Marketing a unique house

**novseller** · 10-25-2008, 11:29 AM

I am planning on putting my house up for sale early next spring. Although we live in a liberal area of New England, my house is very eclectic and in an upscale, racially mixed neighborhood which I really enjoy. My concerns are:

1. I had a very strong impression from the person whom I purchased the house from that many realtors either avoided showing the house due to the composition of the neighborhood and/or did not understand how to market the house due to its perceived uniqueness.

2. The house is in the best school district in town and one of the lower priced houses in our neighborhood. The house however, is on a very busy one lane road, has a steep sloping driveway (not the best idea with severe winters), a large lawn flanked by trees and two flights of double decker stairs which is a pain with the garage, kitchen and bedrooms each on three separate floors. Consequently, I'm not sure what is the best manner to address these problems. Also, I'm not sure what age group of buyer would be interested in this house. There's not a cul de sac for families with children, and there's too many stairs for people who are elderly.

Fortunately, the house is appreciating and has more than one would normally find for a house in our price range. Although the price will be substantial, there are very few houses on the market in our price range which is in the middle range for our area.

Thank you.

**markbrian** · 10-25-2008, 11:51 AM

Several ways to look at this. What made you decide to buy the home? Imagine marketing the home to yourself. How can you put the emphasis on the attributes you like and downplay the negatives?

I would also suggest consulting several local agents to get their input and more importantly their recomendations for a professional stager. Having your home professionally staged can make a big difference.

**Nat_Ferguson** · 10-27-2008, 05:10 PM

Novseller, my recommendation is to have another Realtor or Agent in your office list your house for you. I'm sure even your Broker would do it for a very small fee. Judging by the length of your post you are already over thinking the listing of your home.

I'm sure many an Agent on here will tell you that often times when a Realtor lists their own residence they unconsciously interfere or block the sale from happening. Very often we are our own worst enemy when selling our own Real Estate and can greatly benefit from hiring a neutral third party.