Periodic tips and reminders to help focus your by-owner marketing and win your commission-free sale - from Canada’s by-owner web-site, www.privatelist.com.

THIS ISSUE:      Why Sell Privately? / Scare Tactics

ARCHIVES:     www.privatelist.com/newsletter.htm

WHY SELL PRIVATELY?

Whether your property has been on the market for a while or you’re just starting to plan how you’ll go about marketing it, consider the following advantages inherent in selling privately:

• You can save time. With no commission to pay (commissions across Canada these days average over $10,000), you can advertise a more attractive asking-price than your realtor-based competition, increasing your chances for a quick sale;
   
• You can save money. Even after sharing the saved commission with your buyers, you should still come out several thousand dollars ahead. Will you be buying again? Every thousand dollars you save and then put towards your next house will eliminate up to four thousand in monthly mortgage payments! (See our Oct 21/99 newsletter for details.)
   
• You can control the showings. Rather than feeling the home must be spotless every morning when you leave for work (in case a realtor shows it in your absence), you determine the preparation-and-showing schedule.
   
• You can minimize uncertainty. As a private seller, you contact prospects directly for their impressions once they’ve toured your home (please see our Nov 16/99 newsletter) - rather than waiting . . . and waiting . . . for a realtor to get back to you;
   
• You can take full advantage of the Internet. Some realtors will tell you that internet exposure is part of their service. But before you sign a listing agreement, compare their web-site display (one photo and their phone number?) with a typical PrivateList display (up to ten photos per display PLUS comprehensive "how-to" information for both buyers and sellers;
   
• You can sell from the heart. Who knows your home and neighbourhood better than you? House-buying has to do with feelings and imagination as much as dry facts. You’ve lived there: there’s no-one better placed to help prospective buyers picture your house as their home;
   
• You can lessen the pressure. Do your homework and have a clear picture of what you need to accomplish and why, and chances are that dealing directly with buyers will be less stressful than using an intermediary whose motives you may be unsure of;
   
• You can streamline communication concerning legal details. Whether you sell privately or not, ultimately it’s your lawyer who covers your back. As a private seller, get your lawyer involved early on and you’ll be surprised how few surprises there are in the typical residential sale;
   
• You can avoid that TRAPPED feeling. Selling privately doesn’t preclude your benefitting from the involvement of realtors with genuine buyers: just give them a 24-hour listing, with the buyer paying the commission. But it does eliminate the risk of being tied up for months with someone who’s not doing the job. (BEWARE any non-written assurances that you can cancel a listing at any time - see our Jan 1/00 newsletter.)

SCARE TACTICS

Here are a few arguments realtors may use to suggest you are totally incapable of selling your property without their help (the rebuttals are in brackets):

• Only we realtors can determine a realistic asking price! (Our essay Price, Price, Price describes in great detail what market value is, why it’s so important, and how you can determine it.)
   
• How can you match our professional marketing! (See the resources on this web-site for advice on using the Internet, free and paid classifieds, lawn signs, highlight sheets and word of mouth to let the world know about your property. Incidentally, PrivateList attracts 5-6000 visitor sessions each month.)
   
• You’ll be plagued by tire-kickers and unqualified buyers! (The internet lets the former indulge themselves online - you’re actually less likely to meet them in person. Our Timely Tip #2 explains exactly how to help buyers qualify themselves financially; Tip #11 looks at the sorts of questions to ask when prospective buyers first phone for a showing appointment.)
   
• We know HOW to show your home, and can do it while you’re away! (Having your home showable 100% of the time can be extremely taxing - see above. But your full-colour PrivateList display is available world-wide 24 hours a day, helping to minimize futile showings and encouraging genuine prospects to accommodate your schedule. As for the "how-tos" of conducting a tour, see our Mar 1/00 newsletter.)
   
• We can save you from all the legal pitfalls! (The typical residential sale is not that complicated. And in any event, handling legal details is what LAWYERS are for!)
   
• We are professional negotiators! (Again a mixed blessing if you have any doubts about your realtor’s motivation. Unless you are terrified of dealing directly with other people, there is no reason why you can't negotiate on your own behalf - provided you do your homework. Here are some tips.)
   
• We can handle all the steps involved in closing! (PSST! Your lawyer takes care of that, too . . .)
   
• Buyers don’t take private sellers seriously! (Our Oct 21/99 newsletter shows how to maximize your credibility, and our testimonials page indicates that some buyers don’t take REALTORS seriously!)
   
• Very few private sellers succeed! (On average over the last three years, PrivateList clients have reported another successful sale every 9 days. Nation-wide statistics on the success rate of private sellers are hard to come by, but published figures show that, on average, the long-term ratio of sales to listings for realtors is 50-60%.)
   

One last argument: The MLS sells thousands of properties every month!

Rebuttal? True, realtors do move a lot of properties (and also fail to move a lot of properties). But the issue is not whether a realtor could sell your home, it's whether YOU can - and save a bundle in the process.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS . . .

Are the thousands of dollars you'll save by selling privately worth, say, an hour each week-end, spent reviewing your progress to date and mapping out your continuing campaign?

It's important to maintain an active marketing focus until your property is sold. Therefore, each e-mail version of this newsletter ends with a series of reminders, tips and tools that lead to a sale!

To access these resources, press here.

©2000 PrivateList