You could try video marketing, videos showcase a property much better than a few photos. They give a better sense of depth and size etc. Make sure you use a tripod as it makes a big difference to the quality of the video (even a cheap one is ok), set the video up in the corner of each room and pan from one side of the room to the other etc. Tip for getting smooth pans, put a rubber band on the handle of the tripod and pull on it rather than hold the handle directly, it takes any shaking from your hand out of the equation.

1. get a property agent.
2. post on Craig List
3. Post a classified ads online and offline
-offline being newpaper.
-online being property sites.
4. put banners around the area along the roads, streets.


thats what i can think of.

First, they need to find the top producing agent in that market and sign a 60 days listing agreement with them. And they also need to tell the agent if they can't move the property in 60 days, another agent will get a shot at it.

Then they need to have that agent get good comps to determine what similar homes in that area have sold for in the past 3-6 months and price it accordingly. If it's over priced, they need to price it right. Every property will move at the right price.

Have them take a GOOD video showcasing all the property's best features and post it on youtube with the proper keywords. Have the listing agent post the video in the listing, too.

If they get no action after 2 weeks, have them call their newspaper's circulation department for the main newspaper in town and find out how much it would cost to insert fliers in the real estate section of the Sunday paper, then make up an attention grabbing flier with emphasis on the youtube video.

Have them offer a 10k agent selling bonus on top of the commission.

If they don't sell it after this, then it's either priced too high or not being properly marketed by the listing agent.

Depending on how motivated they are, they can hire an auction company and have them run an auction to get the highest price for it.

I never suggest you for some agents . Ask to your friends for this may be one of your friend interested to buy .

In this market that kind of property will not sell fast unless the price is a steal and it is clear they don't want to just let it go.

They need to get a good agent and realise that what they have is hard to sell. Yes it may be worth $800k but how many buyers with $800k are looking for that kind of property in that area?

It is easy to sell a nice $150k home when all the homes are $150k and all the buyers are looking for $150k homes. But when all the buyers are looking for $100k deals and your home is worth $800k you have a problem.

Maybe the problem is they are trying to sell it themselves, or maybe it has been a realtor in the past.

I do like Mr. Sublte's advice about offering a Jeep or a boat.

When my mom needed help selling her house I helped by shooting a video of her house. We actually had her walk through the house and talk about all the things that she liked about it. We cut to footage of the neighborhood while she talked about how close bike trails and parks were.

We listed it on Craigslist.

I have been a residential appraiser for over 30 years and you have a classic case of an over built situation creating incurable external obsolescence. There are very few buyers for these properties and selling this property in good times is daunting enough but adding the current market conditions makes it even more problematic. I hope your "good graces" are more likely "great graces" because you have a monumental task you are considering.

A BIG mistake has already been made. Who set the original price of $995K? Whoever did that needs to be sacked and if it were the property owners themselves, they have no one to blame apart from themselves. To have a price drop of nearly 20% in less than a year means it was way overpriced to begin with and this huge price drop AND the ongoing campaign does not look very good for potential buyers.

This is a classic example of how incompetence can ruin things.

Forget free boats and free jeeps - we are not running a fare here. It's time to get serious and treat this like a REAL property sale. Go and hire a real estate agent that actually knows what they are doing. Let them set a realistic price and get some proper buyers through the door. The right agent can AND will make a huge difference. They know the best places to advertise - yes, it will cost money but you do get what you pay for.

Web wise I advise you to dominate all their relevant keywords, sell house in ZZZ, buy house in ZZZ, big house with lake in ZZZ, and so on. But they definitely need a professional working WITH and FOR them.

Well, if the house is on Realtor.com then they already have a listing agent.

I would have placed a link to that listing right here on the forum, you never know where your buyer will come from.

Do they "want" to sell the house, or do they "need" to sell the house?

In order to provide some ideas of what they need to do, you need to provide some more information about their situation.

What is the City and State?

What is the appraised value?

What is their current mortgage balance?

What do they have for a marketing budget?

Is the land splitable, if so, how many lots can be split?

How big is the lake, do they own all or part?

Any $800,000 plus sales in the area in the last 2 to 3 years?

Is their current Realtor experienced in selling large waterfront properties?

How long is their current listing contract?

There are more questions, but this list is a good start.

The warrior who mentioned using a car and/or boat to entice a buyer has a great idea there. I have suggested this to other sellers as a way to sell a property that wasn't priced right, or sellers that had to great of expectations. You can expand upon that idea, depending on who the buyer is. If the buyer doesn't need a car/boat, think vacations, or offer to pay off some of the buyer's personal debt.

You can be very creative with a real estate contract, or a second contract that is outside of the real estate contract.

The warrior who is an appraiser has the answer that is probably closer to the current reality.

A lot of what the seller's will have to do will be determined once you know if they "need" to sell, or "want" to sell.

Good luck

Found out last night at church that they have a potential buyer - probably a doctor from one of the local hospitals.

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