Comments on: Double Check Your For Sale Listing Details

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:36:10 +0000

I have to agree about lack of info out there on homes for sale. I use realtor.com and our local paper’s website to search about once or twice a week. Some of the listings with no pictures or a 2-line description, I’ll just skip over. If I’m going to take my time to go to an open house or even drive by the place, I want to know exact details. Some of the listings don’t even put sq footage in there – to me that is just lazy.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:35:53 +0000

There’s an interesting section of Freakonomics on this topic. The section basically says that definable assets to your home improve your selling price. Examples like the words Granite Countertops, Hard Wood Floors, etc. Soft descriptions such as the words Charming, and use of exclamation points (!) are a subtle invitation to low bid on a house. I’m paraphrasing here, but the whole book is pretty interesting to read as well. I’m sure many BFP-readers here have read it (Freakonomics).

By: jim

jim — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:44:44 +0000

Your argument makes sense to me but I’m skeptical whether it’s true in the real world.

By: tim

tim — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:28:22 +0000

I really believe its more about quantity of people.

You can’t begin to convince someone that this might be the house for them if you don’t first get them in to see it. Big purchases like this play on emotion more than logic. If you could show what a great deal the house is and then play down the present or future costs of remediation work for the water issue, you’d have a better chance of playing emotions to convince them that this could be the right house for them…

Say 2 of 10 potential homebuyers are quality and don’t care about this condition – they’ll be quality regardless of what is put in the ad.

Chances are a good realtor could convince 1 or 2 of the remaining 8 that their potential deal-breakers aren’t a big deal. But first the realtor would need a chance to get them emotionally involved.

Rationalized emotions seem to end up meaning more than logic in the homebuying process! Thats why novelette-type prose is used – low on logic high on feeling.

Then buyers remorse is when logic starts to mean more than emotion again after a contract is signed.

By: jim

jim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:09:10 +0000

A homebuyer that knows about the water infiltration issue after they show up is not going to buy your home, you don’t want quantity of people, you want quality, right?

By: tim

tim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:59:12 +0000

More information might throw up flags for some potential homebuyers. The agent’s ancillary job is to get as many warm bodies into the house as possible.

Wouldn’t you prefer a house that had no water infiltration issue to one that clearly has had an issue in the past? That’s what you’re advertising if you talk about things like the UV HVAC system or extensive basement cleaning. The 4 letter word of the housing industry – MOLD – is a huge risk.

I agree that descriptions other cosmetic improvements could better differentiate a house for sale. Add as many photos as possible too!

By: jim

jim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:05:40 +0000

Jay – I totally agree, I was also surprised with how little information there was and why companies didn’t create simple websites around homes with pictures, videos, etc. A domain is $9, it can’t be that hard to slap some photos in a template and show more.

By: jay

jay — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:04:16 +0000

In this day and age information is king. I could agree more with your post. I was looking at houses a few months ago (holding off to see when this housing spiral figures itself out) and realized how little info the postings had.

I want more than a couple sentance description. Lots of pictures and even a video while you are at it. It all comes down to time. Most open houses are during the weekend. If I am spending my weekend time searching for a home I want to maximize my output. I’d much rather spend the time up-front researching from my couch in the middle of the night than the weekend when I could be doing something much more fun!

Maybe because I am a first time buyer my expectations are out of whack.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:49:00 +0000

More info upfront is always better. When we were looking for a place, I gravitated towards listings that were very detailed about every aspect of the home. Your friend may have gotten more interest – and more serious interest – if she had done so!

By: jim

jim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:18:36 +0000

This was about a year ago, when SS was hotter.

What is the trend nowadays for appliances?

By: devil

devil — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:59:46 +0000

Stainless steel is to this decade what harvest gold and avocado green were to the 1970s. It’s nearly out-of-style already. Also, SS has the unfortunate distinction of being the most commonly used appliance finish in McMansions, many of which are repos now.

I don’t blame the agent for not mentioning it.