The property brochure is your selling platform and primary advertisement. It is, in effect, a shop window inviting interested customers to learn more about what you are selling. It must be carefully constructed and expertly printed to attract the attention of house-hunters who are likely to have obtained scores of similar brochures.

Estate agents sometimes cut costs by photocopying property details and this is a big mistake. Photographs do not copy well and an important inducement for viewings is often lost at this early stage as a direct result. Photocopies can also blur or even obliterate text and ink-shadows can appear which further frustrate the reader. Such brochures are destined only for the waste-paper basket – whilst others of a high quality will be inspected and retained.

To be certain of generating multiple viewing appointments you should set aside the maximum your budget will allow to produce a property detail brochure of the highest calibre.

Choosing A Design Layout

The best artists in the world produce original work – everyone else is influenced by their material and modifies it to achieve a desired result. You can learn from established estate agents simply by examining all the brochures currently in your possession, decide which are the most successful in attracting your attention, and then profit from them by emulating the designs used.

Whilst you must be careful not to copy any design or logo, you can identify which are the most eye-catching colours and layouts. Narrow them down until you have identified the best two or three and use these as a template. Seek the opinion of several friends, colleagues and family members to obtain a consensus of opinion. By this stage you should have decided:

• The number of A4 pages for your brochure and whether it will be printed on both sides or just one (remember that the more pages you have the more it will cost to produce).
• The colour and design of any border or graphic (using one or two colours will be more striking than using five or six).
• The size and position of text including the price and property address.
• The size and position of the main photograph (see Chapter 7).
• The position and content of any bulleted text to capture the reader’s initial attention.

Describing Your Home

Be Methodical In Your Approach

You must now identify everything in each room of your home that you will be describing in your property brochure. This will include:

Chattels, Fixtures And Fittings

The terms used in property sales are drawn from the legal arena and much confusion is caused when reference is made to chattels, fixtures and fittings. To alleviate any doubt these are what the terms mean:

Chattels

Chattels are movable items that you can take with you when you vacate the property. There is often some duplication between what may be recognised as a chattel and what may constitute a fixture or fitting. For this reason solicitors will ask the vendor to list separately what will be staying in the property after it is sold and what they intend taking with them.

Fixtures And Fittings

A fixture or fitting is something attached to the fabric of the property and which ordinarily will remain in the property when it is sold. Items might include kitchen cupboards, built-in wardrobes and curtain-tracks. Any fixture being removed prior to sale should be specified and the damage to walls repaired.

Writing The Text

Armed with your notes you can now begin putting flesh on the bones of your property brochure. When writing the main body of text you must always consider that:

• Descriptions must be brief and exact.
• Nothing should be left open to interpretation by the reader. Avoid using words like ‘luxurious’, ‘spacious’ or ‘stunning’, as these mean different things to different people.
• Measurements must be accurate and, where the widest points of a room are used, the words ‘taken at widest points’ must be inserted.
• Equipment, fixtures and fittings, furnishings, installations and appliances described in the brochure must remain in the property after it is sold.
• There must be nothing contained within a description intended to mislead the reader, for example, by stating that a switch, socket or light-fitting is made of brass when in fact it is only brass-plated or brass-coloured.
• Rose-tinted spectacles should be removed – your description must be an honest account of your home given in good faith.
• If you are in some doubt about what you will need to take with you for your new home, like carpets and curtains, leave these off the brochure and if need be you can always offer them later or even use them as bargaining elements when negotiating with a potential buyer.

 

Use the various brochures in your possession as a guide to format your text. Read through your drafted brochure several times and edit it down as much as possible until it contains only the essential information needed to portray your property concisely. Give prominence to the best selling features of your home and remove any reference to those elements which may discourage a sale.