3 Of Our Favorite For Sale By Owner Home Listings
While most of our articles include a “how-to” feel, today we’re going to do something a bit different. We’re going to review a few of our favorite for sale by owner home listings. Not only will you get to see what others have done, but you’ll still be learning tips and tricks for selling your home! Let’s dive in.
Listing 1
Our first, favorite for sale by owner home listing is in DC. While their actual description is the reason we love this listing, we’d be remiss not to mention that there were a few phrases and words they should’ve avoided.
If you read our article on catchy real estate phrases and words to use, you’ll remember a few of the phrases and words we said not to use. These included, “gourmet kitchen,” “golf course,” “motivated,” and “must sell.” This description used the phrase, “gourmet kitchen” which we learned generally led to more time on the market. But we can’t fault them too much, because overall, they have a fantastic, descriptive listing. On a positive note, they used the phrase, “fenced yard” which is a big selling point.
What not to copy: While this house was listed for $2,600,000, it recently sold for $1,100,000. There are several reasons this could have happened. One of them could have been the phrases that they used in their listing as mentioned above. Another reason could be that it has no pictures of the inside. We always stress the fact that a picture is worth a thousand words, so we appreciate listings with plenty of pictures.
Listing 2
Our next for sale by owner home listing is also right up on the top of our favorite list. Not only is it miles away from the previous listing, but it’s basically as different as you can get. This fantastic cabin is listed for $1,900,000 less than the other house was. Also, this cabin is 3,700 sq feet smaller than the other one. We don’t think you can get much more opposite than that!
Let’s talk about why we love this listing so much. To begin with, the description is fantastic. The owners included plenty of details and also more information than the average buyer would think to ask for. Another perk is the listing photos. They’re great quality, and show every part of the house. This gives us the feeling that the seller is being open and honest with us.
Listing 3
The last house we’ll look at before we do an overview of all three is located in Abilene, Texas. It’s listed for $296,000 and has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. As is the case with the other two listings, this one has a fantastic listing description. Not only does it include some of the favorite amenities such as a fenced-in yard, but it uses no negative phrases or words.
And the photos of the house are excellent. They give us a great feel as to what the house looks like, and how it is laid out. Remember sellers: another great way to give people a good feel of your home’s layout is to record a “walk-through” video.
All three listings together
Now that we’ve looked individually at each of the three houses, we’re going to give a brief overview of them all. We’re going to talk about what they all had in common, and what attracted us to the listing.
Listing description
We don’t want to flog a dead horse, but we can’t stress the quality of a listing description enough. Not only does a good description attract buyers, but the overall quality drastically impacts the selling of the home. In each of these listings, the descriptions included great phrases and words. While there were a few that could have been left out, in the end, they were the kind of descriptions that catch a buyer’s eye.
Photos
Of all the house listings we looked at, the second one by far had the best pictures. They showed us every nook and cranny of the house. However, the third listing also had great pictures and gave us a great idea of what the inside looked like. The first listing wasn’t the ideal listing when it comes to pictures, but the description made up for that in some areas.
What to remember
Now that we’ve finished our overview, let’s consider the two important things we’ve talked about. The listing description, and house photos. Remember, buyers like a descriptive listing and lots of photos. And for the most part, you can never have too many pictures.
Explore listings
A great way to get a feel for how to write a listing description is to browse other FSBO home listings. This will give you a good idea of what listings attract buyers. And if you remember which words and phrases are good for your listing, you’ll always be a step ahead of other buyers. Happy house selling! For some fall inspiration, visit this article for some great fall decorating tips!