Using the Web and social media to sell real estate

I am in the process of selling two houses that I have just finished rehabbing and I am always looking for something new that can help me complete this complex step faster and easier. The real estate world is a peculiar one since it demands some novelty of approach, so that you can stand out a bit from the crowd, but also requires lots of reassurance for the prospective buyer and that means doing things the “old usual way” which is familiar.

Bringing the two elements together is kind of challenging, but I have come to the conclusion so far that the best way to give “reassurance” is by listing the property through a Realtor. The vast majority of people buy through agents and the fact that there are third parties involved (the listing agent and broker and the buyer’s agent) gives more certainty to the buyer of the fact that he cannot be hidden major material facts that could influence the value of the house. You need to find the right Realtor, of course. Some Realtors spend most of their time only trying to lower your selling price for one reason or another, and giving you bad news instead of looking for creative way to sell the house for the right price.

The opportunity of using a good Realtor has been confirmed also another very experienced US investors who have been selling directly for most of the time in the past and that now resort to Realtors for almost every single sale.

But still you can’t count on your Realtor’s efforts only to sell the house and actually you must be prepared to do all the actions needed to facilitate the sale as if you were selling it directly. This includes providing all the paperwork required to document the work done, but also to stage the house in a way that it is more appealing and invites offers and do advertising and promotion online and offline. It might seem that you do all the work for your Realtor, but if you have a good one, she will eventually earn her commission by providing advice and feedback and by facilitating the close.

While doing my research on what works and what doesn’t, I have run into several opinions, often contrary to one another, voiced by both Realtors, brokers and investors. There are some Realtors and investors, for example, that believe you should show as little as possible of the house in your Internet promotion so to invite actual visits. Other believe that the more you show the better.

Considering that the Internet is all about open communication, I have chosen to be as open as possible, and to publish as many pictures and video adn information as it is feasible so that the prospective buyer knows exactly what the house looks like before coming to do an inspection. With international buyers, this is paramount as they might never have the chance to see the house directly and a good virtual tour can make the difference.

The old “curb appeal” has become the “Internet appeal”, that’s qhere people see you house for the first time.

The more you share about the house and the work done, including past problems and how they were solved, the more people will feel reassured. In today’s world, were information is readily available and buyers are much more careful in their “due diligence”, it is better to disclose all the relevant matters upfront so that they will feel comfortable when they dig deeper and find exactly what you have already told them.

Embellishing things too much during staging can also hurt your sale. For example I have read in several books and courser of people placing perfumed soap, baking bread or cinnamon cakes in order to create a pleasant smell for the newcomers. Now the advice I am getting is to keep the place as clean and odorless as possible, as the use of other scents or odors can trigger in the buyer the suspect that you are trying to cover up something.

So it is not just location, location, location, but it is information, information, information.

Roberto Mazzoni