If you are thinking about selling your Outer Banks home here are some tips to help make the process work for you! Whether you’re the owner of a vacation rental property or a FSBO, hopefully you find some useful information in this article. There’s a rapid shift toward choosing a house based mostly on how it presents online – so it’s crucial to make your house look absolutely amazing when someone views your listing on sites like Zillow or Realtor.com. We also have a lot of AirBnB and vacation rentals here, so it’s important to prepare for the closing process when rented weeks are involved. And finally, if you have a magnificent view or a large lot, hire a videographer (with a drone) to create amazing video content for you!
1) Pictures are worth MORE than a thousand words
Are you ready for some statistics? In a Redfin study 1/3rd of people who bought a home in the previous year made an offer without physically touring the home. In another study, homes in Chicago that were professionally photographed sold 32% faster than other homes – they spent 89 days on the market vs 123 days on market for homes without professional photos. According to an Old Dominion study they found that 95.1% of people viewing a home listing online looked at the curb appeal or main photo first. They then looked through all the photos before moving on to things like the property description or square footage details.
So if potential buyers could make an offer based on nothing but photos and a property description, if professional photos lead to selling your home faster, and if it’s the very first thing they focus on when viewing your home listing, why not put your best foot forward? I can’t tell you how many times I scan Zillow or our MLS and I see homes with only 1 photo, or “photos coming soon” or a FSBO listing has low resolution dark and blurry photos of a messy house. If that was your first impression of a home, would you want more information or would you move on to the next listing?
If you want your home to receive maximum interest, it’s almost required to have around 20 high res interior and exterior photos plus an aerial shot from a drone. In my experience with vacation rentals and home sales, it’s money well spent. If you’d like to list with an agent I work with photographers in the area who produce excellent home photos and I’ll take care of the marketing aspect for you.
2) Study the NC Vacation Rental Act (or find an agent who understands it)
As I mentioned earlier, North Carolina has a special set of laws and regulations that govern the sale of a property when the previous owner has rented his home through AirBnB or a vacation rental company, and the new owner takes control of the property. Let’s say Larry had an oceanfront 7 bedroom in Avon and he had a vacation rental company managing it for him. They have already booked 10 weeks in his home for the year 2021. Larry then decides to sell his home in October of 2020. What extra steps are involved in the sale of Larry’s home? You might be surprised to find that the new buyer has to honor the existing lease agreements for 6 month so he can’t even live in the home he just purchased during those rented weeks! Here’s a summary from the NC Real Estate Commission–
1. Prior to entering into a contract to sell, the seller-owner must disclose to the prospective buyer all time periods during which the property is subject to a vacation lease agreement.
2. Within ten (10) days after the transfer, the grantor (seller) must disclose to the grantee (buyer) the name and address of each tenant and provide the grantee with a copy of each lease agreement.
3. The buyer must honor all existing lease agreements that will end within 180 days after the transfer, defined as the recording of the deed to the buyer.
4. Tenants under signed lease agreements ending more than 180 days after the property transfer may not enforce the lease against the new owner, but they are entitled to a refund of all advance rent and fees paid, subject to permissible deductions, i.e., administrative fee and fees to third parties for goods/services procured for the tenant.
I always help clients follow the law when selling or buying a home that is being used as a vacation rental. As a seller you not only have to disclose the information but you have to transfer the advance rents you received as well. The buyer now owns the weeks that were rented, so he gets the advance rent since he owns the home while renters will be there. Furthermore, each vacation rental company has a unique property management agreement, and each owner negotiates the terms individually as well. This is why closing on a vacation rental home is more complex than a standard single family home.
3) Create Videos for Maximum Impact
We touched on the importance of photos earlier, but videos can set your home apart from the rest. I do virtual tours for my buyer clients who live in other states, and it’s because they want to experience what it’s like to tour a home and “feel” what it’s like to be there. Photos are great but video can make for a much more immersive experience. Did you know that real estate listings with videos receive 403% more inquiries than those without videos? Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world, behind only Google. So when you create a Youtube video of your home and share it on social media like Facebook or add it to your Zillow listing, you are greatly expanding your potential buyer pool and drawing attention to your home!
According to the National Association of Realtors, 73% of homeowners say they are more likely to list with an agent that uses drone photography and video. And only a small percent of agents use video to promote their listings, so if you sign up with a listing agent be sure to ask if they will promote your property with great photos, video tours and drone aerial production. If you’d like for me to get your home SOLD on the Outer Banks you can contact me here or visit my agent page at StephenSmithOBX.com.