Oooh nice!!! Only 6 more months away, eh? Early congrats :)

Thanks for the info! Way to go!

I echo what superbien said. I took the same quality photos that they used in my listing and did my own ads in multiple counties on Craigslist. Renewed them offer. I noticed an increase in showings when the ads were renewed especially before the weekends.
I was able to track this since my realtor was Redfin (don’t know if you have them where you are). They track the number of viewings on their site, etc.
They also do a 3d walk through on their site of your property which was very cool.

And did I mention realtor fees? I paid 2 1/2% for the buyers agent but only $5,500 (about 1.7%) for my sellers agent. Redfin charges 1.5% or a minimum of $5,500. Saved a bundle over a traditional agent and got better service.
Disclosure: I am not a realtor or have no affiliation with Redfin. Just like using them however.

Yes! It did close on Friday and I did get an extra $700 credited in my closing costs. Picked up the check on Monday and walked into the bank with a big smile on my face.

Great ideas. If there are specific things that you would like in the online listing, share it with your realtor. Our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) will only let me enter a total of 700 characters of text. That is not nearly enough space for all the details, but as your listing filters out through zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, etc. agents can go in and really enhance your house on the sites, but most don’t. Sad, but true. I would enhance the heck out of all the sites. Also, I would also have houses under contract quicker, if I did the showing myself…I mean, next to the sellers, I knew the house the best. Or if I couldn’t be there, I would call the buyers agent to go over house features. The other agents appreciated it and I think that always helped sell my properties quicker, as well. I know you’re all set with professional photos and staging. That’s great…makes a huge difference. First showing is online. Ok, love talking real estate. Best of luck for a full price offer soon.

LOVE THESE! Our realtor is REALLY good w/ the writing so we got that part down already, and same w/ the photos actually (he hired a professional team to come in and they were so good I stopped for a second and considered moving back in! Haha…). There’s no one living in there so it’s 100% clutter fee, but I’m not sure on the Craigslist posting actually – that’s a damn good idea. Gonna look into that and if there isn’t one we’ll add one up there! I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this considering I SELL STUFF ON CRAIGSLIST EVERY WEEK! #FAIL

That was 3 things, sorry. I should mention that I have successfully sold 2 places at significantly more than the rest of the market was getting. So this is part personal philosophy, which I applied and seemed to get good results with.

So I recommend 2 things:
1) Write your listing for the realtor.

Write enthusiastically (without purple prose) and evocatively, remembering buyers’ hopes and emotions. Include nearby interest (walkable to groceries, park, major commuting). S/he may cut it down, but guaranteed you will have more time and motivation to put into a kick-ass listing than someone with 30+ listings.

2) Post your full listing on craigslist, and keep renewing it.

When I like a listing, I look at multiple listings to squeeze out all the info (so many realtors are laaazy!!). You will give a buyer all the info they want, for free. You also are not bpund by the same regs as realtors (eg you can say it is a great friendly neighborhood). Include address, MLS #, and pix.

3) For god’s sake, do NOT half-ass the pictures!! De-clutter, take down all personal pix and items, clean thoroughly, and photograph in warm light at a minimum (so many people fail at this!).

Even better if you paint (I like a very light buttery yellow everywhere – neutral but grabs sunlight and *glows* in pix), do some repairs and high-visual upgrades, and do basic staging. The pictures bring people in!!

Thank you Fervent!! I’ll take all the good karma I can get!