Drawing Interest to a Flip House
Just recently bought a flip house. I would like to sell the house without putting it in real estate to save about 8k. However, if I reach the end of rehab and haven't sold it I am not going to hesitate to get a realtor to try to get it sold as quickly as possible. My strategy is to get the exterior and landscape done to start gaining interest from people passing by. I would like to put a sign in the yard but not a "For Sale By Owner" sign. I want it to say something witty to let people know that we are working towards getting it done and a number to text or call for information. Then, when we are done I will contact all the people that requested information and do my own open house. If I don't have an offer after that then I will list it with an agent. Just looking for opinions on this strategy and ideas for what the sign should say. I feel like if I have a "For Sale by Owner" sign and then list it people may think I look desperate and try to lowball the offer.
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First, my legal disclaimer, I am an agent and I may be biased ;-) (Pssst: studies prove that using a Realtor gets you much more even once commission is removed!) Okay, now that that's done, moving on...
I really like the sign idea and was considering that for my own similar projects. Usually, there is a stigma around these run-down properties (here anyway) and a stigma about flips (here again, with the exception of a few companies that are known for doing really quality work). So I think getting people involved with the process is important. For a project I was the agent on, one of the contractors brought in the neighbors and showed off all the work, it was a great idea and everyone was talking and very impressed. So a sign saying as much is great marketing and publicity but also keeps everything open.
However, most people look more in the *right now* and just waiting until it is done to follow up is a very bad idea in my mind. We are told when we get leads, you have to contact them within 5 mins or so otherwise they will just move on to the next shiny object. I'd suggest getting them captured right away! Call them back and walk them through, heck, try to get it under contract before it's even done because why not? Take back up offers, get people in and keep them if possible. The interest then will be high and will fade.
Otherwise, I think you got a solid plan in place, my only recommendation in that is to capitalize on those initial leads! Keep me posted on how it goes!