Writing a Classified Ad For Houses

Sorry it’s been a few days since I checked in, believe it or not, the tile guy saga is still going on (would you believe he lied to us? the job wasn’t done when we went and checked!), and the broken window cost $159!

We got an offer accepted yesterday on a house just outside of Pensacola Florida, but as we were researching it…we found out that the square footage was mis-represented in the MLS listing as 1352 when it is really only 1040 plus an illegally converted (and a bad conversion job at that) garage. The comps we had been given were 1200-1300 real feet PLUS a garage, so we revised our offer based on that info, we’ll see what happens. (note, the reason we were able to revise our offer is because they had not accepted our offer exactly as it was written…they had Counter Offered that they wanted $1,000 EMD (earnest money deposit) instead of the $500 I had put on the offer, so in effect, they had “rejected” my offer and made ME and offer which I had the option to accept or reject, which I “rejected” and made them back a different offer. Until both of us agree on the exact same terms, we don’t have an agreement, or a contract.)

Anyways, this post is supposed to be about writing classifieds, so here goes: we are running classifieds for 2 of our properties this weekend in the main newspaper, and here is the first draft I was given for the ads:

Apopka – 3/1.5 with Lots of NEW + bonus room, Owner/Agent, No banks needed, Move In now! $183,900, phone number

Pine Hills – Newer roof, kitchen & carpet. 4/1 or 3/1 with lrg FR. Bath-handicap accessible, Owner/Agent, Move in Now! $149,900, phone number

Both give details on the house, including area of town, bedrooms, price, etc., but what are we emphasizing (and what SHOULD we be?)

1. Owner/Agent is a necessary evil if you are licensed, but we don’t need to flaunt it, so stick it at the end after the phone number
2. Remember, every word costs you money in a classified ad (if you go over onto another line) so take out anything that doesn’t need to be there, such as “4/1 or 3/1 plus big LR” let’s just call it a 4 bed because that’s a selling point, take out the 1 bath because that’s a negative, and get rid of the living room thing, they probably assume it has some kind of living room already!
3. Instead of “lots of new” list some of the items
4. If your property is right on the border of a more desireable location, put that in too.
5. The word “handicap” is not PC (politically correct) so lets say “wheelchair accessible” (I actually called a friend of mine who is in a wheelchair and asked him how to word the ad and flyer for this house)
6. Here’s a biggie: the biggest thing that will catch people’s attention in these ads and make the phone ring is thrown into the middle with no emphasis, “No Banks Needed!” needs to be moved right up to the headline.
7. Think like the reader of the newspaper…are they scanning looking for something that says “move in now”? probably not, so get rid of those expensive 3 words.

Here’s the ads after re-writing them:

Apopka/Lgwd- No Banks Needed! 3bed/1.5ba + bonus room. new kitchen, floors, paint $183,900, phone # Owner/Agent

Pine Hills- No Banks Needed! New roof, kitchen & carpet. 4bed, wheelchair accessible $149,900, phone # Owner/Agent

Short, simple, to the point, and should make the phone ring!

Good luck with your ad writing,

Andy