Mike-Only Tricks to Sell Expired Listings
advice, Expired Listings, Home selling tips, Housing Market, Photography, Real Estate, Sale Failure, selling tips, tricks and tips
Sometimes good houses fail to sell. There are a lot of reasons these homes don’t sell. Describing them all here takes around ten pages of text. Here are three quick-and-dirty secrets I use to help my sellers sell the second time around.
Bad photos. We all know that Buyers see a home before writing an offer. However, Buyers don’t request showings when the photos are bad. Despite claims to the contrary, buyers no longer cruise around on weekends, hope to find something amazing, and call an agent from a sign. Why would buyers waste time and gas when they can look online at the office, on their tablet at home, between meetings on their smart phone…
This is dirty secret #1. When I come into a failed listing, I always begin by evaluating the photos. Then I have new ones taken by a professional real estate photographer with specific direction to avoid what was done in the old photos. No, it’s not cheap; my preferred company is in Chicago. Then I have them retouch the photos, even including changing the sky to a bright and sunny day if it isn’t already. I always pay for that professional real estate photography and retouching out of my own pocket, too. Being cheap on photos saves Realtors and agents a lot of money, but it also causes their sellers a lot of heartache. Remember, Buyers don’t request showings until they’ve seen amazing photographs. Buyers don’t write offers until they’ve attended a showing. Bad photos mean fewer or even no showings.
Bad copy and descriptions. Our MLS here in Wisconsin allows for 600 characters including punctuation and spaces. It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling a $10,000 wreck or a $10,000,000+ Lake Geneva estate; we all have 600 characters. Other agents and Realtors fail because they repeat the same things found elsewhere. The MLS data sheet already tells buyers the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage spaces, lot acreage, and square footage. Why do agents waste space repeating these things?
Descriptions must capture a buyer’s imagination. I don’t tell them what they already know; I explain why it’s absolutely wonderful! My job is to talk up the lifestyle behind those numbers. Is the chef’s kitchen just a great kitchen, or do I describe a favorite gathering place for family and friends alike? Is a heated garage a heated garage, or do I draw buyers with dreams of rebuilding a classic car in the dead of winter? Is there a hot tub, or do I whisper of a secluded place for closeness and romance?
Photos need descriptions, too! Ignored by agents and sellers, it’s absolutely vital to explain what the buyer sees in each photograph. Believe me, what’s obvious to the seller and to their agent is totally unknown to potential buyers! Even other agents might be confused. My most memorable lesson in explaining came early in my career; a potential buyer couldn’t tell the difference between an upscale wine chiller and a trash compactor! Always give every photo a description, no matter how obvious it seems.
Bad Days on Market counter. Buyers believe homes with extended days on market have problems. Whether or not it’s really true, a buyer’s perception is that buyer’s reality. Unfortunately, third-party sites like Zillow®, Trulia®, and others track failed sale attempts. However, there are methods I’ve used with some success to hide prior bad sale attempts. I won’t go into more detail on this here but for more information on how to handle such things feel free to contact me directly!
My job is to be your Private Investigator! I’d love to study your past attempt(s), diagnose the problems, and implement solutions to help you earn the most money the market will bear for your home. My name is Mike Kwiatkowski and I am a Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of Brookfield, WI. Let’s talk; my email is mike.k@cbexchange.com and my direct number is 414-207-2938.