How To Get Your Home Noticed If You’re Selling Without A Realtor
They say home is where the heart is. Our home is not only where we have shelter from the elements, but also where we raise our family, and where all of life happens. But how does one find their forever home? More importantly, how do you help folks find your previous home, which is their future forever home? Read on to discover how to get your home noticed when selling without a realtor.
The MLS (Multiple Listing Service)
The MLS or Multiple Listing Service is going to be one of your best friends in your house selling process. By using a broker with a Flat Fee Listing Service you can get your house listed on websites such as Zillow, Trulia, and others. While this isn’t free, it’s a worthwhile investment and will help you sell your house fast.
Imagine for a minute that you’re about to sell your house, but you’re not sure how to advertise. You decide to just use yard signs to advertise, and your house isn’t selling quickly. Then your friend tells you about the MLS, and you decide to fork out some money to list your house on it.
Within a few days, anyone in the United States can find your house. This means that thousands of people could be looking at it, and considering buying it every day. Subsequently, this means your house could sell much faster than you ever anticipated. We’d call that a good deal for anyone!
Yard signs
Yard signs are a very important aspect of advertising your home for sale. By placing signs in your yard, and at the outside of your neighborhood, you can attract potential buyers from in and out of your community. For Sale By Owner notes that “[yard signs] are used on nearly 80% of all homes on the market.” They also explain that “according to national studies, between 10% and 20% of your calls could be based on your sign.”
This means that buying good quality yard signs is important. You generally don’t want hand-painted “for sale” signs. While the latter signs are authentic, they don’t quite have “professional” written all over them and may turn away prospective buyers. Investing in a professional “for sale” sign is most often the best thing you can do.
Advertising on Facebook
Advertising on Facebook is another popular, yet less well-known way of getting the word out about your house for sale. Hootsuite, a website that helps with social media marketing and management can help with everything you need to know. From what kind of Facebook ads there are, to how exactly to get your ad noticed, they’ve got you covered.
Once you find out what kind of ad you want, it’s time to decide how much you’re willing to pay. Sometimes setting a budget before you start advertising is helpful. That way, you won’t find yourself accidentally spending more than you have.
Word of mouth
If you love to socialize, you may find that word of mouth advertising is one of the best ways to get the word out. As soon as you know your house is going to go up for sale, let your friends know. Tell anyone and everyone who you think might be able to, in turn, share the word with a buyer.
This way, not only are you “advertising” to your friends, but your friends are doing the same. And the chain reaction, so to speak, goes on forever. In addition, your friends may know of somewhere else you should advertise. Maybe they’ve sold their own house, and know what worked well for them. In the end, use any kind of help you can get, so long as it helps you sell your house faster!
When to list
Almost as important as advertising is knowing when to list your house. Many realtors will help you figure out when is the most popular time to list. However, since you’re on your own, it’s helpful for you to know.
“Hot” times of year on the market vary by location. However, HomeSpotter says that “In most areas, the best time of year to sell a home is during the first two weeks of May. You can expect to sell 18.5 days faster than any other month and for 5.9 percent more money.”
Research when the selling market is busiest in your area, and plan to have your house ready to list and sell at that time. After all, you can never be too prepared or plan too much.
Time to make it happen!
Now that you know the basics for advertising your home for sale without a realtor, it’s time to make a plan. And once you’ve finished with that, you can put that plan into action. If you need more information on selling without a realtor, read our article that explains how to sell without a realtor in only six steps! We wish you all the best in selling your home!