Using Social Media Networks to Market your Home for Sale

If you're trying to sell your home and you'd like to do it without the help of real estate agent, putting up ads in trusted social media networks can work to your advantage. Aside from the socializing factor of these online networks, they're also the most effective classified ads now. Here are things you need to remember, though, if you want these ads to be effective.

Graphics and specs

Make your post as informative as possible. Include maps, the address, price range, the state of your home, and a lot of photos. If possible, put up an entire album detailing the highlights of your home. Hire someone who can take real estate photos professionally or perhaps a friend with enough photography skills who can shoot your house for free.

Put all of the details in bullet form and keep it short but complete so if anyone seems interested, they'll have minimal questions about the property. Encourage them to come over for a viewing by including your number, name, email address and other contact details in the advertisement.

Use the market function

If you feel uncomfortable about posting your advertisement on your personal page, use the market function of your social network. Most of them have these. This way, even people who are not in your network can see your post and contact you if they're interested. Of course, while these prospective clients may have personal information and photos posted on their own profiles, don't be too trusting. Make sure that you're dealing with a person who's using his/her real identity. Be on guard when you welcome prospective buyers into your home and try to do a little background check on prospective buyers before meeting up with them.

Be credible

The social network is very useful in disseminating information but it does raise trust issues. While you may be suspicious of the interested parties contacting you about your home, buyers in that market are just as wary. Provide enough helpful information to ensure your buyers that you're not out there to scam them. Meet them in person, put your cards out on the table, and talk to them about your home as professionally as possible.

Clearing the paper trail

While you might have saved yourself from hefty real estate agent fees, there is a lot of work involved when it comes to selling your home. You need to take care of the paper trail. Before selling your house and putting the details online, talk to professional assessors, realty tax experts and so on, and fix everything that needs to be fixed about your house. It's harder to sell a home which comes with unwanted (and possibly hostile) tenants, so make sure you've peacefully evicted them from your house before entertaining prospective buyers.

One unhappy prospective buyer can simply put a negative comment about the house and that's enough to ruin your chances of selling your home online. That's another risk you need to think about when you use social media networks to market any property: interactivity. If you can't impress them, at least make sure that you come off as an honest and straightforward seller.