Ever get fed up chasing down showing agents by phone trying to get showing feedback for your listings? Playing phone tag, or dealing with a fellow agent who is annoyed with the fact you called to bother them is never fun. (Been there, done that.) Then some of the online feedback systems can cost too much but offer just too little.

Well a client of mind found a free online showing feedback solution solution recently, we tried it out, and it is working great. So today I wanted to share this great tool to help you get your showing feedback results in an easy and automatic fashion. And best of all is that it’s FREE! The program is www.ShowingFeedback.com, and my agent client and I had recently stumbled upon it when looking for cost effective online showing feedback solutions.

ShowingFeedback.com allows you to track the feedback on your listings by creating and sending short surveys to agents that show your listings, and then give access to your sellers to review the reports and comments that have been left by the agents.

To use is, you simply enter your listings and seller’s information into the system, and when there is a new showing, add the showing agent’s information and a showing feedback survey is sent. The feedback survey will be sent automatically up to 3 times until the showing agent responds. When they do respond, they you AND your seller will receive email notification of the showing feedback that was just left. It is that simple.

So far in using it the past few weeks we have seen about a 90% response rate from the showing agents and we are very impressed. And of course, the sellers really appreciate getting direct email notification of their showing activity and feedback.

And did I mention that this was free? So go give it a try, you have nothing to lose!

In many cities across the country, the real estate market has changed. Inventories have increased, buyers are taking their time, and pricing a home right has never been more important. It goes beyond just getting the listing. Sellers now need to be educated to understand the new realities facing many markets today. 

I found this great article by Steve Harney today, Managing Homeowners’ Expectations that gives a great guide on the major factors that are affecting the housing market and what you and your clients need to take into consideration when pricing their homes right to sell quickly.  This is something to add to all of your listing presentations.

You may or may not have heard of Craig’s List, but if you have listings and want a free place to advertise them, you will be using it after reading this. Craig’s List is basically an internet classified site where people list and sell things, homes, post jobs, etc. And best of all… it is FREE to use in most areas. More and more people are going to Craig’s list every day to buy, sell and look for jobs and why not target this internet audience. Real estate professionals have started to wise up to this and it is only a matter of time until it becomes the norm. It is just another online tool where you can showcase your listings to the public and right now it is very friendly to your budget.

Recently I came upon two online tools that can make your Craig’s list ads better than the rest. And they are also free.  The programs I found can spiff up a boring old Craig’s list ad, and customize it to your own… plus automatically syndicate it to all sorts of other listing sites to give your listings more exposure. 

First is Postlets: www.postlets.com. Here you input the property information and a description, you can add up to 12 pictures, and then submit and it makes a nice looking online flyer. It will generate the html code to post on Craig’s list and on your blogs or e-newsletters too. Plus it will automatically send it your ad to Trulia, Oodle and all sorts of others. There seems to be no limit as to how many flyers you can do at once which is a nice feature. The drawback to it is that you it doesn’t look like you can customize the colors or branding of the templates, so what you see is what you get.

Next is vFlyer(www.vflyer.com).  vFlyer is great and does same as above with making a nice looking online flyer plus syndication, but they have more custom templates with other colors that you can choose from and the free version has a few more photos. Here’s an example of one I did for my own house http://megbarberva.vflyer.com/1/index.html (example only, my house is not for sale). Additionally you can email it, print it and track the viewing activity, plus some other goodies. You also can add your flyers to a vFlyer Gallery widget where you can post a gallery of your properties on your blogs, web postings, etc. The drawback with vFlyer is that the free version is limited (only 5 active vFlyers with 15 max photos at a time to name a few) and even the starter version is pretty limited but has a little more capability.  The free version works nicely if you have a small listing inventory, but if you have more than 5 listings at a time you want to advertise, you might want to get the upgrade.

Now you don’t have to have a “fancy” ad posted on Craig’s List to get your listing noticed. Content is king and it is not always about who can have the fanciest html ad on the block. But using something like Postlets or vFlyer can help set you apart from the rest, and even impress your sellers and prospective clients.

When listing a property it is crucial to have good pictures for potential buyers to look at on the web and in print advertising.  Now a days, most web consumers will just plain skip over listings that they cannot see pictures of, or have pictures that are too dark and of poor quality.

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take great photos of your new listings.  Here are a few tips on taking better photos of your listings to maximize your advertising potential.

1. Sunny Skies – Try and take photos of the exterior on clear, sunny days. Grey skies dull the impression of the exterior walls and landscaping leaving a photo just blah.  Also, try taking the photo at a slight angle instead of straight on. Shooting from a slight angle gives the house more definition.
2. Underexposure - Avoid underexposure problems by cutting down on the background light. Take the exterior shots when sun is in front of the house, and interior shots away from bright lights.
3. Let There Be Light – The easiest way to improve indoor shots is to turn the lights on or open drapes and curtains in dark rooms.  But again, avoid taking shots directly towards bright light to avoid background light issues, or your room will look like a cave.
4. Clear Out the Clutter - Make sure countertops, dressertops, floors, etc., are as clutter free as possible. Too much clutter may make rooms look small and undesireable to potential buyers.
5. Focus on the Key  – Before shooting the interior, check around for the important features that should be highlighted. Think about what key features you would want to see if you were looking for a home.
6. Location, Location , Location – When shooting an interior room, try and position yourself in a location that best views the features of a room.  No one wants to see just boring walls.
7. Pets Are Cute, Sometimes – If there are pets, it is okay to include them but be wary of their location. No one wants to see them on a kitchen counter.
8. Mirror, Mirror – Avoid shooting directly at any mirrors.  You don’t need a shot of the photographer. 
9. Close the Closets - Make sure closet and cabinet doors are closed for a cleaner appearance.  Only take shots of a closet if it is extremely neat and orderly.
10. Zoom Out – Make sure you zoom all the way out to get as much of a room in as possible. If you have a wide angle attachment, use it. This also helps when creating virtual tours.

Use these tips and your listing photos should turn out beautifully. If your photos still aren’t coming up to par,  look upon the help from a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help with your photo editing.