Adding value to your house sale ....

I've been planning to write a book on how to Sell Your Home for More & Buy Your Next for Less. After my 7th weeks of preparation & researching, guess what?!

Gil Davis has his new book "Sell for More" published. I take it as a signal that I should give up my project :-(

Anyway, here is some tip bits from his new book, written in a local news paper:

http://oakleigh-monash-leader.whereilive.com.au/real-estate/story/adding-value-to-your-house-sale/

Adding value to your house sale

06 Oct 08 @ 11:48am by Yvonne Campbell

GAINING the right exposure means the creation of advertising that draws in quality buyers.

Ensuring the property appeals to a wider demographic increases your chances of finding the best buyers quickly.

These activities fall under the domain of your real estate agent, and author Gil Davis believes vendors should be involved in the process.

“After all, you bought the property and know what you like about it. More importantly, you have the most to win or lose,” the former real estate agent says in his book, Sell for More.

To get a property noticed, Mr Davis says it is important to target advertising to the audience you are aiming to attract.

This can be done by a series of different advertisements over a period of weeks.

The aim is to connect with the buyer, give them information, but not too much, so that they want to find out more.

However Mr Davis warns against over-selling, in case your advertisements drive buyers away with something inconsequential.

“Many advertisements fail this test,” he says.

“No-one was ever ‘stunned’ by a house unless it had faulty wiring.”

So how do you know if your advertising campaign is actually working?

The only way is through buyer feedback.

Your agent should ask every person who rings or inquires about the property where they saw it and what they thought of it.

Above all, Mr Davis says, if an advertisement is not getting the desired result, change it.

When writing an advertisement the aim is to ensure that your property stands out in the marketplace.

Most important is to define the target market and focus your advertising on that.

For example, if you have a five-bedroom home with two bathrooms, separate lounge, dining and a family room, your advertising should focus on the fact that it will suit a family.

It should also answer the five basic questions: What is it? Where is it? When is it open? How much is it? and Whom do I contact?

Good photography is crucial to successful advertising.

Mr Davis strongly advocates the use of a professional photographer, no matter how inexpensive the property. “It will make a difference to the sale price,” Mr Davis says, as will preparing the property before the photographer arrives.

Arranging furniture and ensuring adequate artificial lighting, or choosing the best time of day for external shots, when there is not a lot of shading outside, will mean the difference between a great shot and a poor one.

Equally, make sure the content of the photos link to the message you are conveying in the text.

Mr Davis says photos should not be restricted to just a photo of the facade. If there is room in the advertisement, also include photos of the garden.

Finally Mr Davis suggests leaving advertisements a day or two before re-reading them to make sure that they do hit the mark.

Published by HarperCollins, Sell for More is available for A$19.99 (RRP) at all good bookshops in Australia.