'Hope and Pray' is Not a Strong Marketing Strategy
Submitted by: Kon Kuperman - Washington Township, NJ
I wouldn't know what to do if I had to sell today without the 5 Day Sale method. It's been about 6 months since I sold my house using the 5 Day method in Teaneck and let me tell you...the market's much slower now than it was back then. I wouldn't know what to do if the 5-day sale method didn't exist and I had my house on the market. I would start by panicking.
On a whim in December I listed my house with a broker who promised me the world. Unlike the Teaneck house which I sold using the 5 day system, this is not an investment property but my home. He said that I would get offers left and right and within 4-6 weeks I would have a buyer. Well, it's been over 2 months since I listed with him and I've had nothing but frustration and problems. I've had realtors call me to make appointments they have not kept. I've also had realtors appear at my door without calling ahead to make an appointment (as my listing instructs them to do). I've had realtors leave without turning the lights off. But mostly, it's a bother because the buyers see the house on their time, on their terms, not mine. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Without the sense of urgency, most buyers will sit on the sidelines until somebody makes a move.
Here are some of the lines I've been told by buyers or their brokers:
"I need to sell my house first"
"Ideally I'd like to wait for a few more months before I buy"
"Call me when SOMEBODY ELSE is interested"
or "My clients are very busy people and this is the only time they have to see the house"
I am very unique in that I've had the opportunity to sell using the 5 day method first and then try to sell using the traditional method - usually it's the other way around - so I've had a chance to see a traditional sale progress from a totally different prospective and let me just tell you that it's so completely unfair to the seller. I'm at the realtors' beck and call. I have to hope and pray that someone looks at MLS and comes to see my house and let me tell you that "Hope and Pray" is just not a strong marketing strategy or plan.
Come spring time, if my house does not sell traditionally I will pull out my Ace card and you will see yet another testimonial from me about the success I had selling my house using the 5-day sale method.
