I shouldn't have to say much about this, but having a web site is key to selling your home. It allows people to see your home prior to them calling. It allows you to get qualified people to call you. It all but eliminates the tire kickers.

It also allows people from out of town to see your home. This means people who are being transferred and can not come to see your home unless they are very serious about it. Your web site allows for this.

Some sites offer a space in their nice glossy, color brochure that goes out every two weeks or a month. This I feel is a waste of money. If we were to create this brochure as part of our web site, half of the homes in the brochure would already be sold and would render the magazine useless. Having a fancy, glossy brochure is not a good use of your money.

I do recommend doing some research on which site you go with. It is not a bad idea as well to be on a couple web sites. This just provides you with more exposure. The cost is generally inexpensive, although there are a couple sites in Canada that will charge more than $400. I think that this is a little bit too much.

There are some real tacky web sites out on the internet, so make sure the site is easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing, and that there are lots of houses on the site. Don’t choose a site where there are two houses being advertised. Also, make sure that there is a local rep and that you can easily contact them.

When deciding on a For Sale by Owner web site, consider the following:

How many hits do they get?

Are they high on search engines?

Can you find them on search engines?

How long have they been in business?

Are houses moving (selling) on the site?

Do they come out to take the pictures?

Do they do the write up and create the web site?

Do you get a sign?

Is the fee you pay a monthly fee or a one time fee?

What if you need to make changes? Do they charge for that?

Do they charge you extra because they have a glossy brochure that they send out once a month? If so, this is a waste of extra money.

Does the site have a New Listings Page?

Does the site have an Open House Section?

Does the site have a Reduced Page?

Ask if you can contact some of the people advertising to get there comments on your service.

Do they have a local rep or are you dealing with someone 1000 miles away? Other things you can consider:

Call a client on the site that SOLD quick

Call a client that has been on a while and has not yet sold If you don’t choose the right web site to advertise on you will be wasting your time.

If you have any questions related to this article, please give Jason a call at: 306-761-1310 or email him at: jwall@skhomes4sale.com