Please help us write our FSBO flyer

17 years ago

Well, the sign is in the yard and our first person to look was...the realtor selling the same model house around the corner. Our home is priced the same as his, but ours is in much better condition. He said he was having an open house Sunday, so now we need to get our flyers out! (I feel a little bad piggy backing on him, we really didn't intend to).

Can you please help us put these items in order or tell us to omit them to make a nice flyer? We've got pictures coming too. This is a low to average neighborhood, about half rentals.

I so appreciate all the help you all provide. This site has been an absolute blessing through this process!

Okay, here's the list:

$249,900

Address and Phone number

4/2.5 2016 square feet, built 1998

3 cable jacks, 3 high speed internet jacks

Beautiful low maintenance yard and garden

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries

Custom neutral paint througout

Upgraded lights and faucets

Excellent condition

Finished insulated garage (most here aren't)

Attic storage

Gas fireplace

Spacious bedrooms

Large pantry

Quiet loop street

Near shopping and entertainment

New 56 acre park nearby

Coveted east side location

Excellent Schools including new Union High

Courtesy to agents (2.5%)

$500 finders bonus at closing for a referral that leads to the sale of this home. (If multiple people refer the same buyer, the first will receive the bonus.)

I'd appreciate any input on what to put first, etc. to make a good impression. Should we add the last two items? This is probably our best shot at getting a buyer because of all the exposure.

Thanks tons!

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Comments (9)

ma28
17 years ago
I just went to an open house and I got a flyer from them....Here there example that you may want to use:

1st page:

Should include address: #### address, city, state, zip code.
Then a brief description of the house: EXAMPLE:
Beautiful________ in truly " move in condition". This home is __ story w/hardwood, carpet etc... Formal living room and dining room w/ neutral painted walls throughout. Kitchen features include:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.The house has __ bedrooms and __ bathrooms. Master suite has spacious closet space.Finished basement is great for entertaining(or if you have a den or familyroom)Additional amenties include low maintaince lawn, 3 cable jacks,3 high spped internet jacks and a insulated garage. PRICE

2nd page : should have this info.
GENERAL INFO:
bedrooms:# Bathrooms:#
subdivision or neighborhood: name if any
PROPERTY INFO:
approx. age: # style of house:-- square feet:--
lot dimension: # x # total acres: #
INTERIOR INFO:
attic: basement type: kitchen: fireplace if any: kitchen fixtures: total rooms:
EXTERIOR INFO:
porch or deck:
UTILITY INFO:
central a/c: what type of sewer:
what type of heat:
SCHOOL SYSTEM:
elem. school name: middle name:
high school:
MISCELLANEOUS INFO:
$500 FINDERS BONUS at closingfor a referral that leads......

I hope this help you in any way.

Good luck and keep us posted.
maria
teelag
17 years ago
What differentiates your house from the other one around the corner? Better kitchen finishes, better bathroom finishes, better view? I would play those up on your flyer, especially if people might be seeing them back to back. Make sure they easily remember that your house is the better one. :-)

What does their flyer say?

Are you guys planning to do an open house the same day as the realtor this weekend? I think that would be a great idea. Don't worry about piggy backing...that's just the way it goes.

I would put the courtesy to agents in a prominent place, as well as the referral bonus.

When I am house hunting, I really love when the seller has a ton of info on the flyer, as well as great pictures, so I think you are off to a good start, no matter how you decide to format it.
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When I did FSBO, I never got DL info from lookers. Rarely, if ever, do people come knocking. They call, or email.You see their callerid info when they call. I did quick pre-qual type questions. Not pre-qual on the money part, but asked if they had a home to sell, what they were looking for in a home, where they lived now, when they planned to move, etc. Just causual nice conversation, as they were asking about the home and I would answer questions too. Several times, I weeded out people that were NOT buyers at all and just lived very nearby and wanted to look. I would catch them in lies at times. In these cases, I would politely decline the showing. You can ALWAYS decline a showing if you don't feel comfortable with someone on the phone/email. Just let them know you won't be showing at this time due to scheduling issues (or whatever). Or plan it for when there is someone there with you. You don't have to answer your door either. Listen to your gut. When they came for an appointment, I often allowed them in and then went out back on the patio (or the front porch, or driveway) and let them know that I was there if they had any questions. You can prep a chair/drink under a nice shade tree and that can be where you go for all showings.(I didn't worry about them taking anything from inside, because there were none there.) Other times, I would leave before the showing with the dog, and spouse would show the home (with spouse on the patio to get out of the buyer's way, which I think is most important). If you are scared, then take precautions, protect yourself, or just hire a realtor. I found that buyers usually came with both spouses. Most lookers came on weekends after lunch and before dinner time. I had a web site with many photos and posted the URL on the flyer. I think this weeded down the lookers to those that were serious. Most lookie-lous were satisfied looking at the photos on the web. I found that all peopel that toured the home had viewed the web site prior to seeing the home in person (except one couple that was from out of state, that didn't have access to a computer during their househunting trip) I never told folks that were setting appointments when we were home and when we weren't(at work, for example). I simply set the appts and didn't tell them anything else about our schedules. I didn't say, I get home at 5, so let's set the time for 5:30. That is too much info.
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kaleberg
17 years ago
It's great that you are paying attention to this critical part of your strategy. You might consider using more specific words such as "granite" or "hardwood." For reasons I can't understand, buyers apparently respond well to the phrase, "gourmet kitchen." You should highlight the big closets, the good schools, the pantry, the fireplace, and the location. Forget the upgraded faucets, the fruit trees, and the jacks. Best of luck; your house sounds like a well priced, high value item.
jeff147
17 years ago
Fantastic article for exactly this task:

http://toreal.blogs.com/toronto/2006/12/locution_locuti.html
minet
17 years ago
Do you mean the flyer you're putting outside in the box for people to pick up? If so, I'd recommend a one-page flyer with 3-4 pictures and some of this info:

$249,900
Address and Phone number
4/2.5 2016 square feet, built 1998
Custom neutral paint throughout
Upgraded lights and faucets
Finished insulated garage
Attic storage
Gas fireplace
Spacious bedrooms
Large pantry
Near shopping and entertainment
New 56 acre park nearby

Make the print large enough to read easily, leave some white space so it doesn't look too busy, you don't need to emphasize everything - just get people interested in looking at your house. They can get a full info sheet once they're inside, and that doesn't need to have pictures, just text.

Good luck!
akkw
17 years ago
I'd lose the really detailed items on your list, such as the fruit and the jacks. And the upgraded lights and faucets. Sometimes when people list two or three 'positives' that are relatively small, yet don't mention anything about, say, the kitchen ("gourmet kitchen" or "large eat-in kitchen" etc. it makes me wonder.

I would definitely add something about kitchen in your description (it's the first thing I am curious about) if you can.

Normally I would say to put SCHOOLS (if a good district, like yours) and the park information right at the top, but if this is going to be in your yard, lookers will probably already know that. It does depend on where you are going to use this flyer.

I would also use a few sentences to describe the important things about the house at the very top, rather than putting everything in a list form.

Good luck - it sounds like a nice house!
billya
17 years ago
roxyl,

How do you plan to implement the finder's bonus? I am thinking of doing the same thing, but I haven't figured out how to ensure the finder that I will pay him/her after a buyer is sent to me and we close on the property. Do you plan to have a contract that binds you to pay this person? If so where are you getting the contract? It seems to me that this is a problem.

I have searched the internet for forms, but have found nothing that applies. Has anyone on this board ever done this?

It seems to me that this could be a useful technique in a down housing market such as we are currently experiencing.

Bill
roxyl
Original Author
17 years ago
Okay, here's a quick update. We got our flyers done (I'll have to figure out how to post one on here) and out in time for the agent's open house around the corner from our house. We live on a loop so it would have been natural for them to come on around this way. I think he must have told agents to make sure not to come this way because all day no one drove by even though there were people at the other home. What do you make of that!
As far as the finder's fee, I guess I never thought through a legal document. I saw another person use this tactic. If a person referred a buyer and it led to the sale of the home, they would receive x dollars at closing. How would one make that secure so the referrer (?) would get his money and the seller could make sure and only pay one finder's fee? Any ideas anyone?
minet
17 years ago
Did you have For Sale signs out on the street corners? If there's another open house nearby I'd make sure I had some big For Sale signs out with my address clearly marked on them. With arrows pointing toward my house. Then even if the agent was trying to avoid going past your house the buyer would still see the sign and probably want to at least drive by your house.

For the legal documents, you need to consult an RE attorney. I wouldn't try to do that part on my own.

Please help us write our FSBO flyer

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ma28

teelag

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Please help us write our FSBO flyer

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