HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SALES USING eBAY AND CRAIGSLIST

24 Mar HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SALES USING eBAY AND CRAIGSLIST

Are Craigslist and eBay still good places for real estate investors to buy and sell property?

I say, YES! But you need to know the right techniques and strategies to increase your visibility online and sell your properties fast, even in today’s market.

One excellent way to broaden your market and increase your pool of buyers is to offer seller financing. Seller financing used to be much more common a few decades ago when interest rates were much higher, but it never went away totally and it’s making a come-back these days in our post-housing-bubble period. Offering seller financing means you, the owner, are acting in place of the bank – instead of a buyer going to a bank to get a traditional mortgage (which is hard for many people to do these days) – you, the owner work out payment terms with the buyer and effectively finance the deal yourself.

Offering seller financing will probably mean having to accept a lower amount of money upfront (in the form of a buyers down payment) but it can be an excellent way to attract more buyers who might otherwise have been denied a traditional mortgage through a regular bank. For a more detailed explanation of how seller financing works see my article here.

MAKE YOUR POSTS STAND OUT

Besides offering seller financing, another way to get more eyes on your property listings is to make sure you’re advertising your properties in the best possible way. Your descriptions shouldn’t just include information about the specific property – they should also describe the amenities of the surrounding area – shops, schools, parks and outdoor resources. If your property is in the middle of nowhere, what are the major attributes of the surrounding area – is it good for hunting and fishing? Snow mobiling or cross country skiing? Remember that you want to BUILD THE DREAM. What do I mean by this?

Selling property is as much about telling the right story and painting a picture of the future as it is about interest rates, prices and property specs. Remember that most people aren’t looking at property exclusively as an investment. Most people are trying to imagine how buying this property will make their lives better and happier. If you’re selling vacant land for instance, this kind of property is perfect for what I’m talking about. Vacant land has nothing but potential! Describe some of the things this land could be used for. You will start to trigger ideas and aspirations in buyers’ minds. They will start to see their future lived out on your property – and they’ll want to buy it from you!