Part 2 of Series..."Hints for Waterfront Sellers"

Part 2: Roll the Film!
I am actually going to combine a few thoughts into this article that all have to do with giving a buyer the best visual perspective of your property. By doing a few extra things, you can create an emotional attachment to your lake property that a buyer may not get from others that they walk through. So, lets open the photo album and charge up the battery on the camcorder.

In Real Estate 101, they always teach you about staging a home. That means getting rid of the clutter - inside and outside - and taking down a lot of personal photos that adorn the walls. What generally happens if you don't hide the family portraits is that the buyers start looking at them and forget to look through the home. I certainly agree with most all of this, except that waterfront properties are a bit different.

Lake home and cabin buyers are normally coming from a neighborhood that is not on the water. Their daily lives have consisted of getting up in the morning, feeding themselves (and maybe their kids), and then going to work and whatever other routine might take up their evening hours. It is kind of like the way most of us live. But now they are thinking that a lake place might change their daily ritual, although they are not quite sure to what extent.

Over the years I've noticed that a lot of these lake buyers have never lived on water before - and many of them have not even spent a lot of time around a lake - so they really don't know what to expect. Just like the way they can't imagine what your home will look like without the red shag carpet or tin awnings keeping the sun out of the house, they also have a hard time visualizing what joys could await them on this resort-like setting. So...you have to show them!

Most likely you have had a few good times at your lake place. Whether it has been your year-round home, or a weekend getaway, you or someone you know probably shot a few photos. These might involve swimming, boche ball, water-skiing - or even sitting around having a few beers, but they will create an image in the potential buyer's mind about what goes on at the lake. And the fact of the matter is that most people who are interested in buying a lake property are looking for a little fun to go along with it, so you most likely won't offend them if you are not dressed appropriately on these pictures. Also, the buyers will be able to see your property at various times of the year, instead of all of your photos being shot this week with dirty snow or brown grass.

Secondly, begin shooting some of your own photos now, so that you or your Realtor can use them in the marketing of your property, and continue shooting more during the time your property is on the market. Buyers love to see lots of photos - especially on lake properties where they are coming from further distances. If you leave all of the photography up to your agent, they may not hit it at the best time due to inclement weather or the time of day. You can be an effective partner in creating a faster - and potentially more profitable sale for yourself - by helping your agent with this task. Just email them any digital photos you think are good so that he or she can pass them along to possible buyers.

The last thing I want to talk about is an idea that is still fairly unique. It can be used in two different ways, or a combination of both. This one involves your video camera.

When a buyer is in your home or on your property, they are just getting a snapshot of what goes on there. If you put out a lot of photos of good times, they are getting a few more snapshots. But what if they can watch a video of not just your property, but also other lake activities and atttractions such as fishing, interesting landmarks, public islands and beaches, wildlife...and anything else you can think of that made you love your life here. You can have your VCR or DVD player all set up to watch it just by hitting "play" (just leave a large enough note explaining the procedure so that they see it). It will really add an extra dimension to their visit - even more so than the chocolate chip cookies you baked.

Finally, if you want to go all out, have extra copies of DVDs for them to take with them...or for your agent to send to them. In my mind, this is 10 times stronger than any virtual tour!