At Home in Upland

I had several ways that I COULD have gone with this article: Home Preparation Coaching, Open House Preparation, Photography, Pricing, Flyers, Print Ads, E-Flyers, Web Page, Blog Posts or....

THE LISTING ON THE MLS

Your very first opportunity to really strut your stuff now that you are under contract and have the listing.There are SO many ways that you have to call attention to your listing and do it proud. The first, and most noticeable is the photography.

It has been said that the more photos, the better. You may be one of the best writers in the world, but the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words still holds. Prospects searching the Internet sites are drawn to photos to quickly determine if they want to see the home.

Included here is a representation of a photo that I see way too often while searching through listings. This photo says so many words too. 

Understanding that different MLS systems and Associations of Realtors(R) have different photo policies, I can be very thankful that we can display as many as 25 pictures and they can all be reviewed in sequence... Just click on the button.....

Image 1 of 1    Open All

The next section utilizing creativity to create that first impression is the "Description" space. Generally, the allowed area is limited, so the agent really has to be creative if they want to get features and benefits all included, and done with style and even romance. Granted, it's hard to differentiate listings in this space, but is done regularly. It takes effort and understanding of the audience.

Part of the listingis simply making a detailed and descriptive list of all the things that the home has got either inside or outside. Computer programmers ha ve made this absolutely the easiest part of making a thorough accounting of the features.... it's mostly multiple choice clicks from a drop down list in each category. There is a way to tell the world about every feature seen on the listing walk-through.... Floors, appliances included, fireplaces, the lot, sprinklers, pool, garage and on, and on... A complete and accurately described list of everything can be impressive. Even if the "View:' is described as Peek-A-Boo, now you know. Your impression of this listing one of thoroughness. A good Agent did this. It says "trust".

I know there are probaboly lots of excuses for this or that not being done. However, there is no excuse for real listing photos on the MLS being as askew as my drawing to the right. Is a seven word long property "description" professional? How can 3 words describe all of the exterior features and four more account for and describe everything seen inside? I saw these listings today. Certainly, not every property is a stand-out, but even challenging properties can have a description of location, lists describing the roof, utilities, schools, curbs, rooms, floor or parking.

If you are not ready to send the world Great Listing Photos, Accurate and complete facts, well written prose and descriptive lists of features, then you are not ready to create the first impression of your client's property. You have ONE CHANCE.