| Selling your home online | | | | the site to the relevant search engines. |
| The Internet has probably been the innovation of | | | | Using a for sale board to sell your home |
| the 20th Century. Like other sectors of our | | | | Psychologists will tell you that selling your home is |
| economy, selling real estate has benefited from | | | | the second most stressful thing you'll do in life (a |
| this boom. Amazingly, 80% of respondent to a | | | | death in the family is the most stressful)! Why |
| recent survey said that they had taken the time | | | | then would you want to sell your own home? The |
| out to do a search of properties for sale in their | | | | answer lies in the amount of money you can |
| area before visiting a real estate agent. So why | | | | save in real estate agent fees. Think about it, |
| not cut-out the middleman and advertise your | | | | what does your real estate agent do to earn their |
| home for sale on the Internet? | | | | commission? Actually the best person to sell your |
| The techniques for selling your home online are | | | | home is You! Yes you know the home better |
| almost unlimited. For example, if you are not | | | | than anyone else, you know the area, the schools |
| particularly savvy with computers, you can elect | | | | and the neighbours! You are an expert when it |
| to advertise the sale of your home by posting | | | | comes to information about your home, and the |
| your home on a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) | | | | best person for potential buyers to ask questions |
| website. With FSBO websites, you simply give a | | | | to. They put up a "for sale" board and, if you're |
| brief description of your home, add a picture and | | | | lucky, you may have the details of your home |
| the sale price. The house will then be listed in the | | | | advertised in the real estate agent's window. |
| area you live in for anyone to check. More than 3 | | | | However, most people looking to buy a house will |
| 4 of all FSBO website visitors said they would go | | | | drive around and check the area out before they |
| and view at least one of the houses they saw | | | | go and visit a real estate agent. After all, then |
| advertised on the FSBO website they were | | | | want to make sure the area has all the local |
| viewing! | | | | facilities they need, such as a local shop and |
| An alternative technique to selling your home | | | | school. What's to stop you then from putting up |
| online is to create a website specifically for the | | | | your own for sale board? The answer is nothing. |
| sale of your home. Although this may sound | | | | A number of websites now advertise that they |
| daunting, there are now enough simple website | | | | can make a for sale board for you and send it to |
| templates out there that can easily help you to | | | | you. We recommend you search Google for "For |
| create a simple website on which to advertise the | | | | Sale Board" you will find many companies offering |
| sale of your home. When you create the website, | | | | this service. Like a real estate agent's for sale |
| you can give a description of the house with | | | | board, your personal for sale board will advertise |
| some photos. Alternatively, if you are very | | | | the fact that your home if for sale and will give |
| creative, you could give a panoramic walk-through | | | | details of a contact number - say, your mobile |
| virtual tour of the home with descriptions for | | | | phone number. You can also choose to have |
| each of the rooms. However, you may require | | | | details of a website on the board. If you don't |
| some help creating a website of this sort of level | | | | have a website, you can advertise the sale of the |
| of difficulty. Fortunately, webmasters (people who | | | | house on the website of the company that will |
| make websites) are not overly expensive, | | | | make the for sale board for you. |
| especially when you think of how much you can | | | | Without a doubt, for sale boards certainly work. |
| save in real estate agent fees! Marketing the site | | | | They let people know you are genuine in your |
| is the tricky part, but you could create an advert | | | | intentions to sell the property. They also catch the |
| and using Googles AdWords targeting property | | | | eye of the casual viewer, who could then become |
| sales in your area. Using this you get visitors to | | | | serious. The success of for sale boards is the |
| your site fast, and for a fraction of the price the | | | | main reason why real estate agents are so keen |
| estate agent would want. | | | | to place one outside your home about a half an |
| The principal difference, however, between | | | | hour after you advertise the property with them. |
| creating your own website and using an FSBO | | | | And also the reason they leave them up long |
| website to advertise the sale of your home is | | | | after you have moved in! |
| that with an FSBO website you can piggy-back of | | | | It costs very little to buy a for sale board, yet |
| their advertising and search engine ranking, but | | | | the rewards speak for themselves. So why not |
| creating your own website will also mean that you | | | | take the chance and do away with having to pay |
| have to get the site noticed, i.e. you will need to | | | | real estate commissions and fees by advertising |
| market the site yourself (for example, by giving | | | | the sale of your home with your very own |
| out flyers at shopping malls) and submit details of | | | | personalised for sale board. |