Here are some things to consider when selling your home…..

Does it make sense that you expose your home to the largest possible buyer base? As I say to prospective sellers, what I can do for you is throw a larger a net out there in the sea of potential Buyers.

How we might accomplish that is through print media advertising (newspaper, magazines), brochures (and brochure boxes at property), for sale yard or window signs, and, last but not least, the internet.

Ahhh, the internet. Remember the statistic I mentioned in Homes For Sale By Owner in Gainesville, Florida – Part 1? That (at least) 87% of Buyers use the internet to search for homes?  It has also been documented that over one third (37%) of buyers found their homes on the internet vs. only 2% from the newspaper. (Source: 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, NAR). In case you’ve been asleep, newspapers are going the way of the 8 track stereo (the cassette, for the younger crowd who have no idea what I just said).

Your biggest bang for the buck going with a Realtor® is the vast pool of other Realtors®.

That’s right. You didn’t hire just one Realtor®, but, rather, as many Realtors® who subscribe to the local MLS! Most Buyers tend to work with Realtors®. In Homes For Sale By Owner in Gainesville, Florida- Part 1, it was noted that 85% of Buyers work with Realtors®. My guess is that number is up now that short sales and foreclosures are on the rise. And keep in mind that your real estate professional will not likely sell your home. He or she will market your home – big difference. Less than 10% of the time will the listing Realtor® actually bring a Buyer to the closing table.

In addition, your Realtor® arranges for caravans to view your new listing, open houses, and can be a valuable resource for relocation and other referral sources, such as home inspectors (should you wish to pre-inspect your home prior to placing it on the market) and service contractors.

All of the examples listed above help expose your home to the largest number of Buyers.

But it doesn’t have to end there. There’s exposure and then there’s GREAT exposure. Realtors® have access to Virtual or Visual Tours which help bring your property to life with a short vignette. These are great for the out-of-town shoppers. If a picture’s worth a thousand words, imagine what a Visual or Virtual Tour is worth in marketing your property!

Last point I want to make while talking internet is the myriad of other popular and frequented websites. Not only does the typical Realtor® list a property in the MLS, but most Realtors® have their own websites, their brokers’websites plus have the ability to advertise your property on a host of others, such as Realtor.com, Planet Realtor, Trulia.com, Yahoo, Zillow.com, Front Door, HomesandLand.com, to name a few.

Plain, simple and obvious, folks…

The greater the exposure, the greater number of potential Buyers.

The greater the number of Buyers, the higher the price one can command.

In Homes For Sale By Owner in Gainesville, Florida- Part 3, we will explore the many reasons for listing with a Realtor®. I’ve already just given you two.