Some examples include:

 

Wherever you advertise your home, whether online, in a magazine or in a newspaper, pictures are important. Buyers want a preview of what the inside and outside of a home looks like before they go out of their way to schedule a tour. If an advertisement for a home only has 1 picture or none at all, or doesn’t show the inside of the house, a buyer may think you have something to hide.

 

If you want plenty of good offers, give your agent permission to take several pictures of the inside and outside of the house so that the buyers who are paying a visit to your home already know they are interested.

 

Try to use a good quality camera, but if you don’t have one, a cell phone camera will do. Some pictures are better than no pictures, but more pictures is best.

 

When people decide they are ready to look for a home, the first place they look is online. Your agent will probably use social media and all the major online portals to advertise your home to potential buyers but don’t be afraid to advertise your home on your own social media accounts. One of your friends or followers may be looking for a home and you never know if they’ll be the one that closes the deal.

 

When it comes to advertising a home for sale, the most effective marketing is not directly to the public, but to other agents. A multiple listing service, commonly referred to as the MLS, is a real estate agent’s one-stop shop for locating properties and getting in touch with buyers’ agents. It’s a huge database of listings that licensed real estate agents pay a hefty penny to have access to.

 

It’s so useful because it’s often the first tool a buyer’s agent will use to locate properties for a buyer. The buyer’s agent can “shop” for properties online, send the buyers a “cart” of properties and the buyers will then let the agent know whether they are interested in the properties or not. Thousands of agents access the MLS to find properties for their clients so you can be sure that if your property is listed in the MLS, you’ll receive plenty of requests to come view your property and consequently plenty of offers.

 

So you’re property has been advertised in print, online and via the MLS, and now you’re receiving requests to view the home. The best thing you can do is allow agents to give their clients a tour of your home, preferably in private, so that buyers can get a better idea of whether or not your home is the one they want to buy.

 

Appointments are great because they give you more control over the home-touring process. But lockboxes are better because it allows agents to bring their clients by your home without you having to always be there. If you aren’t staying in the home you’re trying to sell, definitely use a lockbox because you’ll get way more showings.

 

It’s always best to go away when the house is shown so your would-be buyers can imagine themselves living in the home without feeling like intruders. Leaving the house also gives them the freedom to discuss its pros and cons honestly without worrying about offending you.