Marketing Strategies For Distressed Properties 101
Selling a distressed property can be challenging, but with some good marketing, you should be able to attract buyers quickly and get your home sold.
This is where I come in.
In this post, I’ll show you the most effective marketing strategies for distressed properties.
Before We Start…
This is not going to be easy if you don’t have any marketing experience.
Marketing a distressed property (or anything) requires creativity, testing, persistence, and a good idea of your target buyers.
If you’re new to this, it can be a long, difficult and frustrating process.
If you don’t want to go through all this, you can just sell your house to a cash buyer like us.
It’ll be so much easier and will save you a ton of time, effort and money. Plus we buy the house as is - you don’t need to do any repairs. And we can close the sale as fast as 7 days!
Also Read: Best Time To Sell A Distressed House
#1 Target The Right Audience
First up, you need to have an idea of your target audience.
Your ideal buyers are real estate investors, house flippers, or even first-time homebuyers who have the resources and capability to take on a fixer-upper project.
Speak directly to this audience in your marketing language and outreach efforts.
Avoid trying to market to retail home buyers not interested in distressed properties.
#2 Leverage Online Platforms
The best and cheapest way to market literally anything is online. You can get the listing in front of thousands of potential buyers!
I’m going to show the 3 most effective ways to market it online.
Listing On Real Estate Portals
Before you do anything else, go and list your distressed home on all the popular real estate and listing portals like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.
Make detailed listings with good photos and an accurate description of the property condition, situation and legal issues.
You need to optimize the listings for keywords too.
Keywords are what the buyers will search for in the listing site's search bar. Here are a few common ones:
- Distressed home
- Distressed house
- fixer-upper
- Pre foreclosure
- Distressed sale
- Motivated Seller
- TLC
Use keywords in the headings, and throughout the content where it makes sense.
Social Media
Now let's move on to social media platforms. Facebook is the best for real estate stuff but Youtube and Instagram are ok too.
Create a post highlighting the important details and post it on the Facebook Marketplace.
Then go ahead and join some real estate Facebook groups and post the listing there.
Add 1 - 4 images too and don't put any links on the post. Don't share to the group from a different place either - post directly. If not, your post won't get any reach.
Make sure to reply to all comments too.
Once that's done, take some long and short videos of the house - preferably with you speaking about the property condition and other deets.
Also Read: Selling A Distressed Property
Post these on Youtube (both as normal and shorts). Make sure to use good titles that make the target audience click the video, and always use hashtags.
You can post the short videos as reels on Instagram too. Use hashtags there as well.
Paid Ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads)
Paid advertising is probably the fastest and most effective strategy. But it's expensive.
You can target buyers actively looking to purchase distressed properties. The chances of them reaching out to you are pretty high.
These will allow you to show ads to users searching for keywords like "fixer upper homes" and those with interests in house flipping, real estate investing, foreclosures, and more.
I recommend doing FB ads first because it's cheaper and move on Google ads only if everything else fails.
Here’s a good guide on running real estate FB ads.
Craft good ads with images, details like pricing and property details, and call to action. Make sure to keep your target audience in mind when making these.
#3 Highlight The Potential
It is very important to highlight the potential opportunities a distressed property presents, while still being upfront about any defects, damage, or issues.
Emphasize possibilities like:
- Renovation potential
- Development opportunities
- Scope to expand
- Great neighborhood
- Large yards
- Home appreciation
This helps attract the right buyers who are able to see past the issues and capitalize on the underlying opportunities.
#4 Offer Competitive Pricing
Pricing the house right is always important when selling real estate, but it becomes super important for distressed properties.
Distressed and fixer-upper properties should always be priced below market value of comparable homes since extensive repairs and renovations will be required.
Thoroughly research the asking and selling prices of similar distressed properties in the area.
Consult experienced real estate agents for fair market valuations. Price the property competitively to generate interest and stand out.
The price should reflect the true condition and required investment, not wishful thinking.
#5 Use Effective Marketing Materials
You also have to create good marketing materials to showcase the property and its potential.
Professional photos, 3D scans, drone footage, virtual tours, and videos will help a lot.
Well-designed listings with important data like permits, zoning info, inspection reports also add value for investors and builders.
The materials should address flaws but focus on showcasing the potential and opportunities.