Real Estate Flyers: Should You Use Them?

I had no idea there wasn’t universal agreement in the agent world about the use of flyers on yard signs.  When we sold our first home by owner back in 1998 my biggest concern about flyers was keeping the sprinkler from hitting the box and smearing our ink jet printed papers.

We were standing next to our for sale sign outside our home with a real estate agent.  He grabbed one of our flyers, looked it over and gave us some advice, “I never put flyers on my signs.”  “Why?”  We asked him.  “I want buyers to call me directly to get questions answered.  If all the information is on the flyer, they don’t have a reason to call me and I don’t have a chance to show them other homes.”   It made perfect sense except, we only had one home to sell.

It certainly would be beneficial to talk with someone directly about our house, but we preferred to use our limited time talking with the serious buyers, not the curious ones.  Without other listings to promote, we had no reason to talk to every person that saw our yard sign.  Most of them just wanted to know the asking price.  Our goals and strategy were different than the ones the agent we spoke with had.  The flyers stayed on the sign.

That being said, there are some things to keep in mind when using flyers.

• Keep the flyer box full.  The only time people knocked on our door without an appointment, their first words were always “The flyer box was empty…”
• Ink jet printed flyers will smear in humid weather, even if the box is waterproof.  Do the outdoor flyers on a color copier or a laser printer.
• Include the vital statistics that buyers want:  price, address, bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet, year built, contact information, website, photos and a description of your home’s best features.

What are your thoughts about flyer boxes?  Add your experience below.