Better property ads – Some little tips.

This article is aimed at property agents who kept cutting and pasting descriptions of the property they sell every time, every hour, every advertisement. I read way too many and is now too numb to make any decision. Instead of 100 look-alike postings hoping that someone will call, why not post 10 very good ones instead and hit that few very interested buyers instead? Let’s assume that I am a FIRST TIME potential buyer who knows little about what to buy and why should I buy.
Location. I would normally start with location to buy. However, what if the property is NOT in a hotspot? It is ok, please STOP trying to cheat me by putting one whole line of different areas in the same posting. This happens frequently and it will frustrate me. Put the actual area but put in additional convenience(s) below. I may not know enough about the area BUT if all the things I want is within that secondary area, chances are I will still view and maybe accept it. Everyone has a budget to follow…..
Convenience(s). Research a bitlah.
1) Highways. “Nearby highways” is not useful versus 1.5km and 2 turns away from NKVE. This is an important point because everyone I know and you know have a car today…..
2) Shopping. 5km from Mid-Valley Mall is not useful versus 5 minutes from Mid-Valley during weekends. (Why weekend? You work on weekdays… remember?) If you are talking about smaller regional malls, then include in the mall’s website. This allows the buyer to know more. (Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta. Bila Kenal, Jatuhlah Cinta.) Haha.
3) Schools. If it is a landed property or a condo of 1,000sf or higher, it may attract families with school / college goind family members. Always remember that family here does not need to be just small kids, might be teenagers or even the younger brother of the buyer. Perhaps you want to say, ‘2 minutes away from ‘actual school name’. ‘3 minutes away from 3 daycare / kindergarten etc’ or even ‘3 roads away from ‘actual university’ name.’
4) Transportation. 1 minute walk to the X komuter station or 3 minutes drive to X LRT station or even it’s just 500 metres away through a dedicated pathway straight into the X station.   I do not personally think FUTURE MRT station is that important unless I am buying for an investment but yes, you may want to put as well. For this, perhaps ‘Potential for some capital appreciation because X MRT station opening in Sep 2017’ would serve the purpose well.
5) Working place. Know EVERY MAJOR office buildings within 5km away from the property. Use Google. List them down. “Within 5km radius from the property you may find the following office buildings: XXX, BBB, CCC, GGG.”   Yes, you can also list down how far it is from the KL city centre as an added point but I think if I am buying for the first time, I normally look for places convenient to my current working place first. Not to the KL city centre, unless I work there.
6) Supermarket. Many would need to buy groceries. Not many would want to only buy from the tiny convenience stores. Thus, names such as AEON, TESCO’s, GIANT, Econsave, NSK would definitely come in handy. Know where these are and state them down clearly in terms of distance and duration. ‘2 minutes or 3km away from TESCO hypermarket’ would suffice.
7) Current Value. This is quite important even for a first-time buyer. “Condo next door, XXX is currently priced at RM500 psf.’ Or ‘This area is considered a matured area and the prices per sf typically ranges from RM500 psf upwards, for e.g project X, Y, Z”
8) Supporting Information. Include in some readings about ‘First Time Buying a Property.’ ‘Tips in buying a property’ Etc. Google some of these articles and put into your listing. Educate the buyers because the major reason why they have not yet bought was because they know very little. If they continue to know very little, making a decision is much harder.
9) YOUR personal review. Yes, PLEASE visit that place and then tell your personal views why you would consider it. E.g Maintenance is good and the current price offered is good because the unit was renovated for RM80,000 just 3 years back.’ E.g, ‘Best for families with young kids because the XXX school is 52 steps away.’ E.g, “The unit needs just a painting job and new electrical equipments and buyer can move in immediately.’
There are reasons why buyers should pay agents the fees. There are also reasons why agents deserve to be paid. Both reasons point to the agent’s efforts and professionalism. If you are ready to serve and help your buyers in buying their first property well, just think what would happen if half of these first time buyers remembered you when they wanted to buy their second property. Stay professional, stay long term and then you would see that as an agent, the sky is the limit in terms of potential financial success. Cheers.
written on 16 June 2015
Next suggested article: Why I engage real estate agents