5 Extraordinary Tips For Selling A Unique Home Or Property

How To Sell An Unusual House

5 Extraordinary Tips For Selling A Unique Home!

Selling a home can be difficult for some homeowners and sometimes the reasons why a home isn’t selling are a direct result of the sellers actions, such as overpricing the home.  It’s possible though that a home isn’t selling because it’s a unique property.

What makes a piece of real estate unique?  A unique home is one that is not like the majority of homes in a given area.  A few of the most common things that make a home unique are the value, the layout of the home, or the number of extravagant upgrades.

For example, in the Greater Rochester NY area the overall average price of real estate is around $150,000, so a million dollar waterfront home would be considered a unique home.  Selling a waterfront property that is worth $1,000,000 in Rochester is obviously much different than selling a 1,500 square foot ranch in a neighborhood where the average home values are $150,000.

If you’re selling a unique property in ANY City, we can help!  We have connections with top real estate agents throughout the entire world we can help connect you with!

Here is what a recent client of ours had to say about their sale of their unique property.

We were selling a “unique property” and were concerned about the need to find the right buyer for the non-cookie cutter place. We did a Google search for realtors who specialize in such properties and were pleased to find Kyle and his nearby Webster NY office at the top of the list. I thought that a good sign–somebody or other was getting Kyle’s office to the top of the search results, and if it was his doing all the better since social media is an important way to sell a unique place.

So we took Kyle’s office on and were very pleased we did. Excellent work all around and very happy with the result.

If you’re interested in getting connected with a real estate agent in your area who can help with the sale of your unique home, contact us and we’ll get you connected!

In this article we’re going to discuss some actionable tips for selling a unique home that truly will make a difference.  It’s important when selling a unique home that the proper steps are taken, otherwise, it potentially can be an unsuccessful sale.  Read on to find out some great advice on how to sell a unique home!

Selling A Unique Home Requires Unique Marketing

The importance of hiring a top selling real estate agent who knows how to market homes is vital when selling a home, regardless if it’s unique or not.  When selling a unique home however, unique marketing must be involved, end of story!

If a real estate agent is hired to sell a unique home who doesn’t know how to or doesn’t put the forth the effort to use unique real estate marketing techniques, there is a strong probability of home sale failure.

What are the most important marketing techniques that should be used when selling a unique home? 

Below are some of the marketing techniques that a real estate agent should use when selling a unique home.  If you’re selling a unique home, be sure to ask agents while interviewing real estate agents to sell your home how they’ll be marketing your home!

High Quality Photography

The majority of home buyers are using the internet to shop for their next home.  In fact, buyers are judging a home before they even step foot onto the property.

It’s vital that when selling a unique home, the agent is either hiring a professional photographer to take high quality photos or knows how to take high quality photos.  If a real estate agent takes out their smartphone to take photos of a listing, it’s a clear sign that you’ve hired the wrong real estate agent.

In addition to taking high quality photographs of a unique property, it’s also critical that the photos are “cleaned up” before being published to the internet.  Photos shouldn’t be edited to trick potential buyers, however, photos should be cleaned up to present the property in it’s best light.

Below is a split exterior photo of a ranch that recently sold in Webster NY.  As one of the top Webster NY real estate agents, I believe it’s critical to provide home sellers with nothing less than high quality and cleaned up photos, regardless of the value of the home!

Split Photo of Webster NY home

The left part of the photo is from the original photo taken with a high end camera and wide angle lens.  The right part of the photo is the final product after the photo was cleaned up using Adobe Photoshop.

Answer this, if you were looking at homes online, do you think the left or right side of the photo would catch the attention of a potential buyer?

High Quality Aerial Photography

Many homes are unique because of their location or setting, such as a home that’s located in the country and has 5 acres of private land.  If someone is buying a rural home, seeing how the property looks from high above can be very helpful.

Another unique marketing tactic that must be used when selling a unique home is aerial photography.  If a real estate agent doesn’t have the capabilities, skills, or requirements to take high quality aerial photographs of a unique home, they should hire a company to do so.

High Quality Video

Potential buyers, especially those who purchase a unique home, expect video.  For example, if a home is unique because it would be considered a luxury home, a high quality video is a must.  One of the most basic tips for selling a luxury home is that a high quality video tour is a must!

Whether a home is unique because it’s a luxury home or because it’s a waterfront property, not having a video tour can be a huge mistake.  Similar to aerial photography, if an agent doesn’t have the capabilities, skills, or requirements to create a quality video, they should hire a company to do so.

High Ranking & High Traffic Website

Hire A Real Estate Agent With A High Ranking & Well Visited Website!

It’s hard to believe but there are still many real estate professionals who do not have their own website.  It’s just as hard to believe that there are agents who have websites that only get a few hundred visitors per month to their website.

What’s the purpose of having a website if nobody is visiting it?

When selling a unique home, it’s extremely important the agent that’s hired to sell the home has a high ranking and high traffic website and that the unique property is featured on said website.  It’s important to ask prospective real estate agents if they have a website and if so, how many and where are the website visitors coming from.

If an agent has traffic from people thinking about moving to the area, it provides an excellent opportunity to put the unique home in front of these potential buyers.  When local Greater Rochester NY homeowners list their home with The Hiscock Sold Team, their home is being marketed to people thinking of moving to Rochester NY, due to the organic search engine results of relating search terms.

If you owned a unique home in Salt Lake City that you wanted to sell, wouldn’t you want to reach anything thinking of relocating to your area?  Of course!

By performing a search such as “moving to Salt Lake City,” you’ll discover which real estate websites are ranking highly.  It only makes sense to hire an agent who can put your unique home in front of people moving to your area.

Don’t Skimp On The Staging

Staging alone cannot sell a home, there are many things that are required in order for a home to sell.  The price of the home needs to be right, the home needs to be marketed correctly, and negotiations need to be handled properly.

When selling a unique home however, staging is very important.  Certainly budget friendly staging tips can be used when selling a unique home, but cutting corners to save a few dollars isn’t recommended when staging a unique home.

Since selling a unique home is typically more difficult, staging can help a buyer envision how the homes space can be used.  If a property is unique because of the floor plan, defining the space can help potential buyers get a clearer picture of how the space can be utilized.

Understand Who The Potential Buyers Are & Target Them

Unique homes traditionally have a very small demographic when it comes to the type of buyer that’ll likely purchase the home.  It’s vital to the success of the sale that the type of potential buyer is identified and a detailed plan is established on how they’ll be reached.

For example, if a unique home is located in a gated golf course community, it’s highly likely the potential buyer will be an avid golfer.  It’s vital that the home reaches this type of potential buyer.

A top selling real estate agent will know how they can reach the types of buyers that’ll likely purchase a unique home.  Techniques such as Facebook targeted marketing and print advertising in specific publications are two great examples of how a unique property can reach potential buyers.

If the unique home located in a gated golf course community was marketed to boat enthusiasts, it would be a waste of money.  On the other hand, an ad in a local golf publication would be a great idea!

Pay For An Appraisal On The Unique Home

Pay For An Appraisal When Selling A Unique Home!

Pricing is arguably the most important factor as to whether a home sells or not.  Determining the market value of a home can be difficult at times, especially when a home is truly unique.

Another excellent tip for selling a unique home is to pay for an appraisal to be completed so that it can be used when determining the listing price.  The most common method used to determine the value of a home is the comparative market analysis approach.  Since the comparative market analysis method uses other comparable homes, it can be impossible in some cases to find comparable homes to a unique property.

Since an appraisal is an unbiased value analysis of a home and would need to be completed if a buyer is obtaining a mortgage, it can help eliminate problems with a home not appraising for the agreed upon sale price once a buyer is found for the unique property.

Understand The Unique Home Won’t Be For Everyone

Whether a home is unique because of it’s location, price, floor plan, or the number of high end updates, it’s important to keep in mind that your home will not be for everyone.  When selling a unique home, it’s important to have thick skin and not to get offended if someone doesn’t care for the home.

Selling a home, whether it’s unique or not, can be emotional but it’s extremely important to view a home sale as a business decision.  One of the worst home selling mistakes is when a homeowner allows emotions or feelings to get involved during the sale.

Final Thoughts

Selling a unique home definitely requires a few additional steps to be taken and also the proper advice to be followed.  The above tips for selling a unique home are some of the most important.  It’s very important when selling a unique home, whether it’s a multi million dollar waterfront home or a home with a strange floor plan, that these tips!

Other Home Selling Resources

• Tips For Selling A Home During All Seasons via Bill Gassett
• How To Sell A Home During The Summer
• What Happens When You Overprice Your Home via Kevin Vitali

Are you selling a unique home in Rochester NY?  If so, the above 5 tips are going to be critical in order to have a successful home sale!  If you’re looking for a Rochester NY real estate agent with experience selling unique properties, contact me so we can setup an actionable game plan.

About the authors: The above article “5 Extraordinary Tips For Selling A Unique Home Or Property” was written by Kyle Hiscock of the Hiscock Sold Team at RE/MAX Realty Group.  With over 35 years combined experience, if you’re thinking of selling or buying, we’d love to share our knowledge and expertise.

We service the following Greater Rochester NY areas: Irondequoit, Webster, Penfield, Pittsford, Fairport, Brighton, Greece, Gates, Hilton, Brockport, Mendon, Henrietta, Perinton, Churchville, Scottsville, East Rochester, Rush, Honeoye Falls, Chili, and Victor NY.