Your listing is the first impression that many homebuyers and home sellers will have of you and your business. According to NAR's 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, as many as 1 in 10 buyers found the agent they wanted to represent them when inquiring about a specific property listing they found online. It's so important to remember this when you're listing a property: You aren't just selling this house, you're marketing yourself and your business to future customers. Every listing is a chance to demonstrate your descriptive skills, your eye for staging, your knowledge of the market, and so much more.
What makes a listing great?
Make a great first impression with listing photography.
Remove clutter, personalized items, and unneeded furniture from each shot. Leave enough that the purpose of the room is clear.
Clean the windows and remove window treatments for brighter, natural light.
Wipe down walls and dust furniture for even dispersal of light.
Close the toilet seat lid, the closet doors, the kitchen cabinets, and anything else that looks unkempt.
Change out any dull or incandescent lights in darker spaces for brighter, 60-watt LED bulbs.
Use a tripod to stabilize your shots.
Take pictures with the lights on and off to see which rooms look better in which lighting.
Be true to the property. Make sure buyers have an idea of what they'll be seeing before they ever step foot inside the house.
Make a great first impression with a professional presentation.
Be reachable! Ensure your best email and phone number are available on the OneKey MLS Find a REALTOR® Directory- this is the contact information that is displayed on all of your listings, available to interested customers, and it's the email address where we are sending valuable leads that are generated on the site.
Add a professional headshot -and one that's been taken in the last 5 years, one that represents your personal brand and business. Customers prefer a true, professional presentation to an outdated, unprofessional one, or no image at all.
When you update your contact information and headshot with your Association, your information is automatically updated in our Directory.
Stay Vigilant - Nationwide, a Land Selling Scam is Occurring.
Fraudulent individuals are taking advantage of buyer demand nationwide by prospecting for inexperienced buyers, then trying to sell vacant property with which they have no affiliation that is not for sale. To the untrained eye, these offers can look legitimate and can result in devastating financial loss.
In some cases, the scammers are reaching out to Realtors® pretending to be the property owner, but with dubious information, to have the property listed on the multiple listing service, typically below market value and willing to accept a quick cash offer.
NAR Senior Counsel Charles Lee pointed out these red flags:
Seller's Photo ID(s) are barely legible, blurry, or appear wrong.
Seller claims they cannot meet in person or will only speak in emails.
Seller claims to have a family emergency and will accept cash offers substantially lower than the market value of the property.
Seller's email address and/or phone number is from another country.
Seller seems unwilling to perform terms of the contract and isn't returning the paperwork.
Seller becomes angry and erratic to complete the sale.
Further, he recommended the following tactics to ensure you don't get scammed:
Ask for detailed information, like parcel number, annual property taxes, and exact location of the property.
Independently research the name of the seller and ask for multiple forms of photo ID.
Require an in-person or virtual meeting to see their ID.
Contact the listed property owner for verification using a verified telephone number or by sending an overnight service letter to the address.
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OneKey® MLS | 400 Broadhollow Road, Suite 5, Farmingdale, New York 11735
