September 3, 2010 

FSBO Newspaper Ads

Traditionally, newspaper advertising has been the medium of choice for a FSBO (for sale by owner).  Throughout the country, most sellers believe that a buyer will search the real estate classifieds before visiting open houses on the weekend.  As a result, a seller will spend a relatively small amount of money in the attempt to target a large number of potential buyers. 

Real estate agents understand that classified ads are a great way to build up a customer list.  Agents understand that very few people actually buy the home they are calling, thus creating an opportunity for the agent to show the client other homes.  That is why you will see agents posting the most desirable home they have listed.

As a for sale by owner, newspaper advertising can help attract potential buyers to your home.  Unlike the real estate agent, you want to sell your home.  To effectively promote your home, you must focus your money and newspaper ad on the greatest audience that will see the ad.  Do not waste your money on a basic classified ad; rather, spend your money to promote an open house or showing on the weekend (i.e. an open house classified ad).  The open house classifieds will attract the largest audience for a seller.  Think about it--if you were buying a home would you look in Thursday's real estate classified section or the weekend open house directory?  Even on the weekend, what section of your local newspaper has a greater prominence--the real estate classifieds or the open house classifieds?  In nearly every newspaper across the country, the answer is the open house classifieds.

As you prepare to write your newspaper ad, remember that the key to your ad's effectiveness is determined by the composition and content of the ad.  Use the following tips when writing a newspaper ad:

If you pick up last Sunday's classified section, you will notice that most ads look something like this:
 

When writing your newspaper ad, keep it short and succinct, without sacrificing too much detail.  Emphasize the true benefits of your home, especially those features and amenities that attracted you to the house initially.  Most importantly, do not exaggerate or bend the truth about your home.  Embellishing the truth will only end up wasting your advertising dollars and scaring off potential buyers. 

Include the following elements in your newspaper ad in the approximate order listed here (like the example ad above):

• Defined area

• Property address

• Open house hours and days

• Sales price

• Overall and key features

• Main interior features

• Main exterior features

• The word "FSBO" or "By Owner"

Defined Area:  For homes located in larger metropolitan areas, buyers will search for homes in specific regions.  In Phoenix, for example, the classified real estate section is divided by the location of the valley, such as North Phoenix, West Valley, East Mesa, etc.

Property Address:  You should always include the property address of your home.  Buyers will generally drive a neighborhood when searching for homes.  Including your address allows them to specifically target your home on their search.  If your street address is not well know, include the major cross streets to help a buyer find the property (Such as Bell and Tatum Roads or 69th Ave and Indian School Rd.).

Open House Hours:  (if you are planning on using newspaper advertising to market an open house).  Failure to include this vital piece of information will have buyers knocking on your door at all hours.  Let the buyer know when it is appropriate to stop by.

Sales Price:  Many sellers omit this critical piece of information, hoping to attract as many buyers as possible.  What they do not realize is that they may be attracting people who do not qualify to purchase or attracting those that are looking for a lower price.  Include the sales price so you only appeal to those that are looking within your price range. 

Overall and Key Features:  This section defines the two or three major features that will win over a buyer.  These features usually list the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage and type of parking (i.e. garage vs carport) in order to provide the buyer with the basics about the house.  Also, include any other amenities that separate your home from everyone else's, such as a heated pool, RV parking, mountain views, large corner lot, or any terms or conditions that may attract special buyers.   Special buyer needs include no qualifying financing, lease-options, or seller carrybacks.

Main Interior Features:  Describe any features about the inside of your home.  This may include:

• Kitchen and dining areas (e.g. large kitchen, gourmet kitchen with double ovens, kitchen with breakfast nook, walk-in pantry, etc.)

• Living spaces (e.g. living room, great room, family room, den, office, jack-n-jill bathroom, etc)

• Fireplace

• Master bedroom/bath (e.g. balcony, large walk-in closet, private covered patio, double sinks, jacuzzi tub, etc).

• Other interior features (e.g. tile floors, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, ceiling fans, evaporative cooler, game room, walk-out basement, laundry room with industrial sink, Arizona room, etc).

Main Exterior Features:  Describe any features about the exterior of your home.  This may include:

• Pool

• Spa or sauna

• Type of landscaping (desert, grass, etc)

• Type of lot (corner lot, cul-de-sac lot, etc)

• Type of trees (mature trees, citrus trees, etc)

• Type of fence (block, wooden, etc)

• Type of watering system (sprinklers, drip, etc)

• Type of construction (such as block construction)

• Type of property (horse property, gated community, etc)

• Number of stories

• RV parking and/or RV gate

In addition, be sure to identify yourself as a for sale by owner by including the acronym "FSBO" or "By Owner".  If you are willing to pay a referral fee to a real estate agent, include "Realtors Welcome", "3% co-broke", or another phrase the conveys the same meaning. 

Avoid including the phrase "Principals only".  Sellers have tried to include this phrase in order to prevent real estate agents from calling or stopping by.  The reality is that agents will do it anyways.  Save yourself the money from the additional letters and expect them to stop by.  As a FSBO, there really is not any way to prevent this from happening.

Also, do not include your phone number in your newspaper advertising.  The only people that will call your house will be real estate agents and mortgage loan officers.  Each of these individuals are after one thing--your business.  By advertising your phone number in the newspaper, you are opening the door to a flood of phone calls from agents desperate for business that will try to convince you that you are unable to sell your home yourself.  Save yourself the headache and hassle and avoid publishing your phone number. 

Change your ad every couple of weeks.  After time, a buyer will recognize an ad and overlook it if they have seen it before. 

Finally, do not try to abbreviate your entire ad.  Use common abbreviations without sacrificing readability.  Though it may be enticing to save a dollar or two on space, if a buyer is unable to read the ad, you are wasting your money anyways.  He or she will not be able to understand the ad.  Use the following common abbreviations sparingly in your ad:
  

Abbreviation	Meaning		Abbreviation	Meaning
2g, 2cg	2 car garage		grt rm	great room
ac	air conditioning		hm	home
apprx, approx	approximately		isld	island
az rm	Arizona room		kit, kitch	kitchen
ba, bath, bth	bathroom		liv rm	living room
balc	balcony		lndscpg	landscaping
bkyd	backyard		lndry	laundry
br, bdrm	bedroom		lg, lrg	large
ceil	ceilings		mb, mstr bed	master bedroom
covd, cov'd	covered		mtn	mountain
crpt	carport		ofc	office
cust	custom		pkg	parking
dbl	double		rm	room
din rm	dining room		sec sys	security system
fam rm	family room		sqft, sf	square feet
flr, flrs	floor, floors		thruout	throughout
flrpln	floorplan		twnhse	townhouse
fncd	fenced		vltd ceil	vaulted ceilings
fpl, frplc, fp	fireplace		xtra	extra
frnt yrd	front yard		yrd, yd	yard

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