Is a sign in the yard and an ad in the paper enough to market your property?

How and where is your home going to be marketed? Will it only be in the MLS for other agents to see. Is it only going to appear in the newspaper? Will we only have a sign in the yard. Is your Home getting the viewings it deserves? How are buyers learning of your property? Will my agent take tons of photos? Does your agent have his/her own web site to show case these photos? Will he/she post it all over the web? Are we only going to market it to buyers that are in town? Are we aggressively marketing on the web?

These are real questions that need to be discussed as you consider marketing your home. Your agent should be willing to spend a lot of time answering these questions and others. The sale of your home will depend on the answers to these questions and how thorough the agent is in marketing your home.

What publications and how will your home be advertised depends on you and your decisions. Advertising is a very costly venture and is a very limiting factor for most agents. You will need to discuss the overall advertising scheme to determine the best route to take. Consider the budget you and your agent agree upon (commissions). Good marketing will work well for you, but a minimalistic approach is like shooting yourself in the foot! How is your home going to get the proper advertising it deserves in a market such as this, if the commission you have agreed on is too low? Discounting the commission to gain your business is not always the answer. SELLER BEWARE!! The real estate firm you choose will have their advertising set for your market, but the real question is, what is your agent doing on top of that? What are they are doing (or not) to separate themselves from the pack to sell your home? My suggestion is to consider paying more of an commission based on the publications and web sites your home will be listed on. Also, depending on how much more you are willing to pay, consider paying more in the co-brokerage fees as well. If your home is only going to be placed in your local MLS, by paying more in the co-brokerage fees, your home will gain more attention by the other agents in your area. Face it, it is a highly competitive business between agencies and agents. If you or your agent have cut deeply into their budget in way of reduced commissions then you have severely limited the advertising they can do on your behalf!

If you are only counting on the sign in the yard and an ad in the paper, you are likely to get calls from those riding around looking for something to do, or reading the Sunday afternoon paper. As a result of an extremely reduced commission, this may be all of the marketing you will receive. My experience is that the ad in the paper is only to appease the seller. See, we are doing something!! We do not get many calls from the news paper ads, but we still run them. Depending on the company, and the location of the home, we have noticed more curiosity seekers based on the sign in the yards(The nosey neighbor). We do receive calls from real buyers on sign calls, but that number is dwarfed by the just curious ones. A sign plays a role. Brand recognition and the reputation of the real estate firm plays a large role in that response. This leads to several more questions to ask. How long has your firm been in business? What is the reputation, character, and strength of a particular firm? How long has the agent been a REALTOR? I am not saying that newbie REALTORS are a bad choice, but try to find out how much help they receive from their brokers during the process. You will gain a lot of insight by asking questions.

Internet marketing has gained a lot of ground in the past few years as far as real estate is concerned. Just a year ago(2006), in South Carolina, the numbers of buyers and sellers that turned to the Internet before talking to an agent was around 54%. In 2007 those numbers have risen sharply to the 78 to 85% range. They are researching the market for several reasons. First, they want to get a finger on the pulse of the market, and secondly, they are searching for an agency and an agent with high visibility on the Internet. How did you find your last agency and agent to work with? Did they both have their own web sites where they could feature your home? Were their web sites easy to navigate? Buyers look at all of these issues to determine who they want to use as an agent. You should too! How is your agent/agency using this tool effectively? Virtual tours are on the rise in popularity, but so is the cost of this avenue. Can other choices be made that keep the cost down but keep the exposure high? We will ask you a lot of questions about what you are looking for in a home, or about your expectations concerning the sale of your home, but are you asking us all of the necessary questions about our marketing campaigns for your home?

It is my duty as your agent to make sure your home will receive the attention it deserves and to present as may buyers, near and far, to your doorstep.

Respectfully, Jim Graham (www.sumterrealestateforsale.com)