At PropertyGuys.com, we know that selling your home is not something that should be taken lightly and just left to some online platform or website. Over the last 15 years we have worked with tens of thousands of home sellers. Experience like that has helped us figure a thing or two out. We know people want more than a website to sell their house, why else would they consider spending $20,000+ to sell a cookie cutter home?
Being locally owned and operated, having the business owner sitting at your kitchen table to walk you through the entire process is one of our market advantages. We also rely on industry professionals like local appraisers as well as lawyers to offer you what you need when you need it. In addition we have a call answer service that books appointments for you allowing you to never miss a buyer.
When it comes to marketing we look at traditional options like the local newspaper and Just Listed postcards mailed out in your neighbourhood as well as some non traditional marketing like sponsored Facebook posts targeting buyers in your wanted demographic. For those that want to reach the MLS audience we even have real estate brokers that will get you on Realtor.ca for some added exposure.
We are more than just PropertyGuys.com. We are more than a website. We are part of your community, living and working along with you, effecting our local economy by keeping your money in your pocket, where it belongs.
Does a for sale sign on your lawn help you sell your house? Of course it does!
The for sale sign is responsible for a few things in the process. Let's first look at what it's use was in the past. In the dark ages (pre-internet) if you wanted to sell your house, the for sale sign was very important. It was one of the only ways to advertise your intention to sell your house. The only other ways were classified ads, bulletin boards, and the well connected real estate agent.
In today's age of the information super highway (do we still use that term?) your online listing is your for sale sign screaming to people zipping by at the speed of a Facebook news feed. But does the old school for sale sign, the one in real life, on your lawn, still offer you value?
To answer that question you have to go around the complete circle. What is the purpose of the sign and what information does it provide to it's intended audience? The main purpose of the sign has not changed. It is to tell people your house is for sale and how to get more info. An agent`s sign usually provides their phone number because they want the buyer. Maybe for your house or for another if your's isn't exactly what they are looking for.
On the PropertyGuys.com sign we have our ContactPro phone number so questions can get answered and appointments can be booked. We also have your Sign ID# to direct people to your online listing. This is where the virtual viewing of your home happens. It all starts with the buyer falling in love with your home and this can all start with an innocent drive through your neighbourhood and seeing that 5 foot tall lollipop sign on your lawn.
Don't underestimate your sign, it says you are selling and should connect people with your house, not someone looking to sell any house!
I see people get frustrated when selling their home privately. They blame anything and everything but themselves. They think it's that they are not listed with an agent, that agents are not showing their home because they didn't list with an agent or that they are lacking exposure (even if they are on Realtor.ca) or some other imaginary problem they have dreamed up in their mind.
With PropertyGuys.com they have access to all the information they need. They see how much traffic they are getting on their listing through their listing analytics. A standard conversation with this type of seller goes something like this:
Seller "I think I need to list with an agent."
Me "Well looking at your listing you have had 1,027 people look at your listing. How many showings have you done?"
Seller "That's the thing, no one is calling. *insert concern like agents not showing it here*."
Me "Our experience tells us that if people are choosing not to call you it is usually related to pricing."
Seller "No we know we are priced right."
Then 3 weeks later they list with an agent and lower their price by $25,000.
This is why our new Pro Approach is designed to bring in the professionals needed to get your home sold from the beginning. From Pricing to Legal to SOLD!
I had a client ask me today if they were better off to use an interior photo as their lead photo so they stand out from the crowd. You can look at it 2 ways:
1 - You standout and are different than how everyone else looks
2 - You standout and are different than how everyone else looks
Depending on your stance those are 2 very different statements.
Yes it's important for your house to standout from the other houses for sale. You need to be better than your competition. The trick is to know that this is not done by different or cute "marketing tricks". This is done by bringing in a stager and making your home the best it can be, pricing it where the market says it should be; then taking AMAZING pictures and getting them on to a platform where buyers are searching.
It's not so much a key as it is a shape. A diamond is a home seller's best friend
I have talked about the Home Selling Trifecta in the past. Product, Price, Exposure are key when you are selling your house. The magic happens when you use them correctly.
First let's understand what you have to do in preperation to get your home listed for sale (the top half of the diamond).
Product - You can use your extensive knowledge borrowed from HGTV about de-cluttering and de-personalizing to get the home ready. Clean it top to bottom and fix anything that you know is broken. If you are not an avid HGTV fan you should get the advice of a professional stager and get things just right.
Price - Get yourself some comparable sold listings and use them to know what the market has been doing over the last 6 months. You should also look to see what is on the market now in the range you are thinking of listing at and compare how your home stacks up. With PropertyGuys.com the option is also there to bring in a professional appraiser to give you a range in which your home should sell.
Exposure - Look at your budget, weigh out the options and make sure you have what you need to get your home in front of prospective buyers. A listing with plenty of photos and virtual tours on PropertyGuys.com so buyers know what your home looks like, a nice big round sign for your lawn so the neighbours are all aware, and a listing on Realtor.ca to maximize your online presence. Other things include ads in the local paper, Facebook and Google ads, and open house signs if you are planning on doing any open houses.
Once you are listed you need to work your way in reverse through these steps to evaluate their effectiveness (bottom half of the diamond). Each one feeds into the other working like a funnel bringing you down to the one person who will write the cheque for your house. You must go in this order because if you change your price or tweak your product with limited exposure you will be costing yourself some of your hard earned equity. So how do you evaluate it? Depending on your schedule for selling we usually recommend allowing 4-6 weeks prior to making decisions. Of course if you have a short time frame to sell we do recommend being more aggressive in your evaluation.
Exposure - Using the PropertyGuys.com visitor report you will see if your exposure is being effective. A single detached home in the Waterloo Wellington area will typically see a spike of around 75-125 viewings per day for the first few days. After that it should settle in to somewhere between 25-45 average viewings per day. If this is the case then you can skip to the next level of the diamond. If you lacking in exposure it means you need to look at putting it in front of more potential buyers. Did you do a mere posting on Realtor.ca? Did you add print ads in the local paper? What about the Facebook and Google ads (this is a fairly new offering so we can always add it in to your existing listing).
Price - Since we are at the next level we are confident people are viewing the property. The issues is there is no follow through. Your online traffic is NOT turning into foot traffic. When people are looking at your listing and making a conscious decision not to call you, it speaks to one thing. Your price doesn't match your product. Exposure gets the buyers looking, the price gets them in the house! Did you get the appraisal? If so how are you priced in comparison? What are those other properties in your range doing? Have they adjusted their price? You will covert online traffic into foot traffic with more aggressive pricing.
Product - We have all heard that a house sells it's self. This is true. It also prevents a sale if the house is not ready. The little things add up and tell the potential buyer the story of your home. Once you have the buyer in the home, if you have staged it properly the buyer will be rushing to get the offer in. If you are doing lots of showings and no one is talking about offers or asking when you are looking at for a closing date then your house is not wowing them. Did you paint the baseboards and trim? This always freshens things up. What about a back splash in the kitchen? Easy to do, adds value and fairly low cost. Did you give your home the "white glove test"? It is never too late to have our stager come in and give you the advice needed to push your home over the top!
I would say one of the more common statements we hear in regards to selling a home privately is "it is worth a try". Fortunately we have learned from a reputable source, as so handily laid out in the pie chart above, there is no try. When selling a home, privately or with a real estate agent, the word try should never enter your vocabulary.
When one decides to sell their home there are key areas that need to be addressed in order to "do". If these things are not addressed you can not blame "try" you can only blame "do not".
What are the key areas? Great question! We know that the sale of a home is dependent on product, price and exposure, or the Home Selling Trifecta. Let's quickly look at each of these items as they relate to your home and then with each other.
Product - This is the home it's self and all aspects of it's physical space including location, style, decorating, layout, quality, condition and over all cleanliness. The things you can't change or alter easily or at all you just have to deal with. Are you located in a busy neighbourhood? Does the flight path of the airport keep you awake? Are you in the neighbourhood that EVERYONE wants to be in? Do you have a 2 story or a bungalow?Areas where you do have control are areas that will impact the emotional buyer like staging the home for sale, having it "white glove clean", free of all defects inside and out (walls, roof, foundation) and ensuring all mechanical items are in good working order.
Price - This is arguably the most important aspect. This is what will take an internet stalker and turn them into a motivated buyer. People are always lurking on real estate websites looking at this home and that home. Your goal is not to have a million views of your online listing but to have one person motivated to purchase it. Do your homework, find out what homes have sold for in your area. Look and see what your competition will be at the price you are thinking. How does your's stack up? Even if you miss the first 4 week window when properties are getting their first once over by the lurkers, you are still in the game if you are adjusting your price to where the market is moving. What doesn't work? Change your method of marketing and increase your price. If the widget you are selling for $5 isn't selling at Home Depot moving it over to Wal-Mart and charging $7 isn't going to help.
Exposure - Get your home in front of buyers! Assuming you have priced your product correctly for the market this is the easy part. In today's market, as a private seller, you have more exposure potential than ever. There are plenty of questions someone considering selling their home should be asking. Do you need to be on the MLS? Will placing an ad in the paper help find home buyers? How do we advertise an Open House? Can I advertise my home on Google and Facebook or other social media platforms? What kind of advertising does an agent do for 5%?
The Trifecta works only when all three are working harmoniously together. If one side of the triangle is missing or being neglected you will not fall into "do" category.
Using services like PropertyGuys.com not only presents your home in professional way online but we also ensure you evaluate all areas of finding buyers for your home. We focus our efforts on ensuring all aspects of the home selling trifecta are met. If there is an area that is being neglected it will show up in your numbers. We will work with you throughout the home selling process to determin which part of the trifecta is being neglected so you can "do", because no one likes a "do noter"!
Let's first understand what the traditional "high fee agent" (5%) break down looks like. Typically a 5% commission is split 50/50. Meaning 2.5% goes to the buyer's brokerage and 2.5% goes to the listing brokerage. This means in a $300,000 home there is $15,000 in commissions paid. Man, that's a lot of skin!
In a typical discount brokerage 3% Program the listing brokerage typically discounts their fees down to 0.5% and offer 2.5% to the buyer's brokerage or on occaision they do 1% and offer 2% to the buyer's brokerage. In one way the listing agents are not getting "their share" and may skimp on the service. The other, buyer's agents will prefer to show other listings where they get 2.5%. Same house as above and your still spending $9,000. Still more then a skinned knee!
A typical 1% Program the agent is not offering any commissions to buyer's brokerages and are expecting to work on behalf of both buyers and sellers. The real danger is that for buyer's to get the info they have to call your agent. Your agent now has a buyer looking to buy a home. Your home pays them 1%. Every other home listed with agents (High Fee or Discounts presented above) get your agent more money. Why would they push your home when they can sell the one up the street and make more money! It may only be $3,000 if it sells but unfortunately for you they sold one of the two above and made $7,500 so you sit with their boring old square sign on your lawn selling other peoples' houses!
Ever think someone was telling you one thing and then doing another?
So you have to ask yourself "How will buyers see my property?" Exposure is one of the keys to selling so where will your home be marketed?
Mid-way through last year the Realtors of the Guelph and District Real Estate Board decided it was in their clients best interest to no longer focus on advertising their clients in the Guelph Mercury. They felt that instead of having their clients' listings sent right to the door of many Guelph homes that they would "Go Green" and cut distribution by 3/4 and that home buyers would search out their paper around Guelph in their Green Boxes. Given that it has been a week since the plows have been out plowing snow it appears that not to many buyers are using these green boxes.
Our clients still have the option of local print advertising with any listing done. Whether it is in Guelph with the Mercury, KW with the Record, Cambridge with the Times or Wellington County with the Advertiser. Mind you our clients also have access, through a partnership, to list their properties on Canada's busiest real estate website along with listing on PropertyGuys.com.
It leaves me asking what do Realtors offer for all that money that you can't get yourself with a little guidance?
Author’s Note: Due to a complaint about the legitimacy of information in this post I have double checked my sources and found the data to be accurate and made some notes below. I have also made some edits to help protect the home buyers/sellers involved as well some of the language has been edited due to individual interpretation of the specific words used.
I think I need a skid of these to deal with it all!
I hear all sorts of stories in this business. I recognize that they all start with a kernel of truth and through the art of story telling they get altered slightly. We all remember playing broken telephone as children, right?
I was out putting up the first of two sold signs in Cambridge last Friday when I came across a flyer blowing aimlessly on our client's door step. I am sure it fell out of the door jam or mailbox but there it was carefully avoiding my feet as it tried to get my attention. I picked it up to see the same drab excuse of a flyer we expect from a (replaced Joe Schmoe with)ordinary agent. What popped for me was the PropertyGuys.com sign in the photo. (Using other people's trade marks in your advertising is not allowed and was a big motivator to this post. I have scanned and presented the flyer as it was found and included another company logo only to show the flyer in it's entirety.) When I read it in detail I knew it was a stretch of the truth at best. It is the exact opposite of everything we see in the market...so I did some digging.
Nothing is the truth except the truth, and here it is.
Address deleted Listed with PropertyGuys.com on July 14 2008 at $267,900 Cancellation date deleted Listed with Robert Wollziefer on Sept 30 2008 at $269,900 MLS® #0894383 Relisted with Robert Wollziefer on Dec 1st 2008 at $259,900 MLS® #0895294 Sold Date Jan 29 2009 for $255,000 (There was some question to privacy laws in publicizing the sold value of the property. This is already public information available through the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation aka MPAC) Total days on MLS 121 Estimated commission paid at 3.5% $8,925 plus $446.25 in GST Net amount client sold for deleted
Here are some points that Robert fails to point out in his marketing piece: Details of the price drop of $8,000 in listing price and $12,900 to the actual SOLD price (Deleted a comment regarding bottom line price client received after commissions payed). Property was relisted after 60 days on the market
Here is (in my opinion) the absolute (replaced false with) misleading statement made: "One day they received 3 offers and can now move forward"
As you can see from the truth above, they were listed for a total of 121 days with Robert (deleted “and not the 1 day he states”. It was brought to my attention that the client did in fact receive 3 offers in one day, the ad fails to mention that it took 120 days prior to that happening). The truth is they were listed twice as long with Robert than with PropertyGuys.com and needed to drop their price because it was price that was the issue not their choice of marketing. (Deleted language specific to the client and replaced with) One of the true benefits of selling privately is the fact that you are able to lower the cost of the transaction. Those costs can either be kept by the seller or used as a tool to lower their price, making them more attractive in the market place and sell faster.
Way to help them "Move Forward" Mr. Wollziefer, (grammatical error replaced your) you’re a gem!
Do you have a similar story? Leave a comment! Your story may help someone else avoid the "Rubber Lips"...
There seems to be some misinformation in the FSBO world. If people are having problems selling their home privately it would seem they blame it on lack of Open House signs. I come to this conclusion because when people have been on the market for 6-8 weeks they seem to add more signs.
On a positive note they are trying to increase a third of the HOME SELLING TRIFECTA. Problem is they are not hitting the right one.
Do you know how many eyeballs are seeing your home? This information is imperative to selling. You see if you are judging your sale proceedings simply on the traffic in your door you are making an oversight that could cost you precious time and money.
If you have had no phone calls and no showings in the first 4 weeks of marketing your home you need to make a decision. You need to change something in your HOME SELLING TRIFECTA. But what? It would seem people automatically place blame on Exposure. If people are seeing your listing online and choosing not to call you, Exposure is not your problem? Let me give you a scenario that may show why other areas need to be considered.
You are the PROUD owner of a 1992 Chevrolet Corsica. A fine piece of North American engineering. Since you bought it off the showroom floor you have babied it. Oil changes every 5,000km, brakes at the slightest hint of a pedal pulsation, new spark plugs each and every spring, fuel injector cleaner in every 4th tank of premium fuel. Nothing is too good for your baby. This time of year most people are leaning towards snow tires for their car, you wouldn't think of it because your sweet ride hibernates through the winter. Alas it is time to move on. A new minivan is calling. The twins changed everything. The scoundrel at the dealership told you your baby is worth $500 for trade, you almost puked. The Voltage Blue Metallic Clearcoat still glistens in the heat of a midday sun and highlights the FOR SALE sign posted in the window. To make it easy for people you even put the price right there on the sign. After weeks no one has called. You place signs at every corner within a 2km drive of your house announcing the availability of this classic road machine, nothing. Time to up the ante and place an ad in the paper.
1992 Chevy Corsica Like new, under 100,000km of summer driving. Call Today to get this car $22,500
I am sure you could always look at washing away your blues with some lemonade...
When we make our buying decisions we look to the familiarity of brands. We look to something that is tried, tested and true. Products and services become popularized only after a Maven has proven their worth. What is a Maven? Wikipedia tells us Malcolm Gladwell used the term in his book The Tipping Point (Little Brown, 2000) to describe those who are intense gatherers of information and impressions, and so are often the first to pick up on new or nascent trends.
We brought PropertyGuys.com here to the Waterloo Wellington area over 3 years ago. The Mavens have come and have been telling all their Connectors about us. Word has spread. People are talking about PropertyGuys.com.
How do buyers look at your home? Do they see a bloated balloon? Maybe they see indecision in that faded orange and black sign?
Branding your house, good or bad, could be the difference between selling and sitting. Katie Johnson knows:
[I'm] very impressed with PropertyGuys.com. They have a great brand and have firmly founded themselves outside of the expensive MLS world.
Katie Johnson Kitchener ON Sold Aug 2009
What are you doing to brand your home. Are you branding it properly? Are you passing on confidence of a brand to prospective buyers? One that speaks to them?
We are not just creating our brand through Connectors and Mavens. We are also getting word on to lips of others...
I mean it makes sense. Why else would people spend half of their annual salary to advertise their home on the internet and toss an ad in the paper?
Who among us hasn't thought "Maybe I will be better off..."? It boils down to the fact that for you to be better off you would have to put a value on the service provided. 5% of the value of your home, or 20% of your equity, is tough to justify.
It is amazing how deep this penetration of their fear mongering goes. They have spent thousands of your commission dollars to help scare the bejezus out of you and your neighbours.
This video should help you get through it... Leave your brains to be eaten by more important people. What else will the politicians be sustained on?
Your eyes begin to pulse as you read further into the statement. Like a scimitar, words cut through your heart as if paper. With unabashed anger you stand up and throw the paper on the floor and begin to stomp on it. It is not enough, you need more. Grabbing the plant seems insane but you can't help yourself. Still your anger is unabated. The chandelier?
You want to buy a house and you still have one to sell. Most people would put in a conditional offer. This condition would state that your offer is under the condition of selling your home with in a time frame (30-60 days) and should include a bump clause that states that if any other offers come in during this time frame you would have the right to either firm up or walk away from the deal (usually allowing 48 hours to make your decision). Seems pretty straight forward, right?
As a home buyer you want nothing more than to breeze through a purchase (including the sale of your home as part of your conditional offer). It would seem local realtors don't want you to do that. They are angry. They feel deserving of your hard earned money. They are even willing to use coercion to get it.
Think coercion is to strong a word? Here is the definition from Dictionary.com:
Main Entry: co·er·cion Pronunciation: kO-'&r-zh&n, -sh&n Function: noun : the use of express or implied threats of violence or reprisal (as discharge from employment) or other intimidating behavior that puts a person in immediate fear of the consequences in order to compel that person to act against his or her will; also : the defense that one acted under coercion —see also DEFENSE, DURESS —compare UNDUE INFLUENCE.
As I wrote about in a previous post, local agents are using intimidation in the offer process. For you to get that house they are forcing you to have to list with an agent. Imagine the feeling of violation when you find out in order to buy your dream home you will be forced to spend thousands of dollars wastefully on a service you don't want or need.
Like Superman when you wear glasses you are incognito.
As a private home seller I had the luxury to sit in a marketing study this week-end. I sat around a table with other like minded sellers. We were there to look at the new advertising campaigns of the real estate industry and their focus on howrealtorshelp.ca.
We looked at two campaigns and six separate commercials. All were working on using humour and exaggeration to make their point.
The first campaign was entitled "Realtors know what you don't" and focused on 3 situations.
A lady is seen thrashing paperwork around her desk. She "comically" picks up a potted tree and whacks papers off her desk. A voice over says "Sandy has just spent the last 5 1/2 hours trying to figure out the the details of the offer. There are many terms that Sandy just doesn't know. Terms like "in propria persona" which means acting on her own behalf. The voice over says "Find out how a Realtor can help you. Visit howrealtorshelp.ca to find out more."
A man is seen jumping up and down "comically" on his bed. He is dressed in nothing but Bart Simpson boxer shorts and one sock. He is throwing a temper tantrum. A voice over says "Brad seems a little upset. And he should. When he bought the house he didn't use a Realtor that would have told him the flight to Spain flew 850m over his pillow every 47 minutes". The voice over says "Find out how a Realtor can help you. Visit howrealtorshelp.ca to find out more."
A man is seen in his house coat running threw his a garden knocking the tops off the flowers with an inflatable pink guitar. A voice over says "John is a little upset. He didn't realize that for what he just sold his house for he could have bought a Tahitian Mud hut. Neither did his wife, but she does now." The voice over says "Find out how a Realtor can help you. Visit howrealtorshelp.ca to find out more."
The second campaign was geared towards getting bad advice. There were 3 commercials here as well:
Outside of "Dunky Do's" donut shop. A voice over says "Do you know what Land Transfer Tax is? Let's ask Angie down at the local donut shop" they cut into a friendly woman that talks like she has know you her whole life "You see Land Transfer Tax is when you have something in your backyard that you want to transfer to your new house. I live in a condo so I don't have to pay for land transfer, I pay condo transfer tax." The voice over says "When you need professional advice look to a professional. Visit howrealtorshelp.ca to find out more."
Outside of "Wailing Ed's" Pub. A voice over says "Do you know what closing costs are? Lets ask Brian, local bar man." They cut to a late 30's barman that talks like he has know you his whole life "You see the closing costs are what you owe when you close the door of the house you are leaving and open the door of the one you are moving to. You don't pay until you open the new door. You can avoid them by climbing in the window. That's how you stick it to the man." The voice over says "When you need professional advice look to a professional. Visit howrealtorshelp.ca to find out more."
I really wish I could remember the 3rd one but by this time all I heard was Charlie Brown's teacher. I do remember that it was a hair dresser telling us some overly exaggerated obviously wrong advice. You see the Realtors have been using this same message for a while now. You may recall seeing the commercials with the mother-in-law showing the young couple a home or the one with a young couple coming to the door to see a home and the home owner is waxing his chest.
Here I am sitting at a table with 5 people. Male and female, young and old, single and married. All here for one reason. We all chose to sell properties privately. The lady conducting the event was rather surprised at how much the group didn't like these ads. Hmm let me think about this. Am I going to be drawn to an ad the tells me I'm stupid?
I know my thoughts, but what are yours? Am I missing something? Are these ads hitting the mark? Would you decide to call a Realtor based on these ads? What would it take to call a Realtor?
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