Marketing your Home

ADVICE ON HOW TO MARKET YOUR HOUSE

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So you're thinking of selling your house!

Most of us take a few months or even years mulling over such an important decision and it is certainly critical to understand one's own reasons for taking such a drastic step for without such an understanding the move may end up being for the wrong reasons, to the wrong house, at the wrong time.

Always ask yourself “What am I trying to achieve?” for having your motivation at the front of your mind will help keep you on the road to the right home, particularly by separating the “must have” features home from those that are of lower priority on the “wish list”.

When it comes to selling your own property an analysis of the same features will help you identify the ideal buyer who is also the one that will pay you the most money!

With a bit of forethought and planning it will also help guide you to the most efficient and effective marketing campaign for the sale of your home.
 
Understanding Your House and Who the Ideal Buyer Is
 
Let's start off by creating a list of the positive features of your property by going through the checklist below. If you can think of others, great.

1. Consider The Location First. How is it situated- village, town or rural?    What is the local environment- residential or commercial? A peaceful or noisy setting?- yes it may be on a main road, but this is a benefit for some commercial activities such as a craft shop, bar/restaurant, chambre d'hôtes. How far is it from local shops, schools and transport links? How far away are business or commercial centres? What about recreational amenities such as surrounding countryside, footpaths, leisure lakes, tourist attractions, sports facilities etc?
2. What Are The Outside Features? What size is the garden? Is it private? Is the garden easy to look after? How much space is there for animals or growing vegetables? What could the outbuildings be used for? Is it a handsome property or could it be changed to be so? Will it photograph well? Does it look cared for? Is there space for a pool? Has the pool been updated to comply with the latest regulations? Is there space to extend?
3. What Does The House Offer? What are the room proportions like? Are there good ceiling heights? What are the aspects of the rooms? Are there any original or character features? When were the services updated? When was the property refurbished and what was done? Are there any guarantees for work done or appliances installed? Could some rooms have alternative uses- a ground floor bedroom might be a study.

Every property has positive points and most have elements which will be appealing to some buyers and not to others.

By highlighting them in your mind and communicating them to buyers within marketing and advertising literature you will maximise interest from the right type of buyer.

Thus, by stating that it's a village house with a garden of 100 m² you won't get enquires from those looking for total privacy, whereas if you have a garden of 100 m² but the house sits in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours for half a kilometre, you will!

A good tip is to ask yourself what factors made you buy the house!

Generally the more information that you can give, the more relevant the enquires that will be generated.

Timing
 
Although the matter of when you want to both move and put the property on the market will be influenced by external factors such as school terms and the date a job starts, the above recommended evaluation of your property will also indicate the optimum saleable period.

All dwellings sell better in the spring and summer months but this is even more the case for those in the country.

Houses in a noisy position will appeal more when there are leaves on the trees to help deaden the sound. Quaint period homes in a tourist hotspot will appeal more when buyers don't have to fight through the teeming hordes to reach it.

Some times of day or even year are busier than others- don't show prospective buyers around at 11.15 when the kids at the primary school next door are in the playground during their “break”. Conducting a viewing during the peak rush hour probably isn't going to create the best impression.

Pricing
 
Setting the asking price of you property is, along with the overall marketing, the most critical factor in deciding whether a successful sale is made in a reasonable timeframe.

Many vendors are tempted by an agent advising a wildly optimistic asking price yet find out the hard way that such an approach can dramatically limit interest, makes the marketing “stale” and eventually gives the impression of there being something wrong with the house! The net result- a poor sale price.

As a general rule, combining a realistic asking price set by considering the sale price of genuinely comparable properties that have actually sold (not just the quoted asking price) with a comprehensive, targeted marketing campaign will maximise the number of viewings, reassure all interested parties that they are not the “only fish in the sea” and by encouraging such competition allow the property to find its optimum price level. 
 
Presentation of the Property For Sale
 
Once their practical needs have been satisfied, many purchasers report that they have bought a house because they like its “feel”.

What is meant by such a comment?

Really that it just appeals to them for some unquantifiable reason.

What is without doubt though is that a positive “feel” is often to do with the overall impression and appearance of the property.
This is created both by the finish and style of the house but also by its general presentation.

A clean, tidy and warm house feels attractive to buyers but a smelly, cold, cluttered property will not.

Therefore if you want to sell easily for a decent price, get out the duster and rubbish bag and put the dog away!
 
 
Marketing
 
Photography
 

PICTURES TELL MORE THAN A THOUSAND WORDS!

The first impression a buyer will get of your property is created by the photographs!

Every effort should be made to ensure that these pictures are as positive as possible.

• Do Make Sure That You Include Photographs Of Your Home's Strong Points- That Well Presented Sitting Room; The Expensively Fitted Kitchen; Those Magnificent Views
• Do Take Photographs On A Sunny Day
• Do Take Photographs With The Sun Behind You Thus Keeping The Light On Your Target
• Do Update Your Pictures As The Seasons Change ( a house being marketed in summer with a picture showing “leafless trees” is a dead giveaway that its been on the market for a while)
• Do Make Sure that your Photographs don't show a glaring negative feature (e.g. white lines on the lane in front of your house making buyers think that it's a main road)- IF IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT
• Do “Frame” your external shots with trees or some such to create an appearing setting for your property
• Don't miss off the roof or half a wall
• Don't include your car, pets or in-laws in the photo- you're trying to sell the house not the mother-in-law  

Sales Particulars

You will now be aware of how much importance we attach to communicating the attributes of your property to buyers.

This is certainly still the case when composing the Sales Particulars.

In order to create appealing readable text that easily communicates the attractions of your property we advise that you break it into sections:

Punch Line e.g.
APPROACHED OVER A 400m VIRTUAL PRIVATE DRIVE, LE BOURG REPRESENTS A DWINDLING OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE AN UNMODERNISED HILLTOP FARMHOUSE & BARN SET BY ITSELF WITH TOTAL PRIVACY AND BENEFITING FROM LOVELY SOUTHERLY VIEWS YET ONLY 600M FROM A HIGHLY REGARDED RESTAURANT AND VILLAGE AMENITIES.

DISTANCES TO LOCAL AMENETIES e.g.
Village of La Sauvetat with Bouloungerie, Tabac, Greengrocers & Renown Restaurant- 600m * Bastide Town of Eymet with shops for most requirements – 5 km * Historic Duras - 16 km * Escourroux Reservoir of 112 hectares (277 acres) with fishing – 1.5 km * Bergerac Airport & Town with flights to many UK destinations – 30 km (about 30 minutes) * Bordeaux Airport –c.80 minutes

SUMMARY OF ACCOMODATION e.g.
MASTER BEDROOM with ENSUITE SHOWER ROOM * 4 FURTHER BEDROOMS * 3 FURTHER SHOWER ROOMS * 8.15m (26'9) SITTING ROOM with fireplace * 8m (26'3) FULL HEIGHT OPEN PLAN FITTED KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM with corner fireplace * 3.98m (13'1) FAMILY ROOM/STUDY/BEDROOM 6 * 4.56m (15') DINING ROOM * GALLERIED LANDING * UTILITY ROOM * SOUTH FACING TERRACE * SWIMMING POOL * THE TOTAL ACCOMMODATION WILL EXTEND TO 230m² *

Externally the property offers: LARGE DETACHED STONE BARN with original cattle feed troughs & ATTACHED DERELICT FORMER COTTAGE * OPEN TIMBER FRAMED TOBACCO BARN * LAVOIR * 1 HECTARES (2.47 acres)

SITUATION e.g.
Le Bourg is located at the end of a no-through lane and private driveway some mile and a half in length within its own estate in enviable seclusion and located, in our opinion, in some of the most beautiful unspoiled countryside; a rare find in our modern, overcrowded world. The surrounding countryside is principally arranged as farm and woodland. Neighbouring meadows benefit from being part of a Farming Scheme for the establishment of rare wild flowers.

The historic town of Mareuil is some 9 miles distant by road and offers a good range of shops including a supermarket, boulangerie, banks, bars and restatuants as well as a popular school. There is also a railway station and a Route Nationale connecting to Perigeaux.

Golf courses in the area include those at .

Schools in the area include

Angoulême with its TGV station and international airport is within 50km.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION e.g.
Dendrochronological analysis was undertaken of samples of ten oak timbers from Le Bourg. This resulted in the production of a single site chronology of 101 rings spanning the period 1458 to 1558. Interpretation of the sapwood suggests that the timbers represented have an estimated felling date of between 1569 to 1589.

Incredible care and considerable expenditure has been lavished by the current and previous owners on their much loved home. Flair and ingenuity has been used to create a home for 21st Century living without losing any of the charm and character of its architectural origins. For example, the Sitting Room has been extended into a stunning room 36' in length, with a massive inglenook fireplace retained in the old part and large windows to fully enjoy the truly exceptional westerly views and sunsets, in the extension. The Dining Room and Master Bedroom benefit from Elizabethan style painted ceilings, created by a specialist artist who reputedly spent a full year completing the work.

The Lodge was built as a Hunting Lodge by the Beech Estate, a forestry farming estate, using reclaimed brick and other materials, thus capturing the feel and charm of a much older property. The Lodge and the adjacent two bay Garage and attached laundry/store room are served by a separate driveway.

The triple Garage and adjacent workshop has a substantial loft above and the whole could easily be converted into further, substantial accommodation if wished (subject to obtaining any necessary consents.), especially as there is another Double Garage and ample parking near the Lodge.

Some of the most delightful aspects of the property are its sumptuous Gardens, the wonderful views and vistas and the approach via a long avenue of oak trees abundantly under-planted with roses.

Advertising

Advertising in this day and age principally takes the form of both “conventional” paper based newspapers and magazines and “electronic” promotion on the internet.

In order to target your ideal buyer, consider wish publications he or she will probably read and which websites they will consult for property.

 Sometimes it's obvious where to invest e.g. a property offering fishing lakes should appear in the Angling Times, but in other cases a more general advertisement in a widely read publication may be a sound investment.

What is for sure is that the more often your house is exposed through advertising to buyers, the greater the likelihood of it selling well!

At the extreme, by only telling one buyer about its availability, you will only get the price that buyer can afford! Tell many ten's of thousands and price you receive is likely to me far higher!

Conducting Viewings

You've arranged all the promotion and advertising, tidied the house, cleared the garage, put the dog out of the way, boosted the heating and have the coffee percolating and you're the first viewer is just about to turn up.

How should you greet them? What should you say to them?

Just be welcoming, polite and helpful.

Greet them in a friendly, unhurried manner, invite them inside and tell them how you propose to structure the viewing so that they know what's going to happen.

Usually this would mean that you start off by showing them around the inside first, then visit the garden and buildings and afterwards give them the opportunity to have a second tour by themselves in order to absorb what they've seen.

Do consider which order to show the rooms off in. Start with one of the best, keep the weaker areas to the middle of the tour and end on another high.

At the end of the second tour offer them tea or coffee and the opportunity to ask any questions whilst sitting in a comfortable environment.

Its easier to buy a house from a friendly ver than onndoe who's obviously just itching to see the back of you!

Another Article brought to you by FPS about your French Property Sale and Purchase.

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