Listing Part 3, The Listing Information Sheet

Before showing your home, take the time to develop a professional quality listing or fact sheet. Be sure to work with a real estate agent to make the most of this essential marketing tool. After seeing six homes in a day, they begin to morph into each other, leaving the buyer with a hazy blend of images and facts. A listing sheet nudges tired brains. It reminds buyers of what makes your home special, and helps them compare and contrast the homes they've visited.

An effective listing sheet contains pertinent property and financial information. Emphasize the unique aspects of your home as well as the basic facts. The property section should list:

Address of the property and contact information
Lot size
Age of home
Primary exposure (direction the front door faces)
Number of bedrooms and dimensions
Number of bathrooms
Amenities such as central air or vacuum, basement, fireplace, usable attic, sun porch, enclosed porch, hardwood floors, and walk-in closets
A list of the mechanicals and appliances that will remain with the home, including light fixtures, washer and dryer
School districts, with names and addresses of all schools
In the case of a condo/co-op, special assessments and other amenities, including health club or workout room, swimming pool, sundeck, storage lockers, and security system
Description of garage or parking space
Approximate distances to all ground transportation
Distances to parks or recreational areas
Price
Tax information
Annual maintenance and utility costs

You may want to include special instructions regarding showings. If you have young children or an elderly parent living at home, showings may need to be scheduled before 8:30 p.m. Also, to protect yourself, experts suggest adding a statement such as "All information deemed accurate, but not guaranteed."
To set your home apart, lay out the listing sheet in an aesthetically appealing format.

Try various paper sizes and layouts. Attach glossy prints of your home. Surprisingly, it may cost less to provide snapshots than printing color copies. You'll want to include an interior and an exterior shot. If your home looks especially attractive during a particular season, use photos taken during that time of year. For instance, a colonial in New England may look its best decked out in holiday finery. And a Mission-style home in Atlanta may be awe-inspiring nestled in among the flowering azaleas.

Here's one idea for a layout: Fold a sheet of 8-1/2 x 11 paper in half. Staple an exterior shot of your home to the outside center of the folded paper. As the buyer opens the page, the listing sheet is revealed inside. Also, staple an interior shot to the back page. Both shots will refresh the memories of your prospective buyers.

Leave a stack of the finished sheets in a strategic spot in your home. The dining room table or kitchen counter or other high-traffic location may be ideal.

A picture tells a thousand words. Prudential Properties Northwest marketing plan includes color brochures with multiple pictures of your home. In addition, a virtual tour of your home (on a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk) is prepared for prospects viewing your home. The still photos and the virtual tours are all placed on the Internet for added exposure to potential buyers.

Mike Cromie of Prudential Properties Northwest I, Palatine, can be reached at 847-705-6500. Mike Yeats of Prudential Properties Northwest, Arlington Heights, can be reached at 847-398-4600.

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Listing Part 3, The Listing Sheet - Daily Herald Articles - by Cromie & Yeats