Listing of the Day - Orlando FL

In an effort to improve the impact of the marketing of listings, I randomly choose current listings around the country in a variety of price ranges and comment on their effectiveness. No current clients of mine are used, nor do I know any sellers or buyers or have any additional information about the property.


Appleton St., Orlando FL 4 + 3 $349,900

http://www.homefinder.com/FL/Orlando/47698267d


Frankly, this is one of those examples I would use in the first day of a marketing class. An example of why there is such a need for improvement when it comes to the advertising and marketing of properties.

First of all, there is no address shown for this property. It could be on Appleton Street, but this is actually a guess since this is where the Google map included shows it to be. Yet, we have no way to verify that it is in, as the ad reads, "one of orlando's premier neighborhoods". (Not to mention that I quote the ad directly which has the city of Orlando not capitalized.)

When I first randomly chose this ad on October 7th, it still showed that "will be Open House on October 4th". Later in the day when I went back to the page to complete this review, that had been removed. I can't overlook how I first saw an ad for a home with an Open House but no address. Ouch.

The photo spread is excellent with a nice blend of impressive interior photos combined with exterior shots which do a superb job of showcasing this property.

However, the description is inconsistent, especially for a home of this magnitude. Not only does it jump from outside to inside and all around, but a sentence consisting of "Home repiped" has absolutely no business being placed ahead of "Large fenced yard with great porches.". Actually, "Home repiped" has no business being anywhere in a description which is supposed to entice a potential buyer to want to know more.

Many of the selling points in the description are solid, even if not in reasonable order. Other selling points, based on seeing the photo spread, are not reinforced in the copy.

After reading the fragmented sentences, the name of the city not in capital letters, and about a home with no street address showing, I decided to check the realty firm's web site to try and find the street address. After looking through the upcoming weekend's open house profiles, I did not find this property there. I went to the list of agents in this office, yet could not find the name of the agent listed on this ad on the company web site.

To recap, I found this ad initially promoting an outdated Open House even though there is no address shown. The description is not fundamentally sound even with several good selling points. I could not find the address on either the supposed map page or on the company web site, then I could not find the supposed listing agent information.

Yet, the seller would pay a commission to this agent to help cover the cost of it being advertised via the web site of the Orlando Sentinel. It should be the responsibility of this agent (and any agent advertising a property) to check and double check every advertisement and representation that goes out there. Obviously, this one isn't.

GRADE: D+


Note: This commentary is uncompensated and for marketing purposes only and is no reflection on the featured property and is its accuracy is not guaranteed. Neither Dave Kohl nor First In Promotions shall be held responsible for any representations.

At this time, I have openings for more realty agent/office clients to critique current and brand new listings on an hourly basis. No current or past client listings are featured on this blog.Random listings are chosen around the country.

Your comments are most welcome!