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:      Selling A Vacant House / Floor-plans

ARCHIVES:     www.privatelist.com/newsletter.htm

SELLING A VACANT HOUSE

Here are some tips on the special challenge of marketing an empty property, many drawn from The Everything Homeselling Book (Rejnis, Ruth. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 2000.) . . .

on decorating:

• a fresh coat of paint will pay real dividends - just keep the color neutral;
   
• replace the carpets if they’re old; steam-clean them if they're not;
   
• if at all possible, leave the curtains - they help absorb those empty echoes, and add visual warmth;
   
• leave some lamps for both daytime and evening showings, and a few pieces of furniture to illustrate the true size of rooms and, again, add some warmth;
   
• dried flowers or easy-care larger plants can contribute a little colour;
   
• leave the shower-curtain, and some fresh towels in the bathroom and kitchen.
   

on maintenance:

• a no-brainer: stay on top of the yard work - both for curb appeal and to avoid flagging a vacant property to the wrong people (you might also purchase a few plug-in timers (check your local hardware store) that will turn your lamps on and off evenings to give outsiders the impression the home is occupied);
   
• if you’re selling through the winter and shut down the heat, don’t forget to drain the plumbing - otherwise, you may end up with broken water lines;
   
• leave the electricity on, though, since you'll turn on all lights for every showing, night or day.

on showings:

• be at the house far enough in advance of your guests to air the place out (particularly in the summer when a closed-up house becomes hot and stuffy), pick up any loose fliers, etc.;
   
• if your new home is far away from the one you’re selling, why not hire someone to keep an eye on it, water the plants, etc.? (Check "house sitters" or "pet sitters" in the Yellow Pages.)

Of course, the best thing you can do with a vacant property is to sell it quickly, so don't be afraid to spend a little money fixing things up and getting the word out.

And when it comes time to look at that first offer, weigh carefully the continuing cost, in time and money, of losing a sale.

FLOOR-PLANS

The PrivateList enrollment form requires a floor-plan sketch along with photos and property details. Whether we include the plan as part of a display (see for example) or simply as a guide in writing the captions, we want prospective buyers to have clear idea of your house’s layout as they take the online tour.

If you have a plan from when the house was built, send us a copy! If you want, look for a software tool like 3D Home Architect to produce a crisp drawing for your marketing folder. But basically, all we need is a careful sketch indicating how the homes’s rooms relate to each-other.

Here’s the simplest way to draw it:

• use ¼" graph-paper if possible (check your local drugstore);
   
• do a sketch for each finished floor in the house;
   
• begin by measuring and drawing the outside walls (this will confirm the home’s total square-footage);
   
• indicate which direction the house-front faces;
   
• next, sketch in the exterior windows and doors in their approximate locations;
   
• using the exterior doors and windows as a guide, draw the interior walls, working from the outside in towards any central halls;
   
• label the rooms and indicate baths as 2pc, 4pc, etc.;
   
• sketch in closets, interior doors, skylights, fireplaces and stairs (with an arrow pointing to the top of the stairwell);
   
• if you intend the plan to appear as part of your display, write in the room measurements.

And here’s a related tip regarding your interior photos: where possible, use a camera with a wide angle lens (eg. 28 mm), so you can include entrances and exits for each room when you plan your shots. This helps us write the captions to read like an actual walk-through, again leaving prospective buyers with a clearer feel for the home’s layout.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS . . .

It's important to maintain an active marketing focus until your property is sold. Just an hour every week-end, spent reviewing progress to date and mapping out a response, can pay real dividends.

Therefore, each e-mail version of PrivateList PROACTIVE ends with a series of reminders, and links to tips and tools for your on-going campaign.

To access these resources, press here.

©2000 PrivateList