How to Sell a House

The Newspaper Ad Calls

When it came to how to sell a house for sale by owner as you may recall, Joe and Mary have been making some serious errors.

Lets follow them and see how those phone calls are handled, when buyers answer the newspaper ad they placed.

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If you want to follow the Joe and Mary story in a sequence of events, each page is numbered from #1 to #13 at the bottom of each page. This page is #6.

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It's early Monday morning and our happy couple are sitting at the kitchen table having their usual cup of Java.

They have checked out the ad Mary placed in the local newspaper and everything seems in order. They are ready to sell!

J: (glancing up at the wall clock) Well, here we are. It's 7:30 and I'm nervous as cat at a pitbull convention. I sure hope we start getting calls soon.

M: (trying to look relaxed) Don't worry, people will be calling soon enough I expect.

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Note: Just as a reminder, here is the ad that was placed in the house to sell section of the local newspaper.

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BEAUTIFUL BUNGALOW
Fully finished with 3 bdrms
and 2 full baths. Large garage
4 appliances included. Oak
kitchen. Call for appointment
to view. (555) 555-1234

If you haven't read the page on Joe and Mary's how to sell a house ad writing adventure, you can go to Joe and Mary Write Ads if you wish.

RING!

Mary jumps up from the kitchen table. She clears her throat, picks up the receiver......

M: Good-morning.

Caller Yes, I'm calling about your ad in today's paper concerning your house for sale. Is it still available?

M: Yes it is. We just put it on the market.

Caller: Great! How much are you asking?

M: We are asking $319,900.00, but we are flexible on that price.

How to sell a house Tip #1 - Never start bargaining on the phone. Just state the price.

Caller: I see. Where is the house located?

M: We are at 123 Anywhere Street here in Any City.

Caller: Is there a family room downstairs?

M: Yes, we have a lovely large family room in the basement with a wet bar included. Would you like to have a look?

Caller: Errr, I have to talk to my wife first. How about I call you back later today after we discuss things together.

M: That sounds great. If we don't answer, just leave a message to let us know what time you will be arriving. By the way, one great thing we like about this house is the city transit bus stops right out front. We just have the one car and with both of us working, it comes in handy.

Caller: That's super. I'll let my wife know.

M: Oh, I almost forgot. If you aren't familiar with this area, it's very quiet here. The majority of people in the area are retired so there are few children running around in the street.

How to sell a house Tip #2 Don't volunteer information that is not asked.

Caller: Well, thank-you for the information. We'll give you a call later today OK?

M: That would be fine. I have another call coming in so I guess we'll see you later. Thanks for calling. Bye now.

Mary answers the 2nd call. The conversation follows the same pattern. How much? Where is the house located? A few more questions about the house and property.

Several of the callers mentioned they had to talk to their spouse first and would call back. A couple callers, actually said they would come over to see the house after dinner. Three callers said they wanted to drive by first and then would probably call back, or just drop in if that was OK.

How to sell a house Tip #3: Don't believe what anyone says when calling on your ads!

Mary and Joe took turns answering the phone. The more calls they received, the more excited they were. They made a mark on a sheet of paper for each call, so he could keep track of the total.

J: Wow Honey! We've received 14 calls so far, plus 2 from real estate agents on our first day! Even if only 1/2 of them show up, I'll be happy. We should be able to sell in no time!

M: We better have an early dinner and clean up, so we don't have people showing up while we are eating.

J: Good idea sweetie. You're always thinking ahead. (Joe gives Mary a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.)

The How to Sell a House Big Letdown

When dinner was finished and the dishes were safely stored in the dishwasher, Joe and Mary sat down to wait for the phone, or the doorbell to ring.

At 6:30, Joe got up for the second time to check for a dial tone on the receiver. Mary nervously took another peek out the front picture window.

At 7:00 the doorbell rang. Finally! Joe got up to greet their visitor.

J: Hi. Are you here to view our house?

Caller: Yes, if you don't mind. (holding out right hand to shake) I'm Brian Smith from XYZ Realty.

J: (trying to hide his disappointment) I'm Joe. Come on in. This is my wife, Mary.

After touring the house, Brian gives Joe his business card and tells them if he has a buyer, he'll be happy to show and sell the house to them.

Joe and Mary thank him for dropping by and tell Brian they would be happy to let him sell the house, but they would have to get full price because of the commission.

Brian smiles and leaves.

How to sell a house Tip #4

- Please don't talk about how you need full price because of the commission. OK? It's totally redundant.

At 7:30 the phone is still silent and no one shows up at the door.

At 8:57 the strain is showing on our for sale by owner's faces.

J: Well, I guess we might as well pack it in for the night. I can't believe none of those other people showed up, or even had the decency to call back!

M: Maybe we just got the wrong people today. I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

Later that night as our for sale by owners drifted off to sleep, both of them are thinking about the days events. What went wrong? More importantly, what is wrong with those people?

Answer: Nothing. :)

How to Sell a House Critique - What Did Happen?

We know that our couple have been making mistakes, on how to sell a house for sale by owner. Lets reiterate some of those mistakes before we continue.

• They based their price on hear-say and with the idea that they would start high and could lower the price later.
• They bought an inexpensive hard to see lawn sign, that will fade under the sun's UV rays in short order.
• They decided not to paint rooms because, "The buyers could choose their own colors".

and.....

• They made several mistakes with their how to sell a house local newspaper advertising campaign as well.

I can't say it enough. When you advertise your house for sale by owner, always include the asking price and always include the address or at least narrow it to a small geographic area.

The reason is simple. You want to sell one house. You want to target buyers that are in the price range you are asking and want to live in your area.

A real estate agent just wants the phone to ring, so they can pick up a buyer to sell any house to. This is why they sometimes don't put in the price or address.

If you don't put the price and address in your ad, you may actually receive more inquires. But at what costs? You are going to receive calls from people that perhaps can't afford your house.

Will they tell you? Probably not. They pretend that they are interested by asking questions, make their great escape, which is usually I have to talk to my spouse and you sit waiting for the return call.

This is what happened to our starring couple.

The Results - Cause and Effect

The Cause - An ad placed in the newspaper without a price or address.

The Effect - After a for sale by owner has handled several phone calls from an advertisement and either no one calls back or shows up, self doubt creeps into the picture. The seller gets discouraged very quickly.

Sellers then start thinking they need a real estate agent in order to sell. They may become over anxious and start trying to hard sell anyone that does show up.

What's worse, is some people may not call on the house ad because the price was not included. A buyer may have slipped right through your fingers.

Think about that for a moment. Were you ever in the market to buy a used car? When you looked at ads under used cars for sale, which ads were you most likely to call? The ones with the price, or the ones without the price. If you are like most people, you wanted that asking price before you called.

Whether it's, how to sell a car or how to sell a house, that "law" remains the same when for sale by owner.

Don't give people a reason not to call.

We'll leave Joe and Mary at this time so they can get a good nights sleep. Shhhh!

Tomorrow is a whole new day and though Joe and Mary don't know it yet, they are about to get a "hot buyer over to view their house! Of course we will cover some more how to sell a house drama and tips. :)

If you are following this story in sequence, please proceed to #7 below.

For More Information about the Joe and Mary Story

and how to sell a house

#1 The Joe and Mary Story Main Page

#2 Joe and Mary Select a Sign

#3 Joe and Mary Prepare Their House to Sell

#4 Our by Owner Couple Place a Newspaper Ad

#5 Joe and Mary Go Online

#7 Joe and Mary Find a Hot Buyer!

#8 Joe and Mary Decide to get an Appraisal

#9 Joe and Mary Prepare for Open House

#10 Our for Sale by Owner's do their First Open House

#11 Joe and Mary get a 2nd House Showing

#12 Joe and Mary get an Offer

#13 Joe and Mary Close the Deal!

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