December 1st, 2008

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has come up with a new Neighborhood Stabilization Program that is designed to help neighborhoods hit hardest by the mortgage crisis the United States is currently facing. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program or NSP is prepared to give grants to every state and some of the most qualified local communities to help them purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes. The money is designed to be used in rehabilitating or repairing them homes and then reselling them. (more…)

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For Sale by Owner: What to Expect from a Marketing Perspective

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

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Creative Commons License photo credit: salimfadhley

When you decide to sell your home by owner you are deciding to take on the responsibility of marketing it to the public, including potential home buyers. For many, this is the most difficult part of the for sale by owner process. The way that you market your home will determine how many offers you receive, how long it stays on the market, and much more. Although there is a lot that goes into the marketing process, you need to be aware that tens of thousands of people successfully sell their home by owner each year. Why can’t you be next?

You should have a marketing plan in place from the day that you decide to move forward on a for sale by owner basis. In other words, do not delay in putting together a plan for selling your home. Simply put, if nobody knows your home is for sale you are never going to complete the process.

What is the best way to market my home? This depends on how much money you have, and what you are comfortable doing. For instance, some people take the time to pay for ads in all of the local newspapers. While this is a good idea, it can also cost a lot of money. Do you have the funds to do this? If not, you can opt for free marketing techniques such as listing your home on Craigslist and offering fliers. The more ways you market your home the better chance there is for increased attention from potential buyers.

From a marketing point of view, selling a home by owner can be difficult. But once you know how to market your home you can get a better idea of what fits your budget and lifestyle.

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