Now The House is On the Market.....Now What?

You handled everything on your pre-listing To Do list masterfully. And now that the house is listed, the pressure is off, right? Wrong. You now have two things that you must deal with simultaneously. First, you must maintain the stage at all times so the house is ready to show at the drop of a hat. At the same time, you and your Realtor must market the house as creatively and aggressively as you can. After consulting with your Realtor, you might find that you have to take the lead in marketing. Chances are, your Realtor is dealing with multiple listings at once, so while you can come up with a marketing plan as Team Sell This House, it will most likely fall to you to take the lead in implementing the plan.

To maintain the stage:

• Keep everything dusted (including the plants).
• If you use it, put it back.
• If you get it dirty, clean it.
• Keep the lawn trimmed and edged.
• Make sure the lawn and any plants get enough water.
• Make the beds every day--be able to bounce a quarter off of them (practically, anyway).
• Polish the counter tops.
• Make sure the stove, oven and microwave are spotless.
• Keep the pantry neat and organized.

There are countless other tips on maintaining a stage. Here's a good place to go for some more.

To market:

• Keep the Info Tube full at all times. An empty tube means you don't want to sell.
• Place ads on every free on-line classified website you can find.
• Post fliers.
• Decide if you will have an Open House. If yes, do it right.
• Network--post the house on your facebook or myspace page.
  
• Twitter account? Tweet your house.
• Post to real estate forums with a link to the MLS page in your signature.
• Have some money to spare in your fix-it budget? Buy an ad at the local movie theater--maximum exposure to buyers in your area.
• Have just a few dollars to spare? There are a few sites that will let you place a targeted ad for very little money.

These are by no means exhaustive lists. For more ideas as well as for complete information on how to buy my very successful house selling action plan, visit I CAN Sell This House and sign up for the Free Sample.

If you don't usually read the comments, I wanted to bring this to your attention. A reader wrote:

I wanted to let your readers know that they can place a free home listing on www.infotube.net, the website operated by the manufacturer of InfoTube and InfoBox.

The website is easy to use and all user information is strictly confidential. Infotube.net is a great way to expose your property and showcase your listing.

So there you have it: another great way to market your house!