Foreign buyers buying up U.S. real estate.  Chinese, Canadians, Mexicans, and Brits. 

LONGER COPY SELLS

Marketing strategies.

I'd heard of Frank Kern a few years ago, liked one of his videos, but thought he was a flash-in-the-pan and so never paid him any attention.  But this  

The first part is unrelated to real estate:

The more expensive the product is, the more important the guarantee is.  Amazon places testimonials at the core of its business. 

Dan Kennedy provides direct marketing insights for small businesses.  Here are his 63 Marketing Strategies.  I've looked at a few, but don't always seem to have the time to go through the rest. My one concern is how to approach buyers, and who in a large organization would I approach in the first place?  Kennedy appears at AWAI, so that's good.

Marketing strategies for your home, whether you're a buyer or a seller

If you're a buyer in a bidding war, try this.  

Marketing campaign to sell your home.  

If I were a Realtor, I would have a WordPress site, a Facebook page, a Google+ page, a YouTube channel, along with other social media sites up.  On the WordPress site, I would post all of the pics, videos, dimensions and descriptions of the home.  But I would also post a letter from the seller/owner.  Longer copy sells better than shorter copy.  This last feature would be over-the-top biased, but would leave a lasting impression with any serious buyer.  Not only would I post everything to the WordPress site, I would also attach the letter via staples this letter to the brochure of the home.

The second step in the process is to write the ad that you will print out and stick inside a plastic container that is attached to a pole next to the curb. This will be the primary sales brochure. To make it look as though you wrote it, it should be typed up in 12-point type, preferably New Times Roman.

A Personal Greeting To Our Visitors

Welcome to our home!  

My husband and I have lived at The Parkside for over a decade now and have so many memories stored up here in our home.  Selling our home is a bittersweet experience after passing ten years in this community of friends and neighbors but we have prepared this letter to share with visitors why we love our home here at The Parkside and how grateful we are for all the times shared here with family, friends and neighbors.  What follows is a short tour of why we love what we love about our home.

Our Neighborhood

The Parkside is a 13-home community located on the backside of the historic Peachtree Heights East neighborhood.  Designed in the early 1900’s by Eretus Rivers (whose name adorns a nearby elementary school), Peachtree Heights East boasts over 300 stately homes in a wide variety of architectural styles nestled together in an interlinking, privately-owned park system.  The crown jewel of the park system is the centrally located Duck Pond, a 7.5 acre urban lake.  Surrounding the pond is the Upper Park which consists of the Grand Lawn and the Peninsula but the Park continues as the pond drains beneath Lakeview Drive and forms the Lower Park which continues down to Lindbergh Drive and backs up to The Parkside.  The Peachtree Heights East neighborhood association (www.peachtreeheightseast.org) recently completed a thorough renovation and upgrading of the entire park.

My morning routine (but especially the morning routine of N’andy, my six year old English Springer Spaniel) would not be complete without a visit to the Duck Pond.  Our morning circuit takes us on a mile-long walk around the pond where I have a chance to visit with my fellow dog walkers and N’andy can run and play with her furry friends.  Less pleased to see N’andy are the ducks and geese but when my grandkids were little it was always a highlight of their weekends to go and feed the ducks.  Later my sons would take them to the Lower Park down by Lindbergh to throw the frisbee or toss around the football after a visit to the Peachtree Road Farmer’s Market (www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com) where Nana had a chance to spoil them with some treats and collect some fresh produce.  

What I like most about the Peachtree Heights East neighborhood is how safe and secure it is to walk N’andy or play with my grandchildren.  The winding roads of the neighborhood all have traffic calming devices installed to keep away fast cars and there is a constant security presence from the neighborhood patrol or Atlanta PD.  Even though The Parkside is not located within the neighborhood technically, it has been a huge asset during our time here and I love having the park right next door.

Our Location

Social and Shopping

The Parkside feels like its own little community, so much so it’s easy to forget that we live in the heart of Buckhead.  As anyone who has spent any time in Atlanta already knows, getting from point A to point B in this city can all too often turn into a grueling exercise of patience.  I have a Publix grocery right across the way at the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, a Kroger down across Lindbergh and a Whole Food’s Market up Peachtree on W. Paces Ferry Rd.  

If I need to have lunch with friends, all my favorite restaurants are close by in Buckhead and Midtown and I know for a fact that my husband will be happy (while American Express will not) that we are moving away from living so close by to the cute boutique shops I like to drop by and shop to find new outfits.  The  Cherokee Town Club, where my husband and I are members, is only a fifteen minute drive away and we often have dinner there with friends from other clubs who in turn can invite us over to Ansley Golf Club or the Piedmont Driving Club which are both right down the road from The Parkside.  

Services

On Sunday mornings, the streets are empty of traffic which lets me cruise up the road to All Saints Episcopal Church in Midtown where I attend services and it is beautiful to hear the church bells toll all the morning long from the several churches that surround The Parkside (five are located within a mile of the house).  

Schools

Our children were already graduated by the time my husband and I moved into The Parkside but the private school they attended (Lovett) was only a twenty to thirty minute drive down Northside Drive, as would also be true for Westminster or North Atlanta High School.  The Atlanta International School is even more close by up Peachtree Road while couples with young children have three elementary schools to choose from: E. Rivers, Garden Hills or the private academy at Christ the King.

Travel

When we need to get out of the city, a trip either direction down Lindbergh soon brings us to I-85 or I-75 and from there we can go up to our home in the Carolina mountains or go visit friends on the coast or make the half-hour commute to Hartsfield-Jackson airport.  This convenient access cannot be beat, especially in the summertime when we travel often between homes and like to get out of town before the rush.  While traffic in Atlanta is something no sane person will ever miss, I do know we have been blessed to live in a location that allowed us so easily to escape the worst of it.

Medical

Thankfully, we have never had to take advantage of the fact that we live as near as we do to Piedmont Hospital, a state of the art medical facility located five minutes away from The Parkside.

Our Home: First Level

Patio-Garden

When it comes to our town-home here at The Parkside, I don’t like to brag but I think we have the best location in the entire complex.  All our neighbors have lovely homes as well but what makes our home so special is how it sits tucked away in the back corner of the complex, as far away as possible from the drivers and distractions of Lindbergh Drive.  This isolation helps keep our stone patio garden an oasis of quiet attached to the back of our home and here is where I like to sit with a cup of coffee in the morning and listen to the birdsong while I read the paper after finishing walking N’andy.  In the evenings, my husband and I both enjoy relaxing in the lounge chairs with a glass of wine while the sun sets and the cool of evening descends down to our own private garden secreted away from all the rest.  Each spring and summer I get to watch my plants flower and flourish while overhead the overhanging oak and maple branches shiver green with leaves and lend a pleasant shade to the patio before turning a painter’s palette of red, orange and yellow every autumn.  While my husband and I are not hot tub people, my grandchildren loved splashing and playing in there and we enjoyed to the utmost the deluxe propane grill installed in the garden with many a marvelous dinner party going on until late in the evening when the candles finally guttered out and our guests bid us good night.    

The best part about our oasis?  It is maintenance and hassle-free.  Our housing association here at The Parkside pays for the upkeep and once a week like clockwork a crew comes to clean the patio of leaves and debris, to prune plants and spread mulch.  All in all, it is a very different routine from when we owned a home and my poor husband hurried through a work week only to reach home and find a long ‘honey-do’ list stretching before him to get through the weekend.

The Garage

Two doors lead to the patio garden.  One enters to our garage which fits two full sized cars comfortably (I own a SUV; my husband drives a sedan) and comes accompanied with ample built-in shelving and closets which is more than enough space even if you’re a pack-rat like my husband.

Den and Kitchen

The other patio door opens into our den and kitchen.  This door gets a lot of traffic and it has been a struggle to fit next to it the enormous Christmas tree my sons bring for us every year but somehow we manage.  Both the den and the kitchen is where we as a family spend most of our time together.  The kitchen is where I spend my time cooking and as the mother of three children, the builders must have had me in mind when they designed the kitchen because it has everything and anything I would want.  The island in the center is perfectly placed to eat a quick meal while still allowing me plenty of prep space and enough room for others to sit comfortably, sip wine and pass compliments to the chef.  The kitchen sink is deep and open and the range, stove, oven and refrigerator are all top of the line appliances.  The cabinets allow me to keep all my cookware close at hand along with a full spice rack.  Clean-up after a meal is a simple wipe-down of the granite tops before everything else goes into the new dishwasher we had installed a short time ago.

The pantry storage space affords more than enough room for food and dishes and it is where I keep my coats during the winter months as well as N’andy’s leash and dog food.  Outside the pantry door is a small bar with a wine cooler and ice machine and above in the cabinets we keep our fine crystal.

Usually before and after dinner people lounge in the sofas and chairs of the den and either enjoy conversation or enjoy the entertainment coming from the television we keep in the hutch.  Beneath is a stereo system and the speakers above in the ceiling allow for a full volume experience when it comes to watching a movie or listening to music.  I will definitely miss sitting in my chair next to the gas fireplace, reading a book or wasting time on my iPad while in my robe and enjoying being warm and toasty inside during the winter months.

Living Room and Dining Room

We have allowed room for a round table in the kitchen but for more formal occasions and during Thanksgiving and Christmas we gather together for meals served in the dining room by the front door.  The dining room has enjoyed many a holiday dinner and the living room has functioned as a reception for a gathering of my friends to help celebrate a new grandchild or a special birthday.  The vanity bathroom down the hallway, small and elegant, serves perfectly to help keep all entertainments on one floor.

Our Home: Second Level

Climbing the stairwell to the second floor you pass beneath the chandelier and arrive at the hardwoods of the second floor landing, identical to the ones down below.  Two more closets are installed on the landing as well as the door to the laundry room where inside are the washer and dryer with plenty of cabinet space for cleaning supplies.  The HOA hosts a maintenance service for both machines.  

Master Bedroom

Our master bedroom is to the left once you reach the top of the stairs and fits comfortably a king-size bed along with two nightstands.  My make-up table is against the full-length windows which open to a view of the patio.  I have a small closet against the other wall where I store shoes and winter clothes during the summer months.  The master bath is through the double doors and has two vanities for both him and her as well as attached closets with built-in shelving.  The huge window is crystallized glass and allows plenty of sunlight but not eyesight to come in from outside and rests above our jacuzzi bath, which is my favorite place to be and relax after a work week to relieve the worries of the day.

Guest Bedrooms

Two more bedrooms are attached to the landing and serve as guest bedrooms when family or friends come into town.  Long tall windows in each let in plenty of sunlight during the day and the closets hold excess storage for us while still permitting visitors room for their things.  We have queen-size beds in each but both could accommodate bigger if necessary.  There is a full bathroom with vanity, shower and tub in each and another additional closet and cabinet to hold toiletries and other sundries.

Our Home: Third Floor

The Study and Attic

The study is up the stairs on the second floor landing and leads to the room, or ‘man-cave’, I let my husband keep on the top of the house.  Here is  where he spent most of his time and he liked it as a place to go and escape to if the noise from the grandkids or my visitors ever became too much for him.  It is indeed the quietest part of the house and allows a wonderful tree-top level view of the dogwoods, oaks and maples that wall us off from the neighborhood behind.  My husband keeps a pair of binoculars on his desk to study the hawks, owls and other birds that like to pass by for a visit.  It is his private nest and a comfortable place to read, write and reflect and we filled the room with comfortable chairs and sofas and bookshelves to hold our library.  A small vanity sink and refrigerator allowed him to keep snacks and drinks with him and the full bathroom besides the stairs allowed him to not have to climb the stairs so much.  Flanking either wall is the attic which are huge open spaces we have allowed for storage but either of which could be easily converted into more living space with a simple renovation.

Our Home: Conclusion

So this is our home and why we love it so.  I hate to have to leave it but it has become difficult for old knees to live on three floors. While it would be easy to utilize the shaft designed for the elevator, my husband and I would rather leave that investment for future owners.  For right now, we prefer the mountain air and slower-paced lifestyle of the Carolina mountains that is more fitting for a couple now in the last part of their golden years.  We very much hope that the future residents who purchase our townhome come to love it as much as we have and that they fill it with memories just as special and precious as our own.

Thank you so much for visiting, K.