Over 50% of homes listed for sale do not sell during their listing period, in some markets its’ as high as 65%. The dirty secret in the real estate business is that most homes don’t sell on the first go around. Blame the agent blame the home owner both are at fault. 7 steps below will give you the best chance of your home selling first time out.

1)Price it Right – Far and away above any other consideration is the price. The worst home in the worst area at the right price will sell. Get your head out of the clouds, as a seller it’s just another house.

2)Hire the Right Agent – Interview 2 to 3 agents, hire the one who uses the most tools to market your home. The I’m No 1 and pat their self on the back real estate designations are not going to get your home sold.

3)Team Approach to Selling – Agents who use a team approach to their business have the right attitude towards real estate. Today’s single agent actually does 14 different jobs in the home selling and buying process. A team can spread the work load, specialize, and has less chance of dropping the ball (you and your house).

4)Advertising Systems – Where, when and how often will your home be advertised in newspapers and home magazines. We know that about 90 to 95% of calls on ads reject the house after receiving all the information. But it is a fact that advertising especially using a 800# call capture systems with a compelling ad will draw buyer prospects for your agents’ team to work with.

5)Signs and Sign Riders – signs with 800# call capture number. Show your agents web page address. Web page must have free reports and other areas for buyers to register. Sign riders offer compelling reasons for buyers to call the 800#, zero down, special financing, low down payment, Buy this house and I’ll buy yours for cash are some that work well.

6)Open Houses – One of the least effective ways to market a home. Saturday or Sunday afternoon for 3-4 hours you go to the mall and your agent hangs out watching TV. How about an open house tour 5 to 6 homes open the same day for 15 to 20 minutes each, the group goes from house to house creating an auction like affect and get to you stay home and see the show.

7)Visual Tours & Photos By using visual tours and multiple photos your agent will get your home placed higher on websites like Realtor.com. Almost 80% of home buyers start their search on the internet it is best for you to be at the top of the list. You can also email your home to friends, neighbors, co-workers, hand-out C/D’s at open house tours. Your agent will also send these out to the top agents in your area.

Agents with multiple approaches to the marketing of your home will work best for you. They are internet savvy have a team and support staff that can handle the various tasks involved with finding the right buyer for your home.

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Uncovering the Real Estate For Sale

Real estate investments are often termed as low risk investments that can potentially yield good returns. A lot of people think that real estate is an easy business where you don’t really need to do anything. However, the truth is that real estate business does need you to put in some effort (if you really want to make profits out of it). The most important thing is to be able to uncover the real estate for sale that will yield profits. So how do you go looking for real estate for sale?

Generally, a lot of people start looking for ‘real estate for sale’ through the internet. And why not, internet is after all the hub of all information. So, you could look for real estate for sale using the search engines on the internet. You could also specify your requirements in search criteria on the real estate sites in order to get very specific results on real estate for sale. You can even view images and video of some of the properties thus reducing the need for personal visits for viewing. So, this is surely a good option for finding real estate for sale.

However, not everyone is tech-savvy and there are a lot of people who still take the approach of putting up an ad in the local newspapers. So look for real estate for sale in the local newspapers. In fact, there are some newspapers that are dedicated to just that i.e. real estate for sale. You could even go ahead and put up a ‘wanted’ ad in these newspapers. Sometimes, looking up for real estate for sale in old newspapers (like 1-2 months old) can help you get a good deal (in case the property owner has not been able to sale the property and has become a bit more ‘motivated’ to sell it).

MLS i.e. multiple listing service is often termed as one the best ways to look for real estate for sale. These are published by the real estate boards. If you can lay your hands on a MLS book as soon as it is out, you can really expect to get good deals. The key is to act fast.

Open houses are another good way of getting the best out of time. You can get to see dozens of ‘real estate for sale’ properties in a very short period of time. And you never know when you might come across a property that is real gold.

Investor groups are yet another rich source of real estate for sale information.

Of course, how can we forget the real estate brokers? Real estate brokers are one the most popular (and sometimes most effective) information resource for real estate for sale. Not only do they provide information about ‘real estate for sale’ but also assist in getting the deal finalized and closed.

Besides that, you can also get very good deals through public auctions, bank foreclosures, FHA and VA foreclosures and distress sales.

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