I’m trying to do a big push on my parks to move away from the rent credit program, and sell homes using 3rd party financing (Triad, PEP, 21st mortgage)
When listing a home that’s only for sale but has financing options in place, does anyone have recommendations on marketing venues? I figure ‘craigslist for sale section’ is an obvious choice, however, what about:
-using the MLS?
-still listing the home in ‘for rent’ sections of websites like craigslist and zillow, but explaining that it’s for sale with an affordable monthly payment in the text body?
-any other venues?
I’m curious if anyone has any insights or recommendations.
There are a number of venues, but they are different in different areas and radically different based on the price of the home and the quality of the community. If you get a little more specific, I would bet you would get more, and more helpful, responses.
Remember: You cannot advertise financing available unless you are a lender. That is the lender’s job.
Hey Noel
GL with the marketing and sales effort. As you know we are being aggressive with our homes sales. In WI we are focused on new homes with 3rd party, just like you.
Our marketing approach is try everything. Make a hypothesis on your market and keep trying the top few. If one approach doesn’t work well we are quick to move on to another approach. But we do track our results and leads. Here are some options we do:
Craigslist
FB page
Related FB groups in your market
Zillow/Trulia
MH Bay/Village
Rental sites like Zumper
Your own web site (we have Make Appointment applet)
Looking at radio, newspaper and local businesses to partner with
In terms of insights I would only say that each market is unique, as well as your target clientele. What works at one park, area may not work at another.
For example, our park in TX does very well with Craigslist but not FB. Our listings in the For Sale and For Rent sections. However, we do not get good leads from CL in our WI park. FB generates 90% of our leads currently as there is more of a trust factor. Also, in WI we do better with For Sale, not rent.
But when we review our results against our respective tenant demographics it makes sense. So we employ different strategies based on the park and the market.
@Noel_S Im by far from more than a newbie myself for Facebook marketing but recently went to a seminar with Gary Vaynerchuck and was blown away. I think i will def work this more in. I have run a small business page that really was a great tool a couple years back but i think Facebook has evolved since then with the targeted ads.
Sometimes there will be housing groups, talk of INSERT city here, and try to build an organic following, regular updates etc.
That might be just for a little tip of the iceberg but I’m going to really get a good understanding of how this all works but figured id share that comment and that name is probably good to learn under for social marketing with everything he shared.
I have a business Facebook page for the park but also joined many groups in my area that list ads, as well as the marketplace section. I run the ad over and over again for lots. Facebook is the only place I advertise and it is working well for me.
“Remember: You cannot advertise financing available unless you are a lender. That is the lender’s job.”
That seems like an over-simplification of the rules. Seller financing that complies with the SAFE Act is still possible, but you need a licensed mortgage originator to qualify the tenant.
I keep hearing from lots of apartment landlords and MHP owners who are finding Facebook ads (not posts) are their most effective advertising these days. I like Google Adwords as well. We put homes for sale on Zillow, too. And obviously Craig’s List, but it’s declining in importance.
It is an oversimplification. What I post here is normally enough to make people aware of caveats, because I just don’t have the time or inclination to spends an entire day filling up bandwidth with what someone actually needs to know. Our consultancy has, in joint effort with a number of state associations has addressed this, and immediately related, issues in detail, in classroom situations and it has required 10-12 hours each time we have done so.
While the advertising piece is fairly clear cut, it is complicated because there is more than one federal agency addressing the issue and their rules do not always coincide. The goal for a community owner or retailer who is not engaged in lending is to avoid triggering certain things that would involve state agencies and the CFPB suddenly having jurisdiction.