We’ve all heard that real estate is all about “location, location, location.” It’s true to a certain extent, but having a popular location really isn’t enough when it comes time to sell. It’s a finely-tuned combination of the following:

Location
Condition
Price
Exposure

• If the location and/or condition isn’t the best, you’ll need to offset things with a lower price.

• If the location is awesome, you’ll likely have good results (provided, of course, that the house’s condition is par for the course).

• If you’re priced competitively, you’ll be on the radar. If you’re overpriced, buyers and their agents won’t even find your home. They’ll be looking in the correct price range instead.

• Without exposure on the MLS, none of the above will be of much help. You’ll have very little exposure to where the buyers and their agents are looking. It’s not impossible to sell FSBO. It’s just very difficult to be found.

• And finally—If the first thing online that buyers and their agents see isn’t the best possible representation of your home, its features and its ambiance, I believe you’re missing out.

Yesterday I listed a home on Lexington’s southside. Wyndham Downs is pretty sweet location-wise. Think Clays Mill, outside Man-O-War. Right around the corner from Copperfield. In addition to having a great combination of public schools (Garden Springs, Beaumont, Dunbar), you’re really close to plenty of parks, sports fields, restaurants and shopping. This home comes with access to a private neighborhood pool. Big plus? It’s only three doors away from Waverly Park. This is huge.

But again—location isn’t enough.

We have it priced competitively. It’s condition is great. It’s on the MLS. But what I believe will ultimately separate it from the mix is the photography.

I spent two hours there shooting. I may be a bit obsessive, but I want my real estate photos to look like they should be in a magazine. Not just to show off the “bricks and sticks,” as they say. But instead, to present the soul of the home and its location.

Here are my favorites:

And just in case you’ve become just a tad bit curious about all the details of this home, you can find it HERE. Hope you like what I’ve done with the listing!

Thanks for stopping by!  -shaun

My listings tend to sell pretty quickly.  How do I do it?

1)Excellent photography. In addition to selling real estate, I’m also a professional photographer.  Works out really well for my clients!  Their homes end up looking like they’re straight out of a magazine.  With nearly all buyers and all of the buyers’ agents looking at listings online first, it only makes sense to make a good first impression.  Before photographing each property, I go by a few days ahead of time to make suggestions to the sellers on what they might wanna do staging-wise.  Probably all the same things you see on HGTV, but sometimes it’s nice for people to get an outside perspective.

2)Interesting remarks. If I see another listing that says “Cute 3BR ranch. Must see!”, I’m going to scream.  When people are looking through hundreds of possible properties, it’s important to stand out.  I think my marketing remarks break through the noise better.

3)Accurate pricing. The best listing price is one that’s based on comparable solds, as well competitive with other active listings.  I love crunching numbers.  Overpriced listings don’t get shown, because people look for homes in the price range they can afford.  In the 99K-500K range during 2010 (as of today—10/3/2010), the 2300+ properties sold in Lexington went for around 97.5% of the listing price.

4)Not with print advertising or open houses…LOL. I’ve found them both to be a big waste of time and money.  Most print advertising and open houses are done to benefit the agent, since it’s a great way for them to meet new clients.  The best part?  Since I don’t needlessly spend dollars and energy on print advertising and open houses, the listing commission I charge is really reasonable.  Because I tend to sell houses really quickly AND at a reasonable commission, I get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. Win-win.

It’s not rocket-science, but I’ve got my system down, and it works.  Whether you’re looking to get your house listed ASAP, or if you’re just interested in knowing how it might stack up in the current market, give me a shout HERE.  I’d love to chat with you!