How To Sell A ‘Salable’ Home

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All you have to do is find the right buyer. This is not a trivial answer. This is a basic truth.

Change your mindset. In sales and marketing, we have a motto: “You have to meet your audience where they are.”

This is a very powerful fact to impress upon your sales consciousness. It reminds you that your audience is not always like you.

you are not your customer

Drawing up a sales plan, looking at it and thinking, “Yeah, I’ll buy that!”

But to reach your strongest selling position, you need to understand your product from your target buyer’s perspective. This may differ slightly or greatly from your own perspective. When you’re selling, you need to be out of your mind. You need to think like your potential buyer, who may be – and very likely is – nothing like you.

So, if you think the house is “unsellable,” that tells you that you’re looking at it from your personal perspective—the why angle. You Would not choose to buy it. And if you only focus on pitching the sale to an audience of buyers who think, act, shop and buy like you, you’re absolutely right, it’s for someone like you” unsalable”.

Don’t do you sales pitch. find buyers who want He Home. Put the product you’re selling, in this case a house, to buyers who will pay He product offering.

change your mindset

To do this, you have to move away from the limits placed on that house. Change your mindset so that you can start viewing it as a highly salable home. Think outside the box and brainstorm who you think might want a property with “flaws” — or better yet who wouldn’t consider those things “flaws” and might even see them as strengths.

Now, I’m not talking about pricing issues here. You can always change the price. So, if you’re judging a home to be “unsellable” solely on the issue of pricing, that fix simply requires changing your mindset about what kind of gain or loss you’re willing to accept. are willing.

I’m addressing the broader issues about a property that may make it appear undesirable or be seen as a potential liability (for reasons of location, condition, rehab-wrong, etc.).

Let’s talk about how the perception of an asset affects its value, negotiation, equity and success. At the same time, I’ll give you a little twist on the idea of ​​”unsellable” and how it works differently depending on how you pivot the concept.

The Story of the Forgotten Carriage House

An investor I know, Tim, found a property that had been on the market for about 12 years. (Yes, you read that “12 years.”) If you saw the property, you’d understand why it was on the market for so long.

It was originally a carriage house, a term coined to describe buildings where literal carriages were stored in prior centuries (essentially a garage for horse-drawn carriages). Often above this was a living area occupied by the coachman. Horses were usually kept in a separate barn building.

Nowadays, the term is used to describe buildings on the property that were used as additional quarters for a variety of purposes.

This particular carriage house was once of great wealth. Over the years, parcels of the property were acquired by various developers and several neighborhoods were built on that land. But this carriage house was left out of the mix.

So, it sat there for decades, a deteriorating sight out of all these lovely neighborhoods of different eras.

Connected: How To Think Like A Buyer When Preparing To Sell Your Property

Ultimately whoever had the last ownership of it died, and no one inherited the property. It reverted to city ownership, where it sat on the books for a very long time. At a certain point, the city decided that they should proceed with selling the property. He listed it for sale on a city website. He sat there for 12 years.

During this time the building had reached a completely dilapidated condition. Tim passed by the house often over the years, each time wondering about the unique ways this building could be renovated.

But his curiosity about the house and his search for the owner led him to the city’s website. He submitted a bid.

Now, here’s a basic take on the “unsellable” mindset.

As the listing had been present on the city website for 12 years, the city was beginning to view the property as “unsold”. In truth, though, they weren’t thinking creatively about how to market it to attract the right buyer. So, with each passing year, it actually became more and more difficult to sell. A vicious cycle, their belief that it was “unsellable”, caused them to shut down their creativity and any unique potential with it.

How A Buyer Can Use “Saleable” To His Advantage

Because the town had come to view the Carriage House as “unsellable”, Tim was able to use his negative perception of the property in his conversation. Therefore, Tim negotiated a purchase price of less than 5 percent of the property’s purchase price.

Tim didn’t see the property as “unsellable”. He saw it as having “incredible potential”.

Tim was right. He bought it for $1,800.

At that price—and with a solid plan for the building—getting financing for a full rehab was easy. He brought a companion. They made alterations to the existing house, turning it into an upscale multi-unit short-term rental property in the heart of the city.

The equity value is currently 244 times what Tim paid for the property. The carriage house is now valued at $440,000.

Plus, as a short-term rental, the home is currently turning over $100K a year in profit.

All this from a “salable” property.

Reputable Wholesaler

learn from the city’s mistakes

The example of the city experience teaches us that once you put a label on something, you will react and act upon it with the label you have assigned to it. Don’t make the same mistakes the city made.

Once he assigned the Carriage House the label of “unsellable”, the city began to believe and act on that assumption, which led him to the following errors in judgment:

  • They relied on limiting assumptions about the value of assets.
  • it blinded them to the potential value of the asset
  • Thus, this caused them to judge the property to be “useless”.
  • This effectively put an end to any effort made to market the property
  • which, in turn, allowed an investor to pick it up to sing

The “salable” label he assigned to assets limited their vision and therefore their potential for profits.

Kicking “Saleable” to the Curb

What Tim’s experience example teaches us is to take a fresh look at property. Make a very detailed list of all the pros and cons of the house and surrounding yard.

Be objective. be specific. Be alert The more detailed you are, the higher your chance of finding hidden marketing gems you might otherwise miss.

Also, be prepared to step outside yourself and your assumptions. Call on a friend, mentor, or coworker who you know can always find the good in everything. (By the way, if you don’t have someone like that in your life, start developing those relationships.) Positive thinkers and out-of-the-box thinkers will spark creativity.

Walk the property with them. Get out of your way Hear what they say.

If they say they like some aspect of the property, whether it’s the yard or the house, don’t object! ask them Why They like that thing or facility. Consider what benefit or value that detail adds to the property for them.

Next, let go of the idea of ​​”problems”. Every problem is an opportunity.

Therefore, carefully consider the “cons” or negatives on your list. This is when your true creative power switch is triggered. Open your mind and come up with a positive spin for each “con” on your list. Indeed.

And if any of those “cons” really put you off, pull out that positive-minded friend again—maybe even make them a partner.

Whatever the reasons for deeming a home “unsaleable”—whether you think your property is in an undesirable location, someone in the home has died, there are condition problems (deferred maintenance, pet odors, water problems, etc.) damage, mildew, lead) ), lack of amenities, it’s inconvenient architecture, outdated equipment or decor, or any other “non-selling” feature – let’s see it as a limitation. Change your perspective.

Connected: How to save on your house flips when they don’t sell

it’s your choice

Stop considering a challenge an obstacle when it is only an obstacle. Jump over it, go around it, go under it, maybe break through it. But look for opportunities.

As we say in marketing, find the hook. Find Tech. Find the slant.

In other words, find opportunities.

Keep your eyes open and let your creativity flow. That’s the beauty of real estate investing: One person’s shack is another person’s palace. It is all in perception.

Change your attitude and you change your choices!

Do you agree or disagree with my point of view? Can you think of any instances in the past in which you could have benefited from adjusting your perspective?

Weigh in with a comment below.

Note by BiggerPockets: These are the views expressed by the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BigPockets.

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