Quality MLS Information Sells

"Old School" philosophies don't cut it with buyers

Real estate advertising needs to change with the times.

In the "old days." the theory was to give away as little information as possible to "get the phone to ring." That included practices like not having the address in the ad, so the buyer had to call and speak with an agent to get the desired information.

Trying to use the same practice with today's online information deluge just doesn't work, yet I still see agents withholding information to get buyers to call. Either that or it's just plain sloppy work.

This biggest mistake I see is the lack of photographs. Buyers surfing the net want to see pictures. Your agent may think that a messy interior or lack of desired features would cause a buyer not to request a showing and that may be true - but what if the buyer wouldn't be put off? Lack of photos will not make that buyer pick up the phone. The buyer will simply call on a listing that has photos they like. There are just too many other choices out there right now for the buyer to waste their time.

It's an agent's job to tell the seller things which they may not want to hear, but what is more important - a "nice" agent or an agent who tells you what you MUST do to get your house sold? I won't list a house until it is photo ready. And if I have to rearrange some things to make a room photogenic then I will! There is simply no excuse for lacking photographs in every listing on the MLS and internet.

The buyer won't call, they will simply say, "Next!" And every one of my clients have confirmed this with me.

The other big mistake is lacking information in the MLS listing. Today's buyers are usually getting automated emails generated from the MLS. The agent inputs the desired amenities and out shoots the results to the buyer. If a listing has that amenity yet the agent was too lazy or too careless to enter it in the MLS, the buyer will never see the listing and your property will be overlooked.

Common ommissions that buyers specify? Square footage, age of the home, pets allowed in condos, new construction, subdivision, school district, rents for investment properties & acreage. Other items which may be listed as search-able "keywords" in the comments would be: foreclosure, remodeled, dogs allowed, granite, master suite, maple, cherry, new kitchen, new bath, etc.

By not having every detail filled out on the MLS form, you may be filtering out your home from these all-important searches. Doublecheck your listing to make sure that buyer's aren't missing your property, too!