You have a beautiful log home. It may be your dream home. Perhaps it was a labor of love when you built it, and if you did not, you were no doubt excited when you bought it. throughout the seasons, maybe for many years.
It's a second home, and hosted friends and relatives for any number of occasions or events. It 's also possible that you never envisioned selling it. stay in the family indefinitely, passed on to future generations, for all of them to enjoy, as a true legacy of memories.
As it goes to your log home, the day came when it was was time to sell.
And so you hired a local real estate broker, quite possibly someone you knew, or maybe the one you worked with you bought it. You went through the steps of preparing your home for sale, pricing it, and signing a listing agreement. You did not think it would take long to sell, because it & # 39; sa beautiful place, well-built, and ready for another family to enjoy it as you and yours did.
But unexpectedly, weeks on the market turned to months, with little - maybe no - activity. How could that be?
Said first, you are a bit bewildered. Suddenly, one of the issues you were facing was the length of time your property. Your agent ran out of answers, said & # 39; listing had gone stale & # 39; and it seemed that every conversation was about reducing the price.
Then it became frustrating, especially after you & # 39; d gone through the emotional process of letting the place go, and it got worse when it came time to pay the next property tax bill.. Ugh. Why is there so little interest in your property ? This is not what you expected.
The One Thing
What happened? There may be multiple reasons, as there are always a number of variables at play, but the big biggest mistake made by sellers of log homes, log cabins and timber frame homes is that they did not hiring a real estate broker to represent their property for sale. In simple terms, their situation called for hiring a specialist, and they hired a generalist.
Questions to Ask
This is not as simple as calling the local broker, or hiring a friend or relative who & 39; sa licensed real estate agent. Instead, these are the key questions to ask:
1. What is the buyer of your home?
Sure, it 's probably a local buyer, but most likely not. They' re likably buyers like you When being you bought or built the home, meaning they & # 39; re most likely looking for their own dream home, and they know more about what it will look and feel like, than where it is.
2. How will your broker reach out-of-town buyers for your log home?
Here is a critical question, and it's a question of how to best the answer to the question ahead of time, so you know it when you hear it. Here & # 39; s what that means: most agents and brokers will say That leads to the national websites like zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, that that, a buyer from anywhere can find it. That's the sounds pretty good, but what does it really mean? That leads to the next question:
3. How will prospective buyers find your log home when they 're searching online?
Buttfortfortately, the overwhelming majority of real estate websites (including Zillow) is today & # 39; s given, that's what you buyers will be searching online. , Trulia, Realtor.com and most national franchises) require buyers to begin their search by providing the city, town or zip code where they & # 39; re looking to buy. And the majority of buyers of log homes, log cabins and timber frame homes do not know the city, town or zip code of where to search. Oops. That & # 39; sa problem.
4. So, how will your broker target buyers of log homes?
If the majority of log home buyers know what they & # 39; re looking for, but not where to find it, the if most websites require those buyers to start their search by entering the city, town or zip code of their search, then the real estate brokers you & # 39; re interviewing better have a good answer to this question.
5. How will your broker present your log home to prospective buyers who find it online?
There 's a hottest real estate broker who & # 39; got it & # 39 ;, meaning that they know the target market for your log home, log cabin or timber frame home, and that the best But you also want to know how it is for your buyers do not the city, town or zip code of where to search. to those buyers when they find it online.
Will they use a professional photographer? Will there be any aerial imagery? Will the property have its own website? Keep in mind that your prospective buyers may be traveling a distance to see your property firsthand, so You want to know what they & # 39; ll see online will motivate them to make that trip.
6. What other types of marketing will your broker use to present your log home, log cabin or timber frame home?
Will the broker use brochures or flyers? What prospective buyers do you visit your property later on? The thought of the property later on?? Though the vast majority of buyers use the internet to search for real estate, will your broker use any other means of marketing, such as social media or catalogs?
7. Is your real estate broker affiliated with a larger company or organization that will attract buyers from a national or international network?
Is your broker part of a larger organization that will tie into those possibilities?
There are nothing based on what it cost to build the home, or if there 's sa mortgage, how much is owed on it. But, they may be important considerations for the seller, they & # 39; re not relevant to what the market will bear for a property.
The good news is that if sellers hire a real estate broker to sell their log home, log cabin or timber frame home who has the best answers to the question above, that broker will also likely have a good knowledge of comparable sales of log homes, as well as those will be competitive for the attention of buyers.
