Are you tired of having to go out on your weekly real estate agent home tour?  Does the price of gas make this seem like a waste of time and money? If you're like many agents who work out of their homes, these questions are front and center when you're thinking about IF you will join the broker tour in any given week.

Since we have several newer agents in our office, they wanted to have this experience, so we arranged to tour some of our home listings.  It was quite an outing.  

When I started thinking about the potential outside of my traditional perspective, all sorts of new ways of Marketing came to my mind. Here are some other ways to make your Home Tour a viable marketing activity which continues to reap dividends long after you've been out for several hours in your car.

On this tour, I decided to try something new myself and took my camera along.  Take a look at what I did on Facebook. 

Post your Tour Link with tinyurl to Twitter, to tell people in your local area and beyond what you've been up to.

Upload pictures of your tour and places of interest to your LinkedIn profile.  Invite people to ask questions about the places you saw and the homes you have listed.

Share more than just listing jargon...talk about the area, sites of interest and nearby attractions.

Post pictures and/or video to Flickr.com

Post pictures and/or video to Facebook.  Share your album with Friends

Make a YouTube video about the area and the homes you see.  Start a series as the local tour expert in your area.  This can be very effective if you have a speciality such as highlighting a Foreclosure Tour of your local area.

Do a Real Estate Show on your tour and then export it all over the place.  It will also index on google for all the addresses you mention.

And then of course...blog about it!

These are just a few simple suggestions on how you can take an activity like real estate touring which seems to be loosing steam and reinvigorate it with fresh perspective and imagination. 

This type of thinking not only creates ample promotion opportunities, but is a way to create true Value to your clients in the successful marketing of their home in ways that can be effective beyond the traditional norms of showcasing an area and listing.  Today's homebuyer is shopping in a million different places.  Are you engaging your buyer where they're looking?

Pictures of homes from Audu Real Estate Home Listing Tour of June 23, 2008

Copyright 2008  Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved

Summer weather roared in with blazing high temperatures and strong storms here in Grand Rapids, Michigan!  It's been a little while since I've been able to look out my window at a clear blue sky and gently swaying trees.  In some ways the recent rush of climatic activity is a metaphor for the real estate situation here in West Michigan.

2008 has been a year in which we have seen some stormy conditions.  The year commenced with the down draft in the mortgage sector due to the sub-prime lending crisis.  In fact, until just recently, most of West Michigan was considered a declining market which meant that New Home Buyers were being asked to bring additional money to the closing table to close loans.  Money which many of them were hard pressed to find. Zero down programs evaporated into the cosmic ethers.

Yet, not all the news was bad.  In the midst of this tempest, affordability levels increased as the prices of homes plummeted sharply creating all sorts of opportunities for buyers and investors to pick up properties at rock bottom prices.  Home owners learned hard lessons about the laws of supply and demand Because bank owned properties now constituted almost 1 out of every 3 sales, marketing times increased to almost a year and homes that were not priced correctly were all but ignored.

In an environment in which so many winds of change are raging, it's often difficult to decipher exactly what is going on.  Recently, Jennifer Granholm the Governor of Michigan signed some important legislation into LAW!  It's the Agency Responsibility Act (ARA)  I think that this legislation is one of the best things to emerge out of the storm which has engulfed our industry.

The Governor's signature on the acts is the culmination of the Michigan Association of Realtors hard fought efforts to clarify for consumers the real estate services that were being provided by various agencies.  This movement was brought about by the amazing discovery that the ONLY duties imposed by statue or rule of law when representing seller or buyers or real estate property were:

The duty of agents to present offers to sellers within a reasonable period of time

The duty of listing brokers to review and sign the closing statements.

ASTOUNDINGLY, THAT WAS IT!

While most Realtors® were offering substantially MORE than this, the public had limited understanding of the potential vast difference of service levels between brokers because all brokers were using the "Exclusive Right to Sell Contract." (Buyers usually are serviced under a Buyer Agency Agreement)

As a result of this legislation, brokers who do NOT provide the required MINIMUM service levels will now have to use a LIMITED SERVICE AGREEMENT form which clearly defines exactly what they are doing or NOT doing.  The ARA also amends the law to make it a VIOLATION of the Occupational Code if a Realtor FAILS to provide all Statutory Services unless they are expressly waived by a client in a limited services agreement.

The is a huge advancement forward for the rights of consumers to ensure they understand exactly WHAT they are getting when they sign up with a real estate broker.  I think it will help to dispel some of the misunderstanding and confusion which has marred the positive perception of the real estate industry. 

Sometimes, it takes a storm to bring out the best in nature.  Today, my lawn is a gorgeous green and the flowers are blooming.  It may have been a little rough getting here, but the results I'm witnessing make it worth it.  The Act becomes effective as law on July 1, 2008. My hope is that the turmoil in our industry will continue to yield changes which serve the good of our profession and the clients we have the privilege of assisting.

Copyright 2008  Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved

One thing that showing hundreds of homes through the years teaches you is this...Home Sellers can do a lot to show their home in a manner that gets it SOLD! 

I have always found it mildly astonishing that homeowners who spend thousands of dollars in upgrades and improvements to their homes fail to invest time and effort in a few critical areas to ensure that their homes are perceived well in the eyes of potential buyers. 

Some homeowners might be surprised to find out how far a little money will go.  Particularly when you put $500 against a backdrop of tens of thousands of dollars which are left on the table because a home does not sell or sells far below the listing price.

Here are just a few Simple Things to Keep in Mind when you are showing your home to ensure it shows Sold!

Show It!...

In a competitive market, there are hundreds of homes vying for a buyer's attention.  There are some homes which don't receive even ONE showing request in a 6 month period.  When you place your home on the market, be prepared to SHOW IT.  If you're not...WAIT, until you are.  Yes, it may cost you a little in sleep and inconvenience, but in this market, if a real estate agent calls to show your home when there are 50 others like it...don't count on being given a second chance. 

Tip:  Save time, money & frusteration by being AND staying ready to sell!

Clean It!

If you can't clean your home...hire someone else to do it for you.  Why deduct Thousands of dollars from you life through a possible sale just because you can't or don't know how to clean a home.  Buyers love the smell of 'clean' about as much as they like the smell of 'new.'  A good new home cleaning crew will cost about $250...loss of a sale or a discount on a home on the market for over 6 months...15-20 percent of your initial asking price. 

Tip:  Even if you don't hire a stager, do your own research.  Visit Open Houses for local builders & show rooms of furniture stores to get ideas.  Then visit a thrift shop to pick up accessories at rock bottom prices.

 Clear It!

De-Cluttering is probably the single biggest thing that most homeowners can do fairly inexpensively to Show their Home Sold! Hire a storage unit...beg your friends to store stuff in their basement; whatever you have to do...get your stuff out!

But, to clear your home most effectively will require going beyond the basics of clearing out excess furniture and belongings and neutralizing.  Sometimes you need to do just a little more to be most effective...

Tip:  There are moving services which will store your stuff and then move it to your next home for one fee.  Look into this sort of company for storing & moving to save money.

Stage It!

Hiring the Services of a professional stager to primp your home may be the best investment you can make in the home selling process.  Staging does not need to be an exorbitant cost.  In fact a good staging experience will probably save money  by attracting more potential buyers or creating a better response to your home when it is shown. 

Think about this...What bank or investment fund would give this sort of potential return on your investment of $500?  Where else could you put in $500 and enjoy living in a nice, clean well arranged environment with the potential of making it back fairly quickly by a Sale? 

Tip:  Make sure your stager has been trained and certified.  Ask to see pictures of homes they have staged and for references.  A good stager is worth it!  Good Staging will make you more money from your home sale!

Copyright 2008  Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved