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tera68

No interest in flyers?

tera68
16 years ago

I am curious if others are having the same experience:

We don't have flyers of our listing outside, however, they are available in the house. We also have copies of a parcel map, showing our lot, in relation to others (our lot is "big", at .24 acre.....gee, we must be in California, lol)

We have had our house on the market since 8/1, with 10 showings. Of those, only 1 'buyer' has taken the flyer. I understand not everyone is interested in the house, once the walk in, but you would think that with all the houses on the market, someone would want a visual reminder of which house is which. I know some flyers are usless, but I must say that our is very nicely done: 2-sided, color, pictures of all rooms/yard, etc.

I guess no one really knows the answer, except those bypassing the flyers, but it is just baffling to us, for when we house hunt, we take any that are available, for reference.

Comments (25)

  • terezosa / terriks
    16 years ago

    Most agents will give their buyers print outs of the MLS listings as they tour the homes. They probably think that is sufficient.

  • triciae
    16 years ago

    Papers are a pet peeve of mine. It seems our life is being overrun with papers. They are here. They are there. They are everywhere. My DH spawns papers.

    So, unless I was very interested in your house I would not take a flyer that would need to be thrown away when I got home. I wouldn't keep it if it wasn't a house I thought we'd likely try to purchase.

    /tricia

  • catfishsam
    16 years ago

    Most people put their fliers outside on the real estate sign. That is the ideal place to put it since people can come by and pick them up.

    Having your flies in the house accomplishes nothing.

    We go through about a dozen fliers a week from people that want to know more about the house. It is not likely that they are going to come to your front door and ask for a flier.

    So if you really want to get some interest in your fliers, put them out on the street where they can be picked up.

  • catfishsam
    16 years ago

    Your realtor should have put a box on the real estate sign to put the fliers in.

  • marys1000
    16 years ago

    I actually had sort of the same experience.
    I figure people do what I do - stand there and scan them to see if they
    are a repeat of the MLS.
    If I'm actually really truly interested I'd take one, especially if it had different information.

  • novahomesick
    16 years ago

    I think it indicates the level of interest someone has in your house. I take flyers/brochures only when I like what I see and want to refer back to it. That's probably not good news to you.

  • vtchewbecca
    16 years ago

    When my DH and I were house hunting, we would take fliers that were outside to get more info about the home to determine if it was worth having our realtor show us inside. The house we ended up purchasing actually only had fliers inside the house - I don't think they were flying out the door, though they were nice fliers (double sided, pictures, extra MLS info). We took one, and my in-laws took another when we had our realtor bring all of us by.

    I agree that having them outside is probably the best idea. Once inside, unless serious about the house, there is really no reason to take one.

  • newgardenelf
    16 years ago

    Ask your agent why there isn't one on the sign.....

    From an agent's perspective- there is a lively debate regarding flyers on the sign. Some agents swear by them because they reduce the number of calls from nosy neighbors, tirekickers, and do promote interest in the property to a buyer just driving around who may have overlooked it in the MLS, etc.

    Other agents HATE them because they lose the call that might have allowed them to talk a buyer into taking a look even though the house was this but they were really looking for that, if they are constantly running out- you can guess the owner of the house for sale down the street is STEALING them (had this happen on more than one occasion). In internet driven markets- agents may not feel they are necessary...

    I've done both. I've also sold houses where the seller requested no sign in the yard because they did not want the kids having to field questions from friends. Signs and the flyers on them represent a fraction of home sales. I'm not advocating not having them I think they are another great tool but I wouldn't fire a good agent if they feel strongly that flyers aren't worthwhile in your market.

  • cordovamom
    16 years ago

    I like the flyers outside so that I can determine whether or not I'm interested in a home before I commit to making an appointment to see the home. I eliminate a lot of homes that wouldn't meet my needs that way.

    However, if I have an appointment set up to see a home and there are brochures on the counter, unless I'm interested in a home, I don't take one.

  • sovra
    16 years ago

    It seems a weird choice to not have them outside. Unless you have some HOA rules against it? It seems like they would serve you better outside.

    I have friends who moved to a neighboring city last year. When they were out for job interviews, they also checked out neighborhoods and looked at all of the flyers they could find on outdoor signs. They took ones from houses that they were interested in if they ended up moving. They didn't have a realtor yet because they weren't sure they actually would be moving at that point. The flyers served a useful purpose when they were where my friends could get them. Inside, they wouldn't have been as necessary.

  • mmmagique
    16 years ago

    My broker friend told me rea's actually don't want to do the flyers (especially outside) because it is money out of pocket up-front.
    We have bw flyers outside (we have gone through about 50 in one month.) We also have the full colour ones inside for our lookers. People who are interested take them, those who aren't don't.
    I highly suggest having an info box. I negotiated that with my rea before we ever signed with her. I am much more likely to call someone about their home after looking over the information on the flyer.

    Good luck!

    ~Christina

  • terrig_2007
    16 years ago

    The agents we've worked with have always provided all the necessary information--fliers, disclosures, etc.--when they've shown us the houses. As for open houses, we took fliers for only the houses that truly interested us. There's no point in taking a flier if you're not that interested in a house and will only end up throwing it away.

    Why don't you have any fliers outside?

  • mpp798
    16 years ago

    My husband and I like to drive around looking for new areas we might want to live in, but aren't receiving MLS data on. It is so frustrating seeing houses for sale with no flyers outside. Since Austin is such a large city, there are still neighborhoods or streets within neighborhoods that we don't want to overlook. And we don't want to have to contact our agent all the time and have him look up the address and send us the listing. I feel realtors are doing their clients a disservice by not putting flyers outside. We also don't pick up the flyers inside. If I am looking at a home, I already have that information from the MLS, including pictures.

  • tera68
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks for the feedback.

    The reason there are not flyers out front is because we have had more than one agent tell us that "those are for the nosey neighbors".....people not really interested in buying, but rather to see the inside (pics) or to check out house prices.

    Inside seemed ideal because they were offered to people truly interested in the house, as a refresher/reminder of which house ours was.

    I know it our case, the majority of houses we actually stepped foot in come from listings we had already looked at online. Since we came from outside the area/state for our last three moves, this was the only efficient way, since house-hunting trips didn't allow for cruising around for flyers. Perhaps this mentality got stuck in our head when the agents we interviewed told us that most buyers here come from 'out of town'.

  • catfishsam
    16 years ago

    I think your realtor doesn't want to pay for making the fliers up.

    A lot of people take fliers that are not neighbors, but people interested in learning more about the house.

    True, some of the fliers may go to neighbors, but most will be picked up by people showing an interest.

    When we are out looking for houses, we always grab a flier to find out more about the house. It is a great way to find out more information about it.

    Tell your realtor to give you a box for your sign and start putting fliers in it. You may miss a sale because the fliers are not available to the general public.

  • mmmagique
    16 years ago

    Yep;

    The first week your neighbors will take the flyers. (Expect to go through the first 20 or so fairly quickly.)
    After that, it will mostly be people who are driving by and interested in your property.

    I saw a house I liked today with no flyer out front. I tried to remember the name of the street, but, by the time I got home I had forgotten it. I may drive by it again, or maybe not. If they had a flyer I would have taken it, (if it was within my price range), and then, I could call them from home.

    Tell your agent you want an info box asap!

    ~Christina

  • terezosa / terriks
    16 years ago

    The main reason that some agents don't like to put flyers outside is because they think that people won't call them if they have all the information on the flyer. They believe that a sign with their phone number without a flyer will generate phone calls, which they hopefully can turn into a buyer, not necessarily for that particular home. Of course they aren't going to tell sellers that is their reasoning. I think that this is faulty logic. I think that having a flyer with the agent's phone number right on it makes it easier for the buyer to actually make that phone call.

  • tera68
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Catfishsam,

    Our realtor does pay to print two-sided, full-color flyers up....they are just inside.

    Our agent is an owner/broker of a 45+ agent office. I have no doubt that he is advertising our house every way possible; his site, Realtor.com, zillow, craigslist, weekly newspaper spread, we are in our county's glossy magazine....

  • olga_d
    16 years ago

    When we were house shopping, we would only take flyers at houses that we were interested in. We'd pick up the flyer when entering, but if after the visit the house was a resounding "No" we would put the flyer back.

    In our area no one puts flyers outside, so I think that's a bit strange. This is the first time I've heard about it!

  • terrig_2007
    16 years ago

    "The reason there are not flyers out front is because we have had more than one agent tell us that "those are for the nosey neighbors".....people not really interested in buying, but rather to see the inside (pics) or to check out house prices."

    That sounds like a crock of BS to me. Our agent had to refill our outdoor box probably a half dozen times. The box held about 30 fliers. We didn't have 200 neighbors, nor were the same handful of neighbors coming back for additional fliers. Our agent was the owner of her agency, too, and she also advertised on realtor.com, her own website, the local newspaper, the local monthly realtor's magazine, on TV, etc. The more "exposure" your house has, the more likely it will get sold.

    In our area, it's very common to see outdoor flier boxes. I can't imagine why anyone would not use them.

  • mmmagique
    16 years ago

    Someone already mentioned the reason. It's all about the money...

  • quiltglo
    16 years ago

    Your agent is spreading the work in her own office, but I can tell you "I" have found everything we have ever purchased. And those nosy neighbors got us into our previous home. We had looked at everything and a friend knew their neighbor was ready to sell. She called them and the homeowner gave us a tour. We called our agent (who was just ready to call us to tell of the new listing) and we put in an offer before the flood of buyers hit the door the next day. Within 24 hours the counters went back and forth and it was a done deal.

    Your goal is to sell the house. Get those flyers outside. I can tell you by the time I've gotten in your house, I've already pulled up our town's tax database and even know who carries your mortgage. I know what every single neighbor is paying in property tax, when improvements happened, etc. 5 min. more with the State database and I know how much you borrowed. 2 min. with the utility companies and I have a years record of costs.

    Fancy color pages bother me. Just give me the information clearing in black and white and keep the box full. We went through several hundred flyers. Unless your entire town moves in and out every couple of years, I would seriously doubt if only "new" people are buying.

    Gloria

  • newgardenelf
    16 years ago

    It's actually not about the money..it is one of the easiest and cheapest things to do. I've seen some pretty bad ones just black and white copies that were probably free to the agent and most mortgage brokers will do nice flyers for free if you let them put their name on it. Agents in our office rent color printers and the more copies you print- the cheaper the per piece price.

    There is NO right or wrong only PROS or CONS. You are just as likely to lose a buyer with a flyer as you are to gain a buyer AND if you don't have one visa versa.

    I use them because everyone else does and sellers want them but I would rather get the call because I'm good at turning calls into showings AND if the person isn't interested in the house for any reason I can find our why? (price, location, # of bedrooms, condition, it's the neighbor who is going to list their house next week for $10,000 less,etc)

    I do tell my sellers if I have worked every angle on your house and they just won't see it/make an offer/ etc...I am going to try to convert that buyer to one of my other listings because that's what I get paid to do. I do the same on calls that were not on your house. Most sellers have no issue with that....

    You can probably tell I'm an open book- I tell my clients everything upfront before the issue even arises. I have lost clients who didn't like the way I work and I say- hey good for them for knowing what they want and need. Some of them come back after meeting other agents, some don't.

    In the end I believe in questioning your agent so you know (not guess, speculate, believe because you read it on the internet) what they are doing and why?

  • mmelko
    16 years ago

    Absolutely have flyers outside. This from a buyer. By the time I'm inside my agent has already printed out a flyer with disclosures and whatever else she has on the house so I don't need a flyer from the inside.

    You don't need a fancy full color flyer - a nice black and white with a discernable picture and good factual information.

    In the old days - before the internet - people found listings in newspapers and print advertising and realtors carried their MLS book in the car. Most of the time it was the agent that suggested houses - now it's usually the buyer who finds the listing first. Flyers out front help a lot because now people like me, are finding the listings online, doing drive bys, and picking up the flyers to keep track of what they are seeing. There are a lot of houses on the market - help people remember your house.

    MP

  • theroselvr
    16 years ago

    We have had our house on the market since 8/1, with 10 showings. Of those, only 1 'buyer' has taken the flyer. I understand not everyone is interested in the house, once the walk in, but you would think that with all the houses on the market, someone would want a visual reminder of which house is which. I know some flyers are usless, but I must say that our is very nicely done: 2-sided, color, pictures of all rooms/yard, etc.

    I guess no one really knows the answer, except those bypassing the flyers, but it is just baffling to us, for when we house hunt, we take any that are available, for reference.

    I usually don't need the inside flyers because like others, I usually have 2 copies with me, one from the internet, and the MLS print out from my agent. If the house is one I will consider buying, I might take the better flyer just to put it into the house folder if we did end up buying. I like paper trails.

    Flyers on the outside are more important to me. If we're driving in an area that wasn't originally where I was looking and we see a house for sale with an info box, we will stop to take one. I've actually added areas to our search due to this. If your agent doesn't want to spend the money on putting the better flyers outside, the MLS printing is fine as that's the norm for our area. If you have photos, it shouldn't be in black & white.