Anyone who is considering selling their house, whether "for sale by owner" or with an agent, should know that one out of three "for sale by owner" sellers will sell their house to someone they already know. That is why I think everyone should first try selling FSBO themselves before they pay to put their house on the Multiple List System.
If you are selling your house "for sale by owner" make sure to put the proper energy into your grass roots, neighborhood marketing.
Even if you are certain you want to list with an agent, why not try this first for a week or two and see if you could sell your house yourself and save the real estate commission?
So here is what an effective grass roots marketing campaign consists of. Notice it's virtually free, besides.
- Word of Mouth Marketing
The easiest free advertising is to tell everyone you know. Always mention and honor that you will give a $500 referral fee to whoever brings you a buyer (someone who actually buys your house).
- Use Social Media Marketing
If you belong to any of the social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc., mention you are selling your house.
- Change Your Phone Messages
Change any cute or unusual messages on any of your phones temporarily. No kids, weird music, or jokes. You need to sound professional so people will want to deal with you. Change your voice mail greetings on your land line and cell phones to mention, "If you are calling about my house for sale...." and leave a glowing description of your house.
- Do an Email Blast
You can send an email blast to your friends and family with an attachment of a great looking flyer and ask them to pass it along. Offer the $500 referral fee here, too. Add your marketing phone number, email, and website to your email signature, along with a quick blurb about your house being for sale so you don't forget to tell anybody.
- Property Information Flyers
Design an attractive property flyer and have some in your brochure box. Pass this same flyer out to your neighbors, offering a $500 referral fee. They may just make the effort to tell people they know for $500.
- Have an Open House
Consider having a "pre-sale" open house. Invite everyone you know before your house is officially for sale. Neighbors love to visit these. Even if they are just being nosey, they may know someone perfect for your house. You can hire a neighborhood kid to pass out flyers for you. Create a crowd by offering food and drinks. You can make it an early going away party for yourself!
- Put Up Bandit Signs
Besides the professional sign at your house, you can also put up bandit signs at highly visible spots in your area. This type of sign is very attention getting. They aren't supposed to be beautiful, but they sure attract a lot of attention.
There are three sources for these - if you are in a hurry, you can buy white coroplast signs from local hardware stores for about $10 each. Personally, I wouldn't spend this much money on them. I get them online for about $1 each. It's OK to use the inexpensive H-wires for these. Get a jumbo width permanent marker. Plan on 10 minutes to write each sign. Put the basic "House for Sale. Address. Phone Number" on each. The third option is what I do. I use a site online where you can order eye-catching bandit signs that look hand written but aren't. This saves you the trouble of manually writing signs but has that attention getting handwritten look. If you live in an area where there are enforced anti-bandit sign laws, skip this idea.
- Put Up Handmade Posters
Buy some neon hued 8 ½ x 11 paper and make posters, hand written or on the computer. These are the "lost dog" type of signs. They need to have big, readable lettering, no pictures. Put these on light poles and telephone poles, and at bus stops, with duct tape, push pins, or packing tape.
Go around your local area with some pushpins and tape in hand and put your flyers up on bulletin boards in grocery stores, coffees shops, where you work - anywhere you can post.
- Advertise in Local Newsletters
Does your workplace, church, club or membership organization have a newsletter or other printed communication? Advertise there for sure. People love to deal with those who are part of their community.
Whether selling FSBO or using an agent, why not do a grass roots marketing campaign before listing on MLS? You can market aggressively for a week or two and see what happens. You might just be one of the lucky one-in-three that can sell their house this way. What have you got to lose?
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Deane Alban is co-owner of Pretty Nice Properties, a full-service investment company, and author of "The Truth About FSBO - Complete Selling System". "The Truth About FSBO" gives homeowners a step-by-step system to
sell "for sale by owner" the RIGHT way. Visit
TruthAboutFSBO.com to receive an eye-opening free report, "Revealed: The REAL Reasons Houses Don't Sell". This is important information anyone selling needs to know.
