Marketing Your Home

Marketing Your Home

Finding a buyer for home, is not an easy task, but FSBOS in So Cal.com gives you some required tools to help get you started. We give you a free webpage, a toll free 800 phone number, and a free front yard sign (an actual photo is on in the top left corner of our home page) all for free. The rest is up to you. The more energy you put in the better the result.

For Sale By Owner Sign

This is still a critical tool. If you don't want your neighbors to know you are selling, you don't have to have a sign in your front yard, but not having a sign will drastically reduce your exposure. All different kinds of people drive down your street every single day. Neighbors, people visiting from other neighborhoods, people here on vacation, Realtors, prospective buyers visiting another property for sale in the area etc...

Our sign is an eye catching 3 color corrugated sign that includes your free website address, and your free toll free phone number. The sign is also two sided and is anchored by stakes, not cement.

Toll Free Phone Number

Being a prisoner to your home phone isn't pleasant. That's why we give you a free 800 number extension dedicated to your property. You don't want to give out your home phone number to prospective buyers. Your phone can ring at all hours of the day and night. Realtors will also be calling you to solicit you to list with them as well as investors who are looking to make lowball bids in hopes of getting a steal of a deal.

The way it works, is that someone calls the phone number, and gets a greeting instructing the caller to punch in your assigned extension. From there they instructed to leave their phone numbers and e-mail address for contact purposes. The voicemail is than forwarded to you in it's entirety in the form of an audio e-mail. This way you can listen to your messages at your own convenience plus you can easily create e-mail file folders to organize your leads. You can even request that the 800 line be forwarded to your home phone on days you have open houses, or appointment times to see the property. The 800 line will make your life and sales efforts much easier.

Website and Webpage

It's not a secret anymore that up to 80% of people use their computer to help them find homes for sale. They either do a search, and/or look in the paper for properties for sale and punch in web address to look at propertys that are for sale. We have a website where give you a dedicated webpage for your property. We can load up to 8 photos, and even a property video on your page. We can do the photos and video for you again for free.

The unique difference on our site from our competitors, is that there are no advertisements or other service links on your page. When there is a foreclosure listings link on your page, guess what happens? The prospective buyer who is on your webpage clicks on the foreclosure listings link, on your page, and gets taken out of your webpage to the foreclosure listings webpage and than you are out of sight, out of mind. Our competitors say they may get good traffic on their webpages, but how long does your prospective buyer stay on your webpage before they click out? Everybody wants a deal today, and foreclosures are a hot ticket. You shouldn't have to compete with them on your own webpage.

Your webpage will have an option for the prospective homebuyer, as well as yourself, to print a flyer with all the specifics of your property, much like a Realtor flyer. Your webpage will also be submitted to internet search engines like Google, and Yahoo.

Having a webpage for your property is key because when you advertise your property in the newspaper, you include the website address in the ad. People will than go to their computer and type in the web address, and find your property.

Optional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listing

Keep in mind Realtors have a mindset that FSBO sellers don't want to pay any Realtor commission. When a Realtor is putting together a list of properties to show their clients, they use the MLS to find the propertys that fit their buyers needs in an area that they want to live in. If you are not on the MLS, the Realtors won't find you or bother to look for you. FSBOs in So Cal.com has resources to get you an MLS listing if you wish. By being on the MLS, you also get a free listing on Realtor.com as well. There is more exposure if you do this, but the MLS isn't free. We can give you a referral to a FSBO friendly MLS listing company at an affordable price. However, the MLS will show that you are a FSBO, so Realtors may choose not to include your property in the list they are sharing with their clients.

Are You Willing to Pay a Realtor Commission?

As noted above Realtors protect their commission like their children. They don't want to give up a portion of their income if they don't have to. However, instead of paying 6% commission, would you pay 2% or 2.5%? This commission would go toward the buyers Realtor, if they have one. Since you are selling on your own, there is not a sellers Realtor, that's your savings.

If you are open to paying a buyers Realtor commission, make sure and put "Buyers Realtors Welcome". If you add the MLS to your marketing efforts, add the same clause. That way maybe a Realtor may include you in their list of propertys to show their clients. Would a Realtor not include your property to show their clients if you were only paying 1%? You bet. That is why you need to advertise your property to all the non-Realtors, the general public, in newspapers. They may see your property, look at the webpage, and call their Realtor to ask him/her to view the property. The Realtor knowing their income may be cut because it's a FSBO, will discourage you. That is where a motivated buyer will call you directly.

Remember, in California, most buyers Realtors do not have a binding contract with their clients so their client can drop them at any time without recourse. The Realtor only gets paid when they find a home for the buyer (there are some exceptions). There is nothing stopping the buyer from bypassing their Realtor and coming to you directly.

Other Types of Advertising and Marketing Efforts

Realtor Offices: If you are willing to work with buyers Realtors, let them know by dropping off some of your flyers, that you can print from your fsbo website, at the Realtors offices. Most Realtor offices have "cubbies", yep just like pre-school, where they pick up daily mail. Ask the office manager or receptionist if you can leave them there. Keep in mind, your place can be an undiscovered jewel to a Realtor since they don't make a habit of looking for FSBOs. Make sure and put the commission rate you are willing to pay on the flyer as well.

Open Houses: These usually attract neighbors and "lookie lous" and very rarely attract buyers, but it is a form of word of mouth. Just make sure and have the place sparkling clean. Click here for staging ideas.

FSBOs in So Cal.com free home delivery of flyers: Since FSBOs in So Cal.com is a referral based/partnership business, we can include your home flyer in our quarterly newsletter, which is delivered to door to door to 1000 homes. The area is typically an area the we already deliver to, but we are willing to deliver to other Conejo Valley and Simi Valley areas.

You Have to Wear Your Saleshat at All Times

You can not be afraid to tell every person you know or run into, that you are selling your home.

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