own real estate in a sellers mind

Information:

  1. Nothing to hide – build consumer confidence
  2. Buyer Information – Lots of good images
  3. Buyer Information – Interactive Floorplan
  4. Buyer Information – Flowing Description
  5. Local area information
  6. What’s good about your home detail sheets
  7. The user manual for your home.

It’s all about taking the risk out of buying your home. Simple as that. There is a fair bit of work in lots of this but you should be able to make your real estate agent help out if they are any good.

Nothing to hide – build consumer confidence

This really is an exact summary of our goals. Make people comfortable that your home is right for them and that you are honest and your home is everything it appears to be.

We have all heard the story. Deal is made and it’s two days from going unconditional then back comes the report and there is something in the building inspection. Bummer. It’s going to fall through or you have to take a big cut in sale price.

That’s why you should really get your own building inspection done before you put your home on the market. You find out what the buyers will learn. The buyers will be blown away that you have already had one done.

It’s going to look even better if there were some issues there and you can show them they are fixed along with receipts for the work done.

Anything that needs fixing you can get it nailed before it becomes an issue.  There are a huge bunch of reasons why you should do this. Here are some I thought of.

It might alert you to any immediate concerns, such as plumbing leaks or active termite infestation.

You can follow the inspector around during the inspection, something normally not done during a buyer's inspection.

The report can help you realistically price the home if problems exist.

The report can help you justify a higher asking price if problems don't exist or have been corrected.

Means you have time to make repairs and shop for competitive contractors.

Stops buyers from over estimating the cost of any repairs and trying to knock extra money off the price.

 The report might alert you to any immediate safety issues found, before agents and visitors tour the home.

The report provides a third-party, unbiased opinion to offer to potential buyers.

A seller inspection places negotiations firmly in your favour because you already know there is nothing needing drastic work and stops those pesky renegotiations.

The buyer might not feel it necessary to have an inspection clause and that’s one step closer to your contract not falling over.

Buyer Information – Lots of good images

As mentioned in an earlier chapter lots of quality imagery. During the search process it really is like having lots of baited hooks in the water. You don’t know which image is going to be the tipping point that takes buyers from online shoppers to actual visitors.

I don’t know about you but I see two or three crap images and I know two things. The agent is an idiot and the seller is too cheap to pay for photos ( and therefore stupid). I instantly assume the home is dodgy like the seller and it gets wiped from the list.

It’s the information age. Many Real Estate Agents seem to miss this point. Nobody wants to waste their time visiting a house that they are not sure suits their needs.

And people can fall in love with a house they have never visited. It happens  a lot these days. On properties with virtual tours and floorplans it does.

On many occasions people have decided they want to buy a home they have not visited. They just check it out to make sure it is as it seems. Or if they can’t they get someone to have a look on their behalf.

Buyer Information – Interactive Floorplans

I can’t over emphasise how effective this technology is in selling houses. A good interactive floorplan is so easy to use. It’s also what is called an immersive technology.

This means the user gets absorbed by it and will spend much more time on the one home. The more time spent the more involved they become and the more likely to visit. Powerful stuff!

If you have never seen one go to www.homejungle.com.au and check out some sample interactive floorplans. I promise you’ll be impressed.

Buyer Information – Flowing Description

Two almost identical properties. Both valued just over 2 million each. Both in the same suburb. Yet worlds apart in terms of presentation for sale.

One with solid marketing. Great photos and a long detailed flowing description. The other with 4 awful photos and you can read the full captivating description below. See if you can guess which is which. There will be no prizes awarded for correct answers.

Full text for one property:
Only 200m to shops and 100m to buses and a low maintenance 405sqm block .
The home offers 5 builtin bedrooms (master with ensuite) 2 separate air conditioned living areas with an open plan kitchen and family room overlooking in ground pool to the north.
Multi car off street secure parking makes this an ideal property.

One tenth of the text for the other property:
“In the two-storey entrance foyer an impression of understated, Zen-influenced elegance becomes immediately apparent where, above and around another ambient water feature, a myriad of Japanese-style lanterns float within tasteful melding of polished stainless steel, marble floors, translucent glass and exotic timber-clad walls.

And this is one of the rare foyers where the acoustic balance encourages a normal conversation, unbeset by unseemly echoes and, as a result, creating a most hospitable and welcoming place to linger.

 With inimitable style the striking, all-shades-of-coffee and magenta swirled Brazilian marble floor tiles continue to provide a theme through the private lift and into each apartment’s individually accessed lobby and then beyond the magnificent Capricorn walnut timber doors into the apartments themselves, merging into yet another convivial, internal water feature.”

WOW! Makes you want to know more doesn’t it! It’s almost hypnotic. Brilliant! Not sure who the copywriter is but how good are they?

Keep in mind this copywriter has obviously swallowed a Thesaurus. This complex language is not really appropriate where you are aiming at a different market.

It’s the old KISS theory. Keep It Simple Stupid! If your home is a 3 bedder out in the burbs then you obviously need to talk very differently than if you are marketing $2 million apartments to executive yuppies.

This is the difference. You may be thinking that this kind of writing won’t work for an average type home but of course it does.

It works the same way professional photography does. A great home looks spectacular and an average property looks well above average. It looks better than every other property without professional photography, without a floorplan, without a well written and highly detailed description.

Which description made you interested? The first one could have been better done with some bullet points:

If the agent had bothered they would have found out what made the sellers fall in love with their home to start with and elaborate on those points.

Next they would go into great detail about the home, spelling out what will make it a great home for the next owners. Lots of details on what is great about the area.

Schools, shops, information and more information. You can’t have too much.

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