When buyers are choosing from among several homes, there is one selling tool that is indispensable - the feature sheet. The feature sheet not only contains a photo of the home to jog the buyer's memory, it also lays out the special amenities of the home and gives the listing agent's contact information.

The feature sheet can give a point-by-point capsule of the home's best qualities in an easy to use form that can be folded, put in a binder, and laid out side-by-side with others as the buyer makes their deliberations.

This important tool is not only useful for buyers, it is mailed by the agent to farming prospects, put in tubes on top of the yard sign for drive-by buyers and agents, and used for open houses, luncheons, and other special events.

So, if the feature sheet is so important, why aren't agents and brokers producing better ones?

Having written for newspapers, provided editorial services for two of Dallas' top rated real estate firms, and as the editor of a major real estate n ews site, I can safely say that I have seen hundreds of thousands of feature sheets. Some are outstanding. But too many are bad to the point that they can embarrass the agent and the broker.

Here are a few pointers that may help those of you who design and write your own feature sheets.

1. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Any house you list is worth a roll of film. So take pictures of the front, back, and any details of interest. Nooks, crannies, a unique floor or stairwell are all details that can help sell the home.

This may be blasphemy to some, but please leave out the yard sign. In a photo, a sign is only self-promoting and distracts from the house and grounds.

Make Color as well as black and white copies.

Do put captions on each picture, even it they appear self-explanatory. A swimming pool becomes more alluring if the caption reads, "Custom-designed heated diving pool with imported tile and computerized controls, installed Spring 97." Each word is chosen to convey vital pieces of information - the buyer knows without asking that the pool is one year old and not original to the home, that it is deep enough for diving (families with children may take appropriate precautions,) that it is easy to operate and maintain, and that it is a luxurious amenity. Isn't that much better than "Gorgeous Pool!!" or Custom Pool?

2. Improve your writing. It is easy to make blunders while writing advertising text. The one I see most often is over-exclaiming. In an amateurish attempt to excite the buyer and other agents, the agent hypes instead of sells. "New! Charming! Won't last!" are exclamations which are especially overwrought and amateurish when captioning the photo of a mediocre home. Instead hit the buyer with desirable features at the first glance. Don't be afraid to bullet point a list of amenities if they won't fit in an opening paragraph.

The same "charming" house could be succinctly described by the following sentence - "Affordable 3 bedroom bungalow near shopping and schools offers original tile baths, wood floors and "shabby chic" decor. In one sentence, you have conveyed the price, size, condition and convenience of the home, yet left room for the buyer to make their own judgments. You also just broadened your market to include singles, couples, first-time homebuyers, retirees, and small families.

3. Expand your vocabulary. In Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, there are no less than 58 words you can use instead of the word "home," 47 words in stead of "house," and 14 words instead of "fireplace." There are 50 words to replace "beautiful" but not one of them conveys any more information than that overworked word. Again, try to choose words that define rather than modify.

4. Write for the buyer, not the agent. MLS information is for agents. Feature sheets are for buyers, so don't take information from your MLS listing and transpose it to your feature sheet. "Realtor-speak" shortcuts convey vital statistics concisely, but only if the buyer can understand them. Many buyers don't even know what a 3/2 is, so they can't be expected to understand long strings of code. Remember, they are using the sheets to compare homes and features, and Realtor codes don't accomplish that goal.

5. Take Your Buyer to the Internet. Expand your service by including your web address in the text and a special note with an asterisk saying something like "For detailed photos of interior views and neighborhood features, see this home at www.yourwebaddress.com/thishouse." Give the exact address of the listing and make sure you have a button that will click through to "view additional homes." Include other Web sites of local interest - the Chamber of Commerce, local employers, public transportation, sports teams, the school system that serves the home, and special services such as day cares, senior care, and public transportation.

As the consumer becomes more sophisticated, the feature sheet has as well. With the advent of technology such as PC's and digital camera equipment, the feature sheet is now held in memory on our PC's for easy downloading, and can offer multiple views of the homes we are marketing. Information-hungry buyers can also see photos of the neighborhood school, recreational facilities and the neighborhood.

Once buyers have access to more information, they never go back, so the wave of the future is providing more information if possible. The better you are able to do that through a feature sheet, the better you will become at m arketing homes in general.

Published: June 18, 1999

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.