If you are selling your house FSBO, have you created a property description for your home yet?  If you have, or if you are still in the process of creating one, did you give careful consideration to the words you used in your description?  Do you know what words work best to help you interest buyers and make your home stand apart form the competition?  Did you know that some of the common words used in real estate ads that appear positive can actually backfire and be detrimental to your sale opportunities?

Believe it or not, but the words and phrases you use in a property description matter, and can actually determine the length of time it takes for your property to sell.  Therefore, if you want your home to sell sooner rather than later, you need to know how to market your home by using magic words and phrases.

Below are two word lists.  The first list is comprised of magic words and phrases– those that will help you make a sale.  The second list consists of tragic words and phrases – those commonly used but have double meanings (on the surface they sound like real winners, but they have a negative undertone that can work against you).

Magic Words and Phrases – The following are some positive and effective words that have been known to help catch the attention and work their magic on potential buyers (I.E. “prestigious” makes one think of something that is first class; the best):

• Beautiful
• Curb appeal
• Handyman special**(see below)
• Gourmet
• Granite
• Golf
• Landscaping
• Lovely
• Move-in condition
• Must see
• Old world craftsmanship
• Prestigious
• Upgrades

Tragic Words and Phrases – The following are some positive sounding words that are actually more harmful to a property description than beneficial because they can be interpreted negatively (I.E. “As-is” – can be interpreted as our home needs work, we’ve given up, but you can try to improve it):

• As-is
• Clean
• Fixer upper
• Good value
• Motivated
• Motivated seller
• Must sell
• Newer
• New paint
• Quiet
• Starter home
• Vacant
• Handyman special ** - some words, such as “handyman special” can be two-faced and may be harmful to your property description.   The simple reason is because even though “handyman special” sounds much more appealing than “fixer upper”, not everyone is interested in fixing up a home.  You need to be aware of this, and remember that your home won’t appeal to every buyer out there.  Thus, in such cases, and when using any magic words, you need to decide if a term is best suited for your buyers market.

Remember, just because you see a phrase used frequently in real estate ads doesn’t mean they are effective or successful.  Think about what the words and phrases mean to you.  Do they capture your interest, or after a second look do you feel doubt creeping in? 

Therefore, as a seller, when creating your property description, you need to think like a buyer.  This means your description doesn’t only need to be attractive and appeal to your target market, it also needs to be honest.