Home Decor | Housing | Real Estate

Tip : Wait and see.

Be careful about how long you want your ad to run. An ad that’s been around too long will give readers the impression that your house is not selling because of major problems. It will also tell them that maybe buyers are coming to see the house only to walk away disappointed.

Some experts say a five-day ad is sufficient. If you don’t get a sufficient number of serious callers, pull out the ad, wait a few weeks, and start all over again. Review the ad’s wording. Perhaps there’s something in the ad that doesn’t sound right that you didn’t notice the first time.

Tip : Where should I publish?

Put it in two sure places where it will get read. Again, pretend you’re the buyer looking for a house. Where would you most likely look? That’s the section where you should place your ad.

Your local paper with a small circulation and your regional paper with a much larger circulation should be your target destinations for your ad.

Tip : One is enough.

Buyers often don’t really want to buy 4-5 newspapers to look for houses for sale. They’d much rather concentrate on one paper and encircle the ads that could lead to potential visits. They usually go for the paper which is the most popular with the highest number of readers. That’s the paper where your ad must also go.
Tip : Cyberspace? Do I really want Martians buying my house?

What about placing my ad on the Internet, you ask? If our guess of the human tendency is right, people may look at the Internet for houses for sale, but may not necessarily be serious buyers.

So the Internet for now would be an alternative to traditional newspaper advertising. Just watch people in cafes who are reading the classified ads. They usually mark the paper, circling those ads that they’re interested in.

On the Internet, the buyer would either copy contact details by hand or print the ad – this can be cumbersome. At least with the newspaper at hand, people can just toss it in the seat of their cars as they drive off to visit the property, and can look at the ad again, if needed.
Tip : Do you want to write a house story? Try the home section, not the classified ads

Think twice, even three times before you get that pencil or word processor moving. Avoid flowery words. Avoid expressions like “it will capture your heart”, or “a house of your dreams”, or “here’s a house where you can have many memorable days”.

People are not really looking for something to captivate their hearts or memories. They’re looking for a real house to live in, for a roof over their heads. The dreams and memories can come later, but at this point, buyers are only interested in a physical structure that they claim ownership of.

Tip : What should I say?

Word your ad so that it answers the questions that buyers would want to know: location, the fact that you’re selling it yourself (no brokers or agents please), brief description of house, a starting reasonable price.

Mention that you’ll take the best reasonable offer, and put your area code and telephone number. These are the only points that buyers are initially interested in. Other details like amenities and extras and true value can be discussed face to face or during a follow-up telephone call.

Tip : This is EXACTLY how I want it

Bill Effros recommends that your ad should be positioned as follows: location, upper top left and “BY OWNER” right hand side top.

Type of house (condo, duplex, cottage, etc) on the next line.

Brief description of major feature on the following line.

Then your starting price, e.g. “$150,000 or best reasonable offer” on the next line, to be followed by inspection times (e.g. Sat-Sun 10-5).

Last line on low bottom left, the words: “HIGHEST BIDDER”, and your telephone number beside it.

Note: your ad is meant to give you as many callers as possible. Details about the property can be provided to them on the phone if they request them.

And to play safe, email or fax the copy of the ad exactly as you want it to appear in the paper. You could be dealing with an ad taker who is taking ads for the first time and may not understand what “flush left” or “flush left” mean.