Halloween Home Marketing

by Rod Sager

As pretty as this is, clear a path through the leaves :)

In six days all the neighborhood kids will be plying the streets dressed as zombies, goblins, super-heroes or maybe even a princess. Trick or Treat! If a seller has their home listed during Halloween there is a great marketing opportunity lurking beneath the veil of candy and costumes.

Typically there are two sets of trick or treaters. The first set which likely begins the annual suger pilgrimage just after dark are the little kids. Toddlers and grade schoolers. These adorable little monsters are almost always accompanied by the parents. Mom and or Dad often wait out front while the little goblins run up to the door smiling and holding out their little plastic jack-o-lantern. This is a great marketing opportunity. If the seller feels chatty they might consider having someone in the family hand out treats while they go talk it up with the neighbors. Know anyone interested in living in this neighborhood? Have a flyer available a give it to them. If the seller is shy, then they should ask their real estate professional to make a half page flyer that can be folded to a 1/4 size and toss it in with the candy. Maybe tell the kid that the paper is for mommy and daddy. The second wave is usually the teenagers. They show up with a king sized pillow case looking for the holy grail of sugerdom. Give them the same flyer and ask them to give it to their folks.

I like to present the idea to people in the neighborhood that they can choose their next neighbor. If they know someone that would like to live in this area, this house represents an opportunity. Your real estate professional should be more than happy to provide flyers for this purpose. During Halloween sellers should make the home bright and inviting despite the dark and creepy nature of the event. This is one time to go for fun and spunky rather than the haunted theme.

Even though sellers hire a real estate agent to help them sell their home, their own participation can help to yield a higher price and or a faster close. It does not matter whether the market is hot or cold, sellers need to make their home stand out against the rest and never miss an opportunity to put it in front of people.

So now I'll say so long and in my best Vincent Price voice a diabolical laugh fades to silence. Buahaha.

Tips for Home Selling in the Fall

by Rod Sager

This late autumn listing in 2012, sold in 6 days.

Up here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abrupt transition from warm summer to chilly autumn. The rain starts falling and the leaves turn bright colors. It is a sight to behold. It also creates some problems for real estate. We get really dark as the fall marches on towards the holidays. Statistics show Autumn is the second busiest season for real estate. This is still a great time to sell and making a home warm and inviting will set it apart from the rest.  

It is important to keep a listed home bright and cheery as the days grow darker. Keeping the leaves raked and clear of the walkway adds positive curb appeal and also keeps safety in the forefront as wet leaves are quite slippery. Be sure to mow the lawn every week until the end of October at least. As the daily temps plunge the need to mow will go away. The leaves however will linger on through thanksgiving so keep on top of that. Light and bright sells in the Northwest.  

I typically offer up tips on prepping a listing for Autumn but I came across a well done article on the Internet with ten tips for selling in the fall and thought I would share them with all of you. Some may not fit our Northwest situation 100% as the author is based in California, but these are still pretty good.

Ten tips from Elizabeth Weintraub 

Clean Up the Yard

Rake dead leaves and debris in your lawn. Don't let overgrown vegetation block the windows or path to the entrance. Cutting bushes and tree limbs will let the sun inside and showcase the exterior of your home. Cut away summer vines and cut down dead flowers.

Create Autumn Curb Appeal

The most popular autumn flowers are chrysanthemums (or mums) and they bloom for a long time. I am also partial to marigolds for fall. Both mums and marigolds are available in yellow, which is a home selling color. Plant them in pots. Place pots on the steps and along the sidewalk. Accent with pumpkins.

Dress the Windows

Rain and wind from over the summer months can make your windows dusty and streaked by autumn. You might not notice smudges, but buyers will, if only on a subconscious level. To sell a home, your windows need to sparkle. Even though I am not selling my home, my cats routinely rub their little noses on the inside glass while walking along window ledges, so I need to wash my windows inside and out every autumn. Remove screens and spray them down.

Check the HVAC

You want the air inside your home to smell fresh. When was the last time you changed your furnace filter? You can buy 90-day furnace filters. Have the HVAC system checked before you need to turn on the heat. Besides, the buyer will ask a home inspector to look at your HVAC. If you discover problems with your furnace, it's better to fix them before your home goes on the market.

Clean Out the Fireplace

Ah, nothing smells like autumn than smoke from a wood-burning fireplace. However, in some parts of the country, burning wood indoors or outdoors is outlawed. In Sacramento, we have certain days when we are not allowed to burn wood in the fireplace. If you have a gas fireplace, light it when buyers come through. If the fireplace is filled with cobwebs because it hasn't been used for months, vacuum it out and wash it down. Some home stagers arrange knickknacks in the fireplace in place of wood logs.

Prepare Autumn Dishes

Speaking of autumn scents, you might set out freshly baked pumpkin cupcakes or simmer hot apple cider on the stove. Put a tray of cinnamon sticks on the counter, dotted with whole cloves. One of my favorite autumn treats as a kid was snickerdoodle cookies. Prop open a cookbook to an autumn stew. Fill a bowl with crisp red apples.

Set the Autumn Mood Musically
When I think of autumn music, beyond "See You in September" and "California Dreamin'," polka music and accordions come to mind. German beer fests are always held in October. But that doesn't seem appropriate for autumn home selling unless you're entertaining a frat house. I suspect a home seller is better off with Enya's "The First of Autumn" or George Winston's new age piano album "Autumn."

Utilize Autumn Accent Colors

You don't need to dump a lifeless sofa when you can accessorize its dullness with bright red, orange and / or golden yellow pillows. Toss a quilt or autumn-colored throw over a chair. After you've cleared away the clutter and depersonalized each room, bring a little bit of autumn hues to each room by placing bold-colored accent pieces in odd groupings such as 3's and 5's. Create an autumn centerpiece for the dining room table by arranging pine cones and nuts around orange candles, stick in a few leaves from the yard.Turn on the Lights

Above all, bring in the light. When days get shorter, the sun sets lower in the horizon and casts wider shadows. Pull up the blinds, open the shutters, push back the drapes on every window. Turn on every light in the house, including appliance lights and closet lights. Brighten darker rooms with few windows by placing spotlights on the floor behind furniture, and for goodness sakes, turn off the TV.

Offer Parting Treats

I like to leave a guest book by the door for people to leave comments about the home. Gathering buyer feedback can be crucial. And buyers will feel more compelled to leave you a note if you give them something in return. Like tiny packets of candy corn or those snack-sized candy bars -- oh, I love Snickers bars like no tomorrow. Or you can go all-out and leave a tray of individually wrapped caramelized apples, tied with a curling ribbon.

At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.