Update: This home was eventually listed with an agent, the home was listed for $94,900 and closed on 9/3/2008 for $92,900.
June 20, 2008
Today I am sharing a For Sale By Owner that has realized that they cannot just put a sign in front of their home. They actually listed with one of the popular Internet advertising sites for owners.
136 Williams Street in Tonawanda NY 14150 is listed for $89,000 and the are willing to negotiate. The home features include:
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Four bedrooms/1.5 baths
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Central air
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Patio with Gazebo
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Dining Room
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Living Room
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TV Room
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1,371 square feet
The bad news for this For Sale By Owner? Although they have listed it on the internet, they are not getting good exposure on Google. The number one place that someone will go to find out additional information.
Google the address like most home buyers will do. Here you get some results beyond the Google Map for the home for sale.
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Position 1 – is a site to help you find an agent and you scroll through the link page and have great diffiuclty finding the home at 136 Williams Street.
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Position 2 – lists the home for sale at $92,900 and no photographs and no details
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Position 3 – lists the home for sale at $92,900 a google map and no photos or details
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Position 4 – is a non-related site
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Position 5 – is a site that gathers information from a variet of sites… and guess what, can’t find this listing
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Position 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 – not related to the sale of 136 Williams Street in Tonawanda NY 14150
See a problem yet? The consumer that is searching for additional information is not going to find it on the Internet. Remember gasoline is over $4 a gallon, many buyers are searching the internet to determine if they want to go see a property. And don’t forget those that want to move back to Buffalo looking for a home for sale, will be looking on larger sites
A check of my favorite locations to find out more about the home for sale in Tonawanda NY and:
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T doesn’t know it is for sale
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Z site the owner claimed the listing, but there is a small issue — They have not shared with the public that the home is for sale!
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C list site not there either
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Double checked the MLS — no they haven’t listed with an agent.
Just because you list your Western New York home for sale on a website that assist for sale by owners doesn’t mean that you are getting the exposure you need. These national websites make money off of you to list your WNY home on their site. They get paid, cash up front. They make money from the advertising that they get from all the advertisers. Some even make money selling leads to Realtors.
They give you a false sense of security in knowing that you are advertising your home for sale. They usually tell you the number of visitors that they get each month. But that is over 50 states. Then there are is the fact that each community in those states, and the reality is that you are now looking at a lot less exposure than you thought.
Between 70-80% of For Sale by owners list eventually with a Realtor, after spending hundreds of dollars and countless hours trying to sell their homes themselves. By the time you spend all that money, the market conditions change and you find that you may be chasing the market down. Sites like these appeal to the consumer knowing full well that they won’t be successful yet they will walk away with money in their pocket. You can’t blame them, they are following basic economics 101 — Give the customer what they want. Advertising of their home for a lot less than what a Realtor would charge.
You might be wondering why I don’t mention the companies and refer to sites as T, C list and Z. Well there is a very important reason. I link too them, I tell Google they are more knowledgeable than I about Real Estate and homes for sale in Western New York. A national listing site is not in a better position to sell your home. Real Estate is local. It takes a local expert to market your home correctly and many of those national sites sell leads to Realtors. I generate my own leads, I leverage the national sites by placing my listings on them and directing the buyers directly to me.
Interested in speaking with me about how I can leverage the Internet for your Western New York home for sale? Please call me at (716) 650-0051, I would love an opportunity to assist you. If you would like to find out what your home is worth.
