Realtors advertise…So should you

Jul 20, 2011 | No Responses

• We’re cost effective.

As with anything else the key to successful selling is investing in advertising. Realtors advertise, so should you.  Before you can find a buyer you need to get the word out.  Beyond the “for sale” sign in the yard, for sale by owners generally turn to their local newspaper to expose their home to prospective buyers.

Depending on where you live, your local newspaper charges anywhere from $80 to $348 to advertise 8 short lines of copy for 7 days and that’s with no photos.

In an attempt to squeeze more info into these 8 lines sellers resort to hard to understand shorthand such as “4 bdrm w/21/3 ba on lg.lot in grt nbhd.  $149,900  OBO”.

Below is an actual ad and its cost designed on the website of one of our local newspapers.

We have 60, 120 and 180 day packages that are less expensive per day/week and we don’t limit the amount of information you may post about your place.  So you can feel free to speak in plain English.  Plus your ad is visible 24/7 and won’t end up wrapped around the fish in the trash bin.

• We’re local.

Beyond your newspaper there is a ton of for sale by owner websites out there offering advertising for both FSBO and realtor homes for sale. These websites advertise for sale by owner homes from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine.  But here’s the problem…

1. Buyers don’t have the time or inclination to search dozens of sites looking for FSBO places for sale right here in Cambria & Somerset counties and surrounding region.
2. If they do put in the time and effort they soon get frustrated when they find 3 local houses on one site and one house on another and 2 houses on….well, you get the picture.
3. Frustration sets in and buyers soon hit the “I give up” button, quit looking for your place and stick with searching through the realtor MLS.

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We’ve created a local  MLS “club” for FSBO sellers and home buyers exclusively serving Cambria & Somerset counties and nearby communities. By joining the club, local FSBO sellers and home buyers know where to meet on the web.  Now buyers can see the previously hidden homes on the market.

We make sure all information is fresh & up-to-date.

Most national FSBO sites let you list your place “until sold”.  That means that once your place sells you have to take down the ad.  But homes that were long ago sold are still listed for sale on these sites.  Why?  Because the former owners aren’t getting any phone calls or emails from prospective buyers, therefore they simply forget they have an ad out there. Without responses to their ads they just neglect to take the ad down!   (The operative phrase here is without responses.) All of this means buyers are looking at outdated information and will soon wave the white flag and stop visiting these sites.  All in all, open ended, “until sold” ad deals are no deal at all.

• We control our site to be sure buyers are looking at up-to-date information.
• We follow up with the sellers to be sure any price reductions, additional incentives or updated information is included on the seller’s My Place page.
• Buyers can count on us to provide current and accurate information.
• Sellers can count on us to bring buyers to this site to view their home.

You can count on us to pay attention to the details so your home looks it’s best and buyers can count on accurate and up to the minute information.  We’re happy to do it.