Real estate is pretty low these days. I’m not an expert on real estate so I don’t know if we’re in a bull’s market or a bear’s market. I don’t really know what either of those terms means or if they even apply to real estate. But I can say this, that it’s a buyer’s market.
About right now a real estate agent friend of mine would be saying that I nailed the market identification, how could I not know the difference between the markets? It’s easy. Anyone can see that a buyer runs the market right now. But, knowing the actual terminology of that is tough for someone who doesn’t work in that field.
Either way, it’s a buyer’s market and that’s why sellers need to be on their toes. If you’re selling your own home, all you need to do is look at advertisements run by professionals. They can give you a good model by which to run your own sale.
Look at how they classify their homes. Look at how they list them. What pictures do they display? How do they describe the property? In that information is where you will find most of your answers.
One main thing that all real estate agents do, and anyone else in sales for that matter, is list all the outstanding features of a home. An advertisement wouldn’t be any good if it listed all the common features a home should have. I think I would literally fall off my chair if I read an advertisement that pointed out that a house had floors. Could you imagine?
“Our spacious home has floors. They cover the living room, the dining room and the kitchen as well as all the other rooms around the home. There is another grand feature to this home that you would most likely enjoy, it has a roof. The roof covers the entire home. We made it a point to make sure that it did.”
Now, that advertisement would simply floor me. The pun was absolutely intended. So, features that every home should have is not worth mentioning. Of course, if those floors are marble or fine wood, then it’s good to point that out to your readers. But for the most part, you want to mention features that stand out prominently and that add value to the home.
The fireplace is such a feature to advertise. Real estate agents love pointing out when the home has a beautiful fireplace. That’s because fireplaces aren’t in every home, but they should be. They very easily could be.
If you have a fireplace, then list it as a feature of the home. Make sure you note everything that is interesting about it. You may not be a writer. But you can stand back, look at the fireplace and note all the unique things that you like about it. If it needs work, put some elbow grease into it.
If you don’t have a fireplace, installing a ventless gel fireplace can be done in as little as a weekend for less money than it takes to buy a new phone. Well, some phones that are on the market anyway. A ventless fireplace can look any way you want. They can match any style of room, even if you wanted to change it before you put your home on the market.
Calling a contractor and getting an estimate could be an eye-opener and a big crunch on your wallet. Some expenses are necessary. If you want to move the home, you might need to make those big purchases. A fireplace doesn’t have to be one of them. A ventless fireplace can move your home as easily as a traditional wood burning fireplace, only it’s much less expensive to install. Look into it!