My Idaho Realtor friend, Janna, shows that negative features can be turned positive with a little creative thinking, research, and strategically placed displays. Next time you have a negative feature in a listing, see if you can turn it around and use it to your advantage.
Janna Rankin Scharf, GRI, CLHMS, SFR - Coeur d'Alene Idaho Homes for Sale
When you have any kind of defect that you KNOW will be a huge turnoff the minute the buyer discovers it, you need to spin it around to a positive BEFORE the buyer stumbles upon it.
I had a house listed where the seller took all, I mean ALL appliances, thinking the buyer would just want new ones anyway... Not just the stove and dishwasher pulled out of the cabinets, but even the microwave hood fan over the stove... Same house had a slider in the informal dining area to the back yard that was just a drop off to a little concrete stoop where you might kill yourself if you didn't realize there was no deck or level step there when you walked out. Also had all bamboo floors which no one had EVER seen in our area before. Looked a little weird.
The house languished for a couple months, even though the seller was offering a $5000 concession for the appliances. All feedback mentioned the lack of appliances and weird floor.
I built a little display about the positive qualities of bamboo flooring which are really quite impressive. Big stores like Neiman Marcus are using it because of its durability which exceeds that of most hardwoods. It is also earth friendly because it grows to maturity in just a few years versus 40 or so for a hardwood. I set up my BENEFITS OF BAMBOO FLOORS display right by the front door where buyers would see it at the same time they were saying to themselves, "Yowzer, that is a WEIRD looking floor...."
Next, I took the $5000 that buyers were willing to pay as a concession and shopped appliances at Sears. I got prices for purchase, delivery and installation of appliances suitable for this house, which was just a hair above entry level. I made another display in the kitchen with photos of those specific appliances which I obtained online. When the buyers entered the kitchen, at the same time they were thinking, "OMG! They took EVERY appliance!" they saw the display proclaiming PICK OUT BRAND NEW APPLIANCES!
My last display I put near the sliding door. I had a handyman friend come do a bid for a simple wooden deck which would be installed within 2 weeks of closing. I squeaked the appliances and deck in under my $5000 budget and waited...
It was right after that that we got the house under contract for full price and sold without any problem. The buyers were SO EXCITED to be able to get brand new appliances, and to have a trendy, cutting edge, earth friendly bamboo floor!
In the case of my friend Sally Hansen in Wisconsin, she is trying to overcome the negative of the expressway in the backyard of a home she is selling. She will need to brainstorm and find an advantage to living near the expressway and write all her marketing to play up that benefit! For people on the go... For movers and shakers... Quick and easy access to everywhere you need to be.... Life is racing by, hop on and enjoy the ride!
Whatever the objection potential buyers will have to overcome, the wise marketing advice is to play up the features, overcome the negatives in ADVANCE, and come up with the profile of your potential buyer - then gear ALL your marketing to him!
Janna Rankin Scharf provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.
No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!
Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700
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when you have lemons, make lemonaid!
it can truly be a positive when you have the resourses. My gut twisted up a bit with the appliances, no stove, no kitchen, so no mortgage... I can see needing to install the stove prior to closing, and possibly even steps so no one kills themselves going out the back door.
I LOVE your creative marketing ideas! My imagination and creativity are actually my strong points and I am seeing how useful they will be in my new career! It might be a little tougher to make the freeway in the backyard appealing! Is it against Fair Housing to market to convicts who might want a quick getaway from the law?
I really enjoyed reading this post. It's all in the perspective, isn't it?! That was sure good thinking on Janna's part. Thank you for posting!
Great post!
Sharon ~ creative marketing with your thinking cap on can make a big difference, especially in today's challenging market. Thanks for reblogging this post.
BRILLIANT!!! You gave us several excellent tips re: the displays. They're the kind of thing you might see in a housing development sales office. Fab, Sharon! Julie
Wow! Talk about thinking outside the box. That's fantastic!
Sharon, Pass the lemonade! When life gives you lemons as the saying goes...these were some great strategies to over come the obvious objections these agents knew were going to come their way.
Sharon, I love this post. Thanks for re-blogging. What a great way to turn things around. In the end, the negatives became a real positive.
Bamboo flooring is becomming much more sought after here in Australia for all the reasons that were outlined by Janna.
Thanks again for the re-blog. I've learned a lot.
Donna
Robert: Ideally I would like to see the appliances and deck installed too, but this is certainly a better alternative to just offering allowances. Buyers need the extra visual of the displays.
Valerie: I do admit to being creative, but I can't take credit for this creativity. The post was written by Janna and she came up with this idea. "Quick getaway from the law" - now that is creative thinking!
Leanna: I also flagged it for a feature. I think it is a great example of really marketing a listing.
Carla: I agree!
Maureen: Janna is not a stager, but her creative thinking applied to market her listing is certainly something stagers can relate to!
Julia: Janna is one smart lady!
Cheryl: So many sellers offer allowances and potential buyers just walk out the door because they can't visualize. Janna made sure buyers didn't have to imagine, she created a feeling of getting something extra instead of something being missing.
Steve: It takes creativity sometimes to appeal to buyers. Janna proves with this post that she understands the power of presentation in marketing a house.
Donna: I think it was brilliant to highlight the flooring as the positive feature it is. People always want the trendy feature, but in this case they just didn't know that is what it was.
Excellent post Sharon, allowances aren't always the answer since most buyers don't have the vision.
Hi, Sharon. I read everything you post because I usually learn something, and this is no exception. Putting an allowance into the MLS verbiage just doesn't do it...you need to spoon feed it to people and what a great way to do it!
I'll remember this! Thanks.
Sharon, my concern was more about getting a mortgage on the house, typically if there is no way to cook, it is not considered a kitchen, and you would need a stove installed prior to closing.
The Deck issue, may require steps, or some how screw the slider shut so it is more of a big window so no one gets hurt.. (this would be more of an FHA issue than a conventional, but the oven is universal, no oven=no kitchen...)
Roger: Exactly! Most buyers will choose the house with the appliances rather than have to take the time to select new ones for a house without any. But this option makes it much more likely they will see the allowance as a good thing.
Leslie: Thanks, I'm so glad you find my posts so valuable. Janna did a great job with this one and I had to share it.
Robert: You see the mortgage side and I see the stager side, LOL! That is what makes AR such an educational place!
Sharon, thanks so much for sharing this creative thinking. I'm thinking that I need to create a display with carpet samples, laminate and wood flooring and pricing for agents...hmmmmm! Can't imagine removing a stove unless it's in REALLY bad shape or this is a short sale/foreclosure.
Ginger: You are welcome. I knew other stagers would be interested in this and that they could pass the info to agents they work with.
Always better to be proactive than reactive! Great advice and examples -- thanks!
Sharon- thanks for reblogging this very helpful post. Now we all have to put our thinking caps on.
Leanne: I agree! I thought this was a great idea!
Kathy: Janna found a great way to market this property...and we can all take a lesson from her!