Marketing my Home on the Internet May 29, 2006
While my opinion that a good real estate blogger does not include their listings on their blog is well documented and much debated, there is always room for an exception… and marketing my OWN home is one of those!
Essentially, we have about two weeks left before we put it on the market. We’re just waiting for the movers to take our stuff and then, after we refinish the wooden floors on the main floor, we’ll be ready to list!
So, here are the internet marketing items I have on my checklist (of course, we’ll do some off-line stuff like putting together fliers, but I’m more interested in exploring the online stuff!)
- Add Our Home to the Free Directories. Craigslist and Google Base come to mind. Are there others I should consider?
- Blog About Our Neighbors. I know that there is very limited things that a real estate agent can say about the family-friendly nature of a neighborhood, but not having a license gives me the freedom to talk in great detail about are wonderful neighbors. Things I’d like to mention are all the kids that live nearby (8 kids within a few houses!), our regular Sunday BBQs during the summer and our weekly game nights during the Winter. (And I’m sure the neighbors would love it if the new owners continued our tradition of hosting the annual neighborhood easter egg hunt!!!). When moving to a new home, one of the biggest mysteries is what are the neighbors going to be like and because the people on our street are so cool, I’d like to put together an extensive neighborhood blog post! (Honestly, the hardest part of accepting a position in LA was leaving the neighborhood!)
- Financing Options. Interestingly, I’m in a place where I could offer the “right” people some innovative financing options… Like a lease-to-own, or something similar (as long as it is a win-win for both parties, I’m game for any idea!). Does something like this normally happen through the usual MLS channels or is there a special market for these types of properties? (Hint: if you contact me before we list, we might even be able to cut out some obvious fees.)
- Blog About Our House. I promise not to overdo this, but I think one blog post about all the cool features of our home that might be too “personal” for the typical MLS listing would be appropriate on Rain City Guide. I’m thinking of things like the tree house I built in the backyard and the original art deco fixtures… I’d also like to add a map of all the recently sold homes (or maybe I’ll be lazy and just link to the appropriate ShackPrices page!)
- Unique Icon. Robbie says he’ll give our home a unique icon on the maps of listed properties… Any ideas for what the icon should look like?
- Enhance listing on Realtor.com. Around Move, people are shocked at how often real estate agents pay to get showcase listings and then don’t spruce up their listings by adding additional photos and other extras. Considering that Anna’s broker already pays for this service, I’ll make sure we spruce up our home!
- Get on the Redfin Blog. If I provide a direct link from my blog to my listing on Redfin (and beg people to click on the link!) maybe I can blow out their single home stats for a day and thereby get a mention in their blog!!! (hmmm…. Is there a way to get on the Zillowblog?)
- Newspaper Coverage? Is someone at the Seattle Times, Seattle PI, Seattle Magazine and/or any other local newspaper interested in writing a story about preparing and then selling a 1920’s Crown Hill (N. Ballard) home? We’ve got lots of great photos and I could probably write most of the story for you!
(This reminds me… I did an interview for a real estate technology story that was suppose to be in the May issue of the Seattle Magazine. I never saw or heard anything about that story… Did this story ever go live? ) - Picture Cloud. These guys just sent me a link for a free photo cloud. Interesting technology and easy enough to put together, so I think I’ll try them out with our home. (By the way, their branded option is free, but if you type the code “raincity”, they they will give you credit for five unbranded clouds for a penny.) If you try them out before I post my cloud, let me know what you think!
Any other ideas as I prepare the marketing plan for our home? Has anyone ever had any luck marketing a home on the internet? What did you do?
Sphere: Related Content- Posted in : General Real Estate
- Author : Dustin
Comments»
So far, we only know of one person that gamed the Redfin “Sweet Digs” blog. Of course past performance is no indicator of future performance, but it worked well for him.
http://www.redfin.com/blog/redfin/2006/04/its_salmon_not_pink.html
DUH! Dustin…be careful not to over engineer this. The most exposure is 1) the MLS, 2) your blog , and 3) the sign post. Yes, your blog is #2. And, how cool to be able to say: I bought Dustin and Anna Luther’s Home!
I need to ramble a bit about listings on the blog. I get 20% of my search terms on communities in my area. If I have a listing in these communities and have them featured on my blog, they get traffic. And, internet searchers find my blog and get to know me (us). You have the added advantage of being somewhat of an internet blogging celebrity. You (or is it Anna?) will attract natural attention. You already have.
I know your views about listings on the blog…but, who are we blogging for? The answer is not quite obvious to everyone. I blog to attract attention, to get known, to develop trust with potential clients before ever meeting them. I blog to communicate directly and indirectly with my clients. I blog to promote my clients interests. My clients love my blog and are elated to see their properties featured. They can see the traffic I produce. Traffic to get their properties noticed. In addition, I blog to educate and to inform potential clients. I blog to enhance my business. I am an agent. Everything I do and say has an impact directly and indirectly, positively and negatively on the success (or not) of my business. Pure and simple.
Solicit the counsel of a respected agent (not close to you) about pricing. You and Anna will be biased about your home and the tremendous material and sentimental value it has brought to your family. I am probably preaching to the choir.
My best to you and your family! Looking forward to working with you in your new endeavor and watching Anna’s success in Southern California.
This comment is XML compatible (or it started that way).
ps: this will drive somebody’s software nuts!
One online trick I just learned–Flickr slideshows embedded in your page/blog. I’ve done a lot of cheap (i.e. free) photo tours for both buyers and sellers and have labored through the mechanics. I’ve never like the subscription services, so I’ve just put up with it.
Then I caught a post on Real Estate Blog Pro (http://justinyc.typepad.com/reblogpro/) that highlighted the technique shared by Paul Stamatiou. http://paulstamatiou.com/2005/11/19/how-to-quickie-embedded-flickr-slideshows/
I used it on my last listing…to positive reviews so far: http://www.ronares.com/properties/3857_Fairhaven/index.php . I posted it on my Craigslist and other marketing outlets. Can’t get any easier.
As for whether you use it on RCG or not….I think you’ve earned a little slack!
Good luck.
Rob, It’s all about gaming the system!!! (and keeping overhead costs low!)
Thanks everyone for the great advice! I’ll chew on the comments and see what I can come up with. (I really like the idea of the Flickr slideshow… Good call Ron!)
Hi,
I don’t normally put my e-mail address out for everyone to see, but I’m actually interested in buying your house. I just finished a degree in San Diego and am now moving up to Seattle for a job in Bothell. Northern Seattle splits the commuting distance for my husband and I, and your home sounds very appealing (truthfully, the treehouse was a BIG plus….). If you are interested in pursuing this further, e-mail me at XYZ@ucsd.edu.
Thanks, Lesley
Lesley,
I’ll definitely email you right now… and just so you don’t end up with a bunch of spam, I’ll delete your email address (after taking note of it!) from the previous comment!
I look forward to talking with you!
Merv must standing on his head because a lawn sign is #1.
Blogs are not part of the above ground buyer searching universe & don’t belong on any list for selling, yet—give it about 3 years.
[...] Seems Dustin of Rain City Guide isn’t the only blogger selling their real estate on their blogs. Why not? Good luck Hanan & Dustin! [...]
Virtual Tours seem to work better than just a slide show of still pictures. FlyInside.com is free though I have never used it. I use VisualTour.com and people really seem to like the virtual tours because it makes them feel like they are right there inside the home, even if they are 500 miles away.
Once you get the bodies in the door, a Staged Home works best .
Presentation, presentation, presentation (the sister of location)
Hmmm… “if you contact me before we list, we might even be able to cut out some obvious fees” — it speaks volumes when an agent’s spouse suggests a FSBO transaction.
Craig,
I’m always looking for ways to beat the system, and I’m fortunate to have the option to be well-represented by an agent without using the MLS.
Dustin-
All the best to you selling and beating the system! It will be cool if you get an offer soon via the internet exposure at RCG.
Question for the agent’s here….
If Dustin sells his home without traditional listing or selling agents involved, assuming that Anna would naturally supply expertise and NWMLS purchase and sale agreement forms, should a buyer discount their selling price because they have no agents involved?(assuming Anna & Broker forgive the commissions)
Or, is the price, THE price, per se? In other words if their home is worth $495K via comps and Anna’s wisdom, should they lower the price for a buyer because no commissions are involved?
If I were in your shoes, I probably wouldn’t discount my price.
After all Dustin, NAR (Realtor.com–your psuedo employer?) says you’ll net 16% less if you sell FSBO. Just teasing.
By the way Dustin & Anna, my wife thinks you should create a place where people can bid on real estate services! Someone out there with tech. expertise, write that idea down and build it! Maybe it would really work well, particularly in a changing market environment?
Hey Craig, how much would you close their home sale for?
We’ll do it for $495/side plus tax, regardless of price. And that’s a win win for both sides. Plus, if you don’t use us, you win again, How? Because you can use our price to your advantage and have a title company match ours. Or, cooler yet, here’s a trick– Put the maximum escrow fee amount both parties agree to pay in your purchase and sale agreement. Escrow has to follow the P & S to the tee, unless they refuse your business.
Ironically, Tim, your question should not be directed at agents — after all, it assumes there is no agent involved. If you were to ask me — an attorney who regularly assists buyers and sellers in FSBO transactions — I would suggest that they not discount, at least initially. Leave the discount calculation — if any — up to the buyer. They can revisit the issue when they have an offer in hand.
As for how much I charge, I usually don’t act as escrow. Rather, I provide counsel to the buyer or seller throughout the process, including use of my forms. I note that most FSBO sellers and buyers don’t have access to the MLS forms like Dustin and Anna. I charge a flat fee (no limit to my time) of $875.
Finally, in regards to that “16% less” statistic, that includes ALL FSBO deals, even those between family members, and not just arms-length transactions. A sale between family members is more likely to be at a discount. Accordingly, the numbers are skewed. Besides, given the source, the number should be taken with a grain of salt (as FSBO is direct challence to the NAR model).
[...] One way to take advantage of this dynamism is to create an in-depth profile of your neighborhood. Dustin, over at Rain City Guide, was recently looking for new ways to market a home on the Internet, I think Wayfaring is a fantastic way to go beyond just a simple listing description and get into the meat of what makes your home a great place to live. Let's face it, the house itself is only part of the equation, your community is a big factor here as well. [...]
Craig - I knew that NAR was likely skewing the FSBO data somehow, but that 16% less involves family-to-family transactions hadn’t occurred to me. Good call!
FREE DIRECTORIES
I just came across Postlets.com. You can use their service to create ads and post to free classifieds sites (including Google Base). For some sites like craigslist, it doesn’t look like it’s automated, but you can at least have it generate the listing for you.
Here are a few others they list on their site:
backpage.com
edgeio
LiveDeal
Oodle
Propsmart
Vast
BLOG ABOUT NEIGHBORS
I think this is a great idea! We want to experiment with this concept by letting listing owners have their words on their listing. They can talk about the things THEY like (neighborhood, views, etc) while, hopefully, creating a stronger emotional bond with potential buyer. In other words faster sales and higher prices.
Best of luck to you on your selling!
Tim, I agree with Craig. If you discount the price because there is no fee, the buyer may want to discount it even further “because there is no fee”. So you shoot yourself in the foot and then the buyer shoots you in the other foot
Sorry I wasn’t clear. I wondered if a home was worth 100K, did it matter if agents were invovled or not. Some might say if it’s worth 100K then it’s worth 100K, period. Or, would a buyer automatically or presumptively adjust the offer price down because of no commissions involved.
This is interesting to me because we have closed a small handful of FSBO’s and the philosophy seemed to be the FSBO’s didn’t discount the price just because there were no agents involved. And yet, we see ads frequently by FSBO’s that talk about “save” because no agents are involved, which to me, appears that they are willing or already have discounted at least the selling side. Or, ‘make an offer before we list’ because the price will be adjusted up to offset the commissions. We’ve all seen these ads a million times.
Tim,
Unfortunately, there is no real answer to your question, except that as far as I know, appraisers do not make the distinction. Every opinion as to price can have a 5% variance based on many factors. So the commission can be accounted for in the variance.
There is no way to say exactly what a property is “worth”. My best definition of “Fair Market Value” is the price at which neither party is exceedingly happy. If someone’s out dancing in the street because of the great price they got for their house, or the great deal they got on the house…that was not “Fair Market Value”.
When and if we get to a buyer’s market, it will be easier to pinpoint “worth”, but right now in many cases “Worth equals 5% more than the last guy got.” from a seller’s perspective. If a seller is using “comps” to set a value, they are likely underpricing the property. If a buyer is using “comps” to determine offer price, they are not likely getting the property, with a few exceptions.
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