| It is hard to imagine that it was just half a decade ago | | | | agents, brokers, and even well-known property firms |
| when banks and financial institutions seemed like they | | | | have made their own videos and posted them on |
| had a bottomless well of cash to loan. That was | | | | YouTube, the world's most popular video-sharing |
| actually the problem - it was too easy to get a loan. | | | | website. With just a digital camera and simple editing |
| Interest rates soared through the roof, and people | | | | software, you can create your own video - the |
| were left clueless as to how they are going to pay off | | | | catchier the better of course - and post it on |
| their mortgages. | | | | YouTube. Then you can market it by posting the link |
| Suddenly, thousands of people were thinking, "I need to | | | | on Craigslist and Facebook, and e-mailing it to friends. |
| sell my house quickly!" With so much competition, it | | | | Beats paying for a spot on network TV. But if you |
| was a tough property market to be in. There have | | | | have the budget, you may even put up a billboard |
| been signs of improvement; home sales rose to 72,100 | | | | along a major road. It's great exposure and if |
| in July, that's double the figures in January, according to | | | | especially if you're from a small town, it does not really |
| the LSL/Acadametrics House Price Index. | | | | cost a fortune. |
| But it is still a volatile housing market, and to be able to | | | | 4. Auction with a twist. |
| sell your house fast, you need to think out of the box. | | | | Auctioning to sell houses is actually quite a common |
| Here are five unusual, bordering on desperate, (some | | | | practice, but one poster on an online community forum |
| of them a bit over the top) ways to sell a home. | | | | shared a story she had read in one of the free papers |
| 1. Sell your house to a cash home buyer. | | | | in London. The headline read: A £175,000 Garden Flat |
| As John Fingleton, chief executive of the Office of Fair | | | | for Only £70?" |
| Trading said, "Encouraging new business models, online | | | | According to the post, it was £70 to enter the |
| estate agents and private seller platforms could put | | | | auction, and the bidder then has the right to submit up |
| useful competitive pressure on traditional models and | | | | to 200 bids, in whole pennies starting at 1p. When |
| lead to better value for buyers and sellers." | | | | enough people have registered to cover the asking |
| 2. Stage a raffle. | | | | price and the selling costs, the vendor was to award |
| This sales technique requires a lot of hard work. The | | | | the house to the bidder with the "lowest unique bid." It |
| average price for a UK home is £162,000, so | | | | is "deemed to have an element of skill," according to |
| assuming each raffle ticket is sold at £25, you'd have | | | | the paper, therefore it's not a lottery and not covered |
| to sell 6,500 tickets to make that amount. You might | | | | by gaming laws. |
| have to sell in shops, restaurants, pubs, train stations, | | | | 5. Attract attention with smart and unusual gimmicks. |
| and on the streets. As in any raffle, the lucky winner | | | | A small broker in Florida once rented a latte cart and |
| gets the house. | | | | parked it in front of her open house. That simple trick |
| However, ticket revenue often falls short of the asking | | | | tripled the amount of traffic to her open house, had |
| price, especially on more expensive properties. What | | | | three bids and the house sold in nine days for $23,000 |
| do you with the proceeds then? You certainly don't | | | | (£15,000) over the asking price. |
| want a mob of angry protesters on your doorstep. | | | | Some people offer free beer and pizza for a year, |
| One way to solve the dilemma is to give away a cash | | | | while Rick Hill, who owned a £1,150,000 house in |
| prize, whatever is left of the proceeds from the ticket | | | | Hockley, Essex, gave away a Lamborghini worth as |
| sales after deducting costs. Be careful not to get | | | | much as £150,000. Beat this though - Ian Usher, from |
| arrested for breaching gaming laws though. | | | | Darlington, put his whole life in Australia up for sale on |
| 3. Beyond Classified Ads, advertise in unexpected | | | | eBay. Turns out his house, car, job, and friends were |
| places. | | | | worth £192,000, although the deal actually fell through. |
| It's free. It has millions of viewers. And it works. Estate | | | | |