How to Market Your Fix and Flip to Sell

[Joe Assad]

Once you have done the hard work of fixing up an investment property, the next phase is marketing it to sell. The key to any plan is to find the right mix of tactics that will bring qualified buyers to your door step and move the property fast. In a world where technology has become omnipresent, the Internet is a valuable marketing resource. One study found that 82 percent of recent home buyers found online websites to be a very useful source of information. That said, offline marketing techniques should not be completely dismissed. The path to success is through a mixed media marketing strategy that allows you to reach potential buyers through a variety of means. Here are some tried-and-true methods to help you sell your next fix and flip.

Use your words. How you describe a property in a listing can have a big impact on how a prospective buyer sees your property. An overview of the property should be fact based while also painting a picture that helps the reader envision themselves living there. To start, your listing should include key information around the size of the home and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Add color to the listing by using sensory words to describe the architectural style of the home and its layout. Details around amenities and upgrades like "updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances" can add tangible value to your listing. But be cautious of words that can detract from a home’s value. Experts have noted that listings that used the word "unique" sold for 30 to 50 percent less than comparable properties since it can connote that the home will have narrow appeal. They also concluded that longer descriptions, up to 250 words, translated to a higher sale price.

Create powerful photographs. One of the most important assets for marketing your fix and flip are photographs, with 87 percent of buyers using online sources saying they found them to be very helpful. The images make a listing come to life and can be a deciding factor when it comes to getting an in-person visit. And quality matters when it comes to pictures. While camera phones have become ubiquitous, they are not sufficient when it comes to photographing your property. Invest in a digital camera that can accommodate various lenses, so that you capture the full scope of a room. To stand out among the competition, make sure that you have tidied and staged the house before you snap the first picture. If you lack photography chops, it might be worthwhile to hire a professional who can capture the best angles of a room and show it in the best light.

Provide a virtual tours. Video can be a very powerful medium when it comes to marketing a home. Realtor.com found that listings with a virtual tour received 87 percent more views than listings without a tour, and more than half of buyers will not look at properties that don’t include a virtual tour. A video tour makes viewers feel like they are in the home, so they can get a better idea of the layout and flow, which can be challenging to capture in a still photo. To create an immersive tour, include 360-degree panoramic views of the various rooms and use compelling narrative to help describe what they are experiencing. As with taking photographs, quality reigns supreme, so high definition video will have an edge, particularly in a competitive environment.

Get social. The sheer size of the audience on social media presents a tremendous marketing opportunity. Today, 72 percent of all online adults are active on Facebook, which make it an obvious first choice when looking at the various networks. An easy way to get started on Facebook is to share your listing(s) with your friends on the network and encourage them to share it too. Instagram, another Facebook property, is an image-driven network that is particularly popular with Millennials, so it can be a good channel for distributing attractive images of your property. Social media does not require a lot of marketing dollars to get started, and with a little testing it can be a cost-effective way to reach a broader audience.

Put a stake in the ground. Many marketing techniques of today have technology at their core. But one low-tech tactic can be surprisingly effective when it comes to building visibility for your property. A recent study found that 52 percent of home buyers relied on yard signs frequently or occasionally during their home search. So, to round out your overall strategy, make sure to incorporate some offline-marketing as well.

There is no silver bullet when it comes to marketing a home, but by using multiple channels you expand your audience and greatly increase your chances for quick flip.

[Kuba F.]

I will never understand why people post their homes with no, or poor photos. You only get one chance to make a first impression.