The Internet's Place in Selling a Home

How can e-mail help your agent sell your home?

The Internet offers more than an electronic format for real estate listings. E-mail has help real estate agents cut down on mailing and telephone costs, and can help your agent sell your home much faster than if he or she used more antiquated means.

According to the National Association of Realtors, more and more real estate agents are using e-mail to communicate information about the homes they are selling with prospective buyers. Your agent can also use e-mail to contact multiple prospective buyers at once. Technology enables your agent to hide the fact that an e-mail has gone to multiple people.

When you're searching for an agent to sell your house, try e-mailing. You will get a good idea of how comfortable he or she is with technology based on how the agent responds.

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How does the multiple listing service help you sell your home?

The MLS, or the Multiple Listing Service, is a key part of Internet advertising. To take advantage of the MLS, you will need to hire a real estate agent; most mulitple listing services are only available to members, who are usually agents.

Multiple listing services began in the 1950s, according to the National Association of Realtors. Now that they're on the Internet, agents are seeing more and more listings, which means their clients can see more. Home buyers themselves can even search many multiple listing services themselves on the Internet.
Multiple listing services are usually searchable by price range and amenities, giving home buyers a way to narrow down the homes they will tour.

MLS profiles can include photos and detailed descriptions of properties.

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How do you advertise a home on the Internet?

Your real estate agent will likely handle advertising the home you are selling. The Internet is one of the best ways to showcase your home to interested buyers with online real estate listings. Your agent is experienced in marketing homes for sale, but there are some tips your agent, and you, should take to heart when advertising your home.

• A picture speaks a thousand words. It's a cliche, but is still true today. Many potential home buyers will click right through your online advertisement if there aren't any photos. It makes it seem like there's something to hide. Some home sellers, especially in today's "buyer's market," go so far as to hire a professional photographer to capture the charms their homes have to offer.
• According to the National Association of Realtors, there's no place for the words "as is" in your advertising. There is too much competition these days to try and sell a less-than-perfect home without making some important improvements, if they're necessary.
• If photos are good, a virtual tour is better. Ask your real estate agent if he or she plans to include a virtual tour in the advertising for your home.
  

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How can you use the Internet to find an agent?

Technology is a useful tool for real estate agents to sell a home. Online real estate listings and the multiple listing service (MLS) are great tools and you should find an agent who is comfortable using the Internet. Most these days are used to technology, but to make sure you find an agent who can market your home in the most up-to-date ways, start by looking for an agent on the Internet. If they have a strong presence, it's likely the agent is technologically savvy.

• Check Web sites like www.homesandland.com, which provide a place to showcase real estate listings, as well as listings of real estate agents. You can often find links to agents' own Web sites to check out their profile and expertise.
• Once you see the agent's Web site, you can look at the kinds of homes he or she sells and determine whether he or she is the right agent for you.
• When you find an agent who may fit the bill, e-mail him or her. You'll want to talk to him or her in person, but e-mail is a good way to make initial contact.
  

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What are six things to include in your Internet listing?

There are thousands of real estate listings out there advertising homes for sale. Make sure yours stands out by including these six components.

1. A good price. Naming the right price is the essential first step to selling a home. Without a price people will want to pay -- a price that seems to match the photos in your online listing -- you're not going to get a lot of people touring your home. Indeed, without listing a fair price for your home, you won't get much attention at all. Your agent can help you with this. Compare prices of similar homes that have recently sold in your area before deciding on an asking price.
   
2. Pictures. Make sure they're good and that they make your home look attractive. Aim to make your home look sunny and spacious and display pictures of its best features.
   
3. A good description. On the Internet, you have a lot of room to make your home sound good. Talk about the island in the kitchen where guests tend to gather or how the window seat in the master bedroom bathes the room in pink light in the evening.
   
4. Even more photos. Showcase your back yard or the vegetable garden you've cultivated at the side of the house. You never know what small detail may grab a potential home buyer, so make sure to show them all. But again, make sure all the photos are attractive!
   
5. Open house dates. List these, so even casual shoppers can come and see your house.
   
6. Current contact info. Make sure it's as easy as possible for potential buyers to contact your agent or you.
   

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What is the Internet's place in the home selling process?

The Internet has made the home selling process move faster than in the past and it is a valuable tool for you and your real estate agent. Now, home buyers from across the country, or the world, can see your real estate listing with a click of their mouse. The Internet fills many roles in selling a home these days.

• You and your agent can make your real estate listing stand out from the others. On www.homesandland.com, you can list your home and include pictures and a detailed description of the property. It is important to include good photos of your home. Make it look like somewhere you would want to live, even if you knew nothing about your town.
• Make sure your agent is e-mail savvy. Make your initial contact by e-mail, or via a Web site like www.homesandland.com, and see how quickly your agent responds. You want to make sure he or she will respond quickly to potential buyers or their agents. If your agent responds by phone, ask how often he or she checks e-mail and answers it.
  

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What should you avoid when advertising on the Internet?

There are a lot of real estate listings competing for buyers' attention on the Internet. You and your agent want to make sure your listing stands out and makes your home look desirable. But all too often, agents or sellers post ads that stand out only because of a photo featuring the dirty dishes in the sink or the peeling paint on the front door. Make sure your listing will get positive, and not negative, attention.

• Clean your home before you take the pictures you will post on the Internet. Think airy and spacious, not cluttered, with dirty socks on the floor. This sounds elementary, but a recent article in the real estate newspaper Banker & Tradesman chronicled actual photos pulled off Internet home listings that show a bedroom littered with rubbish and dirty clothes. The article's author shows more photos on his blog: a stained and crumbling bathtub, and a dirty bathroom sink with cabinet doors hanging off their hinges. It's OK if you're trying to sell a home that's less-than-perfect, but don't showcase the worst of the worst in your advertisements!
• Make sure your agent remembers that the Internet provides a place to really describe the house for sale using full sentences and without abbreviations. According to Matthew Ferrara, a Boston real estate technology expert, too many agents are still writing as though they're placing a three-line classified ad into the local paper. Instead, Ferrara says to describe what it feels like to live in the house and tell a story in the description.

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