Drama-Free RE: Top 10 Ways to Sell a Home Without All the Drama

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, FrontDoor.com | Published: 4/14/2009

Appeal to Web-savvy house hunters by filling your MLS listing with clear, attractive photos of your home.

Appeal to Web-savvy house hunters by filling your MLS listing with clear, attractive photos of your home.

#3: Catch qualified buyers on the Web.

If I told you that 92 percent of dogs like peanut butter, you'd generalize that to make your new Labradoodle your BFF, you might want to slip him some creamy Jif, right? Well, get this -- 92 percent of homebuyers start their house hunt on the Internet! So, if you want to unload your house anytime in this century, your best bet is to make sure that it is fully exposed on the Web.

The importance of being on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). First things first: today's homebuyer's Web obsession makes it critical that your home's MLS listing has as many clear, attractive photos as possible. More photos is better. While you do run the risk of showing a feature that might turn someone off, the reality is that if it's a deal-killer for them, you're not going to trick them into buying the house by not having a picture of the feature with the listing. They'll just get turned off after they come see it in person! Ensuring that the Web photos of your home are as full and attractive a representation of your home as possible just makes it more likely that the buyers who come will be buyers who are serious about your place.

Now for some logistics. There are literally dozens of real estate listing sites out there. You already know that -- you're on one of the best ones around right now! Most of these sites' listing databases are fed by your local MLS. That's why it is critical that you work with a listing agent who will list your place on MLS; unless you're an uber-exclusive multi-million dollar price range, you want as many buyers as possible to be aware of your place.

Make your home like Paris and Kim -- inescapable on the Web. Ideally, your Realtor will also have a plan in place to post your home on other popular sites like Craigslist -- it's free, and it's another very common starting place for your target market, Web-savvy homebuyers, to check for homes. Oh and did I mention that it's free?! Funny enough, when I'm scouting for properties for my own buyer clients, sometimes a Craigslist posting will catch my eye, when the MLS listing for the very same property didn't! In real estate, it pays for your home to be like a reality-show-having celebutante: everywhere.

Know your role: to check and to charm. I know, I know, you've got to be thinking that all this stuff is your Realtor's job. And it is; but it's your job to constantly check to make sure that your Realtor's postings of your home are easy to find on the Web. Also, one of the most innovative forms of Internet marketing, YouTube home and neighborhood video tours, can be done by your Realtor, but are always more engaging when they are done by you -- the seller. You can narrate all the reasons why you loved the place as you give the property tour, then your Realtor can link to it in the other Web postings.

With your Realtor blasting the Internet with your place via MLS, FrontDoor and Craigslist, and you telling a video love story about your home via YouTube, you'll lure Web buyers to your home -- just like peanut butter to a puppy!

NEXT: #2: Price it right >>

GO TO: Drama-Free Home Selling Main Page


           
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