290 - The $50K Facebook Post Story

Recently I sold a property and prior to listing it for sale, I searched for sold properties in MLS and public records.  I prefer to keep tabs on what’s happening in this ever-changing market to be sure I am capturing the most up-to-date data available.  My searches did not reveal any other recent sales that were comparable to the home I was selling. The seller got an appraisal which came back at $320,000, we then listed it at that price. The same day as listing it, I began my paid Facebook ad campaign.  A Facebook friend of mine saw the ad and messaged me that he has just bought the house across the street from the one I was selling and sold it for $55,000 MORE than we were asking. Needless to say, the seller wanted the price raised, which we did, and subsequently sold the home for $370,000 even though it was smaller than the other house. Stories such as this remind me of how powerful a network can be.  Had my Facebook friend not offered up this otherwise unavailable information, we could have wound up selling the home for $50k less. This is why I continually stress the importance of building a database and a local network in the area you plan to focus on.  Ignoring this advice could likely cost you much more than $50,000… In today’s times, you can hire someone quite reasonably to help you build an online and local network.  Attending networking events of all kinds, not just real estate ones goes a long way towards building that ever-important local network.