Web Appeal – Your Home’s First Impression to Buyers

 

Many factors go into selling your home, two of them being web appeal and curb appeal. In the first part of this two part series, we’re going to talk about web appeal. How important is web appeal? The COO of Zillow, Spencer Rascoff said it well in an article on ABCNews,

Sellers used to have to worry about curb appeal: How does the grass look, etc. Now a seller needs to worry about Web Appeal: When a buyer is browsing on the Web, what is their first impression.

With over 90 percent of local home buyers saying that they start their search for homes online, there’s a 90 percent chance that a home buyer’s very first impression of your home will be what they see of it online.

If your home makes a lousy first impression on the web, the chance of a home buyer coming to see your home in person is seriously diminished. And if a buyer doesn’t see your home in person, there’s about a zero percent chance that buyer is going to buy it.

Are you starting to follow me now?

So how do you get your home to make an A+ first impression and have awesome web appeal? Take full advantage of every possible aspect of online marketing. And I’m not just talking about some photos, a generic virtual tour and a few search platforms. I’m talking about great photos, video, virtual tours/shows, e-flyers, directories, a custom property web site, blog posts, aggregating your listing to all pertinent search platforms and using as many available tools as possible to expose your property to potential buyers.

Ask yourself the following,

• Does my listing include a virtual tour/show?
• Were the photos professionally done and edited before going up on the web?
• Do I have at least 30 photos of my property and subdivision/community up on the web?
• Is my listing aggregated to all of the pertinent search platforms buyers use to search for home for sale?
• Does my home have a custom single property web site?
• Is my custom single property web site as in-depth and clean yet, robust as this – http://45BerkeleyCt.com?
• Do I have the proper SEO and visitor tracking/analytics built in to my custom single property web site?
• Is social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc) a part of my home’s/listing agent’s marketing plan?

There’s more to it than just the examples above. But, if you answered anything but “yes” to all of the basic examples above, you have not taken advantage of all of the available tools to expose your home to potential buyers nor have you done so in the most appealing way. And that will cost you grief, stress and money by increasing the time it takes you to sell your home and decreasing the amount of money it sells for.

This is why I take online marketing very seriously – and so should you. New platforms and methods of marketing come out regularly and I make sure to stay on top of them and constantly learn in order to provide the best possible service to my clients. Real estate is no longer just about knowing a neighborhood or properly negotiating a contract…staying on top of technology and successfully marketing a property in today’s environment is key.

The next part of this two part series talks about curb appeal, another key component to successfully selling your home. Keep an eye out for it next week.

Can You Handle The Truth?

Most, if not all people say they want truth and honesty from others whether it be personally or in business. But not all people can actually handle the truth. This is especially true when it comes to their home because it’s often a perceived reflection of themselves.

Let me share a story with you illustrating my point…

Chapter One – Wanting Truth And Honesty

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by someone who had their home on the market. They were not very happy with their listing agent/broker and were thinking about switching. They contacted me after I was recommended to them by a past client of mine.

Over the course of two weeks, we exchanged numerous emails and phone calls and we had two lengthy face-to-face meetings at their home. I gave them an honest assessment of their situation which included, per their request, an assessment of how their current agent was doing from a selling/marketing standpoint.

I told them that their current listing agent was doing all the right things and their home had excellent exposure. When asked if I would do anything differently from a marketing standpoint, I said that I would do all of the things that their current agent was doing as well as a few things they were not which is what sets me apart from most other agents in the area (I give credit and take credit equally). I did not bash or disparage the other agent nor did I answer any questions that would cross any lines of legality or ethics. In fact, I gave the agent all of the credit they deserved, which was a lot.

Then they told me that they “just don’t feel right about the agent” and that there is something that “bothers” them. I told them that how they click with one agent versus another is the same way people click (or don’t click) with other people in general – you either do or you don’t. And that was not for me to discuss nor steer them one way or another. That’s something they had to decide amongst themselves on their own.

During and after they talked things over, they sent emails saying things like,

• “It was so great meeting you the other day and I thank you for my education lesson. You taught me a great deal!”
• “I will be in touch very soon- and thanks for being a guy full of integrity. I completely appreciate that.”
• “If this current offer goes no where – we will be KNOCKING on your door!!!!! You rock!”

After the offer they received did not work out, they told me they wanted to switch to me and sent me this,

• “We like the way you think. We can get the necessary doc you need to proceed with us and get to it when you get back [from vacation].”

At this point, things looked great!  But then…

Chapter Two – Not Really Wanting Nor Being Able To Handle The Truth

Their property is very unique and there was only one other property on the market that truly competed with theirs – same town, very similar price, similar size, etc. Well, that property went under contract while theirs was still active.

During our discussions about the situation, I said, “I wonder if the buyers that came through the other day are the ones that bought the property on XXXXXXXX. I say that because it would make sense for them to look at and consider that property along with yours.”

I then followed that up with facts – the property had a larger lot, more privacy due to not having a neighbor directly behind them nor having to share a driveway with another property, slightly more square footage, closer to a shopping center/amenities, etc.

Then they sent me this,

• “Actually, it would not, in our opinions! We have decided that it would be in our best interests to remain with [our current listing agent[ as [they] know the value of extremely well built homes in this area! You should be wary about criticizing the properties of potential clients in the future. Just a suggestion!”

The last sentence is what I mean when I ask you, “Can you handle the truth?” The irony is that truth and honesty is what they admired the most about me in the beginning yet, they used that against me when it didn’t agree with their personal opinion even though it was true and was exactly what they needed to hear.

In order to get the listing and make well over $10K in commission, I could have just agreed with them and told them that their home was the greatest thing since sliced bread because that’s what they obviously wanted to hear. But lying or blowing smoke to get a client is something that I will never do. Doing that is detrimental to you and will hurt your chances of selling your home.

But more importantly, it’s not what I’m about.

What I am about is honesty and the truth. I would rather be honest and truthful and waste my valuable time and money (as is the case in this situation) than lie to make thousands of dollars. Despite incidents like this, I will not ever change that philosophy.

Chapter Three – Can You Handle The Truth?

If these folks were you, would Chapter Two be written differently? Would you have taken my constructive criticism and the facts and applied them in a positive way? Or would you have also not wanted to hear the truth?

If you can handle the truth, then we will get along just fine and I would love to hear from you. If you can’t, I may not be the right agent for you.

Can Low Commission Hurt Your Chances of Selling Your Home?

Steve, a home seller in Williamsburg, VA posted the following question on Trulia, “Can low commission hurt my sale?” It’s obviously a hot topic because there have been 506 responses (and counting) since June 4.

Here’s my answer:

No agent/broker should ever “steer” or “sort” listings by commission amount. That harms the buyer and is therefore unethical without the expressed permission from the buyer client (in writing).

Buyer’s agents who take it upon themselves to shy away from listings that are offering less than what is written into their Buyer’s Agency Agreement with their buyer clients,

1) don’t have a Buyer’s Agency Agreement signed in the first place

and/or

2) haven’t spoken in detail with their buyer clients as to what happens when a seller/listing broker is offering less than what is agreed upon in the Buyer’s Agency Agreement.

There are plenty of ways to legally and ethically negotiate a contract to cover the difference in commission between what is being offered by the seller/listing broker and what is in the Buyer’s Agency Agreement prior to contract ratification (with the buyer via seller subsidy). Unfortunately, not many agents know how.

And if you’re wondering why many consumers don’t like Realtors, answers such as, ” Many people look though MLS email updates. Some agents secretly filter their searches so that the automated service won’t send their clients listings unless they are 3% listings. “ is one reason why. Those agents should all have their licenses revoked immediately.

Since I spoke a bit about what a Buyer’s Agent should not do, I’d also like to talk about what a Buyer’s Agent should do…

A Buyer’s Agent should be looking through every property on the market for a property that meets their buyer client’s needs regardless of the commission amount being offered by the seller. This includes properties that are “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO).

I have been asked by my buyer clients many times if they could look at FSBO properties and if I could represent them on the purchase of a FSBO property. The answer is “yes.” There plenty of ways to deal with the issue of commission and they’re all pretty simple, straight-forward and easy if you ask me.

So what’s  your response to Steve’s question, “Can low commission hurt my sale?”