Would you create a website for your IP?

Hi everyone, I am fairly new to this forum. I am learning alot of things that I didn't have a clue about in the past so I would like to thank you for the great advice and information on this forum.

I have been playing with this idea for a very long time. Can a website "potentially" add value to a property? I would imagine that these properties would be houses close to the Sydney CBD area with a price range of $500k+.

For example, you would maybe have a house at drummoyne and the URL address of the website would be: 55MyStreetDrummoyne.com.au
Where it would highlight the special features of the house with large, professionally taken pictures and quality descriptions. I could even imagine the website can be used as a tool to cut out real-estate agents from being the middle man, saving on the agent fees & commission.

So, what do you think guys, is this a totally stupid idea that has no potential? Or, is there some chance that this might be the next big thing?
 
How would buyers find the website in the first place? You'd still have to put an ad on the major property websites.

I doubt a 500k property in Sydney would have enough special features to merit its own website, though.
Alex
 
What I meant was properties above 500K. Yes, initially you would need to advertise to sell the property. But as time goes past what if your property was in first place/page for the keyword "Properties for sale in drummoyne". Then you could get bunch of potential buyers coming directly to you and your website to purchase your property.

Let's consider this property in Drummoyne:
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Drummoyne/?adid=2008211499

This listing has professionally taken images, but i wouldn't mind if there were a few more images in this gallery with slightly bigger images. I would imagine the benefits would mainly lie in the longer term, rather than creating a website for the sole purpose of selling it in a couple of weeks time and dumping the website.

If investors/home owners do start creating websites for their homes in the future, then, domain names themselves would become Cyber Properties themselves since there would only be one of: 55MyStreetDrummoyne.com.au

How would buyers find the website in the first place? You'd still have to put an ad on the major property websites.

I doubt a 500k property in Sydney would have enough special features to merit its own website, though.
Alex
 
You might get told off for self promotion you know but I do believe a property could benefit from a website. Domain names cost from $1 to $20 so the main cost would be for paying a designer and a small monthly fee for hosting.

I actually made my own site after I got the idea from a similar thread awhile back here that will have all my properties on the one site instead of one for each. I used a blog backend so I can easily write my own articles etc plus it's like keeping an online diary for my own portfolio. I also will be showing before and after pictures of renovations etc. For me it's more of a way just to keep a log on my progress in property but others can also read up. I still have a lot to do yet but it's getting there. I will also list my properties for sale on it as well when I'm about to sell in the future.
 
What I meant was properties above 500K. Yes, initially you would need to advertise to sell the property. But as time goes past what if your property was in first place/page for the keyword "Properties for sale in drummoyne". Then you could get bunch of potential buyers coming directly to you and your website to purchase your property.

As time goes past, I'm in trouble, because my house isn't selling. When I'm looking for a property to buy, do I google it? No. I'll use domain or realestate.com.au or suburbview or walk around neighbourhood property agencies. Unless you have a very unique property, you won't get much traffic from search engines.

This listing has professionally taken images, but i wouldn't mind if there were a few more images in this gallery with slightly bigger images. I would imagine the benefits would mainly lie in the longer term, rather than creating a website for the sole purpose of selling it in a couple of weeks time and dumping the website.

Why would I be interested in having my property for sale for 'the long term'? How long do you want to 'sell' a property for? Those properties are called 'stale', and the offers go down. Sure, a lot of property ads could be better written. Nicer photos would certainly help. If I was a seller, I'd just take the photos myself and give it to the agent. A website is overkill.

If I didn't sell a property in a couple of weeks, I'm not pricing the property right and a flashy website wouldn't help.

It's a property sale, vahsi, not brand building. Get some nice photos on, get the thing sold, take the money.

If investors/home owners do start creating websites for their homes in the future, then, domain names themselves would become Cyber Properties themselves since there would only be one of: 55MyStreetDrummoyne.com.au

For the NEXT time someone sells THAT particular house? Meanwhile I have to pay upkeep on the domain for years? I doubt it.

You're thinking 'how do I build a site for property'. But really, what you should be asking is 'how would a site help the selling process'? But you don't seem to understand how people look for properties to buy, and how people want to sell their properties (at a good price, sure, but speed is good too). Nicer photos, more detail, floor plans, etc is good. That's about it. Unless you have a multi-million dollar, unique property, a website just isn't worth it.
Alex
 
What I meant was properties above 500K. Yes, initially you would need to advertise to sell the property. But as time goes past what if your property was in first place/page for the keyword "Properties for sale in drummoyne". Then you could get bunch of potential buyers coming directly to you and your website to purchase your property.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would I search (I assume you mean Google or Yahoo, etc) on these keywords when I can go to realestate.com.au or domain.com.au and see more than 1 property?
 
What I think will help sellers get more buyers:

1) Price the thing right in the first place
2) Good photos and descriptions in the ad. Write it yourself if you have to
3) Include floor plans
4) Make sure your agent responds to all calls from potential buyers. Do lots of open homes to catch all the buyers you can. Be there at the open home and tell everyone about all the good things about the property.

Alex
 
Dear Sir Spamalot,

Perhaps try not linking your business in your footer when trying to spam under the radar, ie:

Need A Website?
Have you considered building a website for your investment property to potentially attract more buyers?

Regards,

Non-spammer
 
Sorry, correct me if I am wrong but, I have seen quite a few business owners both promoting their businesses through their footer links and within posts, among other people also referring other people. I feel no shame promoting my business as long as I stay within the forum rules. Please don't be fooled to think i'm new to internet forums, yes I maybe new to this forum, but I have been a member on several other forums for several years. Please don't bully me just because you know no one would back me up on this forum.

Dear Sir Spamalot,

Perhaps try not linking your business in your footer when trying to spam under the radar, ie:



Regards,

Non-spammer

I was afraid this would happen from the beginning, but i'm hape to cope with the flaming although i'm not really promoting a product/service, i'm just merely asking for peoples opinion. When it comes my signature, i have seen quite a few business owners putting their links into there signature "naturally".

I think, my idea revolves around a specific mindset which is depended on age. I see many youths around me engaging with the internet to find more innovative ways to do things. I'm pretty sure if someone came to me with an idea of creating a website like domain.com.au and realestate.com.au I would've seen it as a stupid idea since I wouldn't have understood its potential back then.

Either way, I would like to apologise to anyone who have been upset because of this thread. I see now that there's another decade before young investors like me (and nathan?) grow up to see the potential of the internet.

You might get told off for self promotion you know but I do believe a property could benefit from a website. Domain names cost from $1 to $20 so the main cost would be for paying a designer and a small monthly fee for hosting.

I actually made my own site after I got the idea from a similar thread awhile back here that will have all my properties on the one site instead of one for each. I used a blog backend so I can easily write my own articles etc plus it's like keeping an online diary for my own portfolio. I also will be showing before and after pictures of renovations etc. For me it's more of a way just to keep a log on my progress in property but others can also read up. I still have a lot to do yet but it's getting there. I will also list my properties for sale on it as well when I'm about to sell in the future.
 
Mate, I'm a "lazy" internet user. If i know the website where I can get the information I need (eg, asx.com, realestate.com) why would I "search" elsewhere?

I can never remember googling "what is the price of BHP", so why would I google "house for sale in xxxx"?

Love the idea of utilising any possible tool to sell, promote, inform, etc, but I'd honestly like to hear why you think this might work?
 
Hi wobbycarly, yea I think it's within our human nature to be lazy. I personally have been hunting for a place for the past month or so and it's true most of the time, I have used either domain.com.au or realestate.com.au for my searches. I have been frustrated from the lack of quality photos and descriptions that don't say anything about the property.
 
unless the property is super special and has a very unique market, then i don't think this is a practical idea.

For starters, a 500k property in Sydney may only stay on the market for a week to 10 days. Normal advertising methods already get them sold very quickly, so why would i pay someone like you to put it on the web. What extra value do you add that beats the traditional methods - that are already proven.

What use is the site after i bought the property?

Besides, if you have had any experience in obtaining a com.au domain name, then you'd know that you would need either an ABN or a ACN to get a .com.au name. Are you willing to transfer ownership of that domain to the new owner of the place (who may also need to have an ABN to own that domain)?

OR - are you the type of person who wants people to pay for you to buy and sit on thousands of domain names!!!!!



g
 
What I meant was properties above 500K. Yes, initially you would need to advertise to sell the property. But as time goes past what if your property was in first place/page for the keyword "Properties for sale in drummoyne". Then you could get bunch of potential buyers coming directly to you and your website to purchase your property.

Let's consider this property in Drummoyne:
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Drummoyne/?adid=2008211499

This listing has professionally taken images, but i wouldn't mind if there were a few more images in this gallery with slightly bigger images. I would imagine the benefits would mainly lie in the longer term, rather than creating a website for the sole purpose of selling it in a couple of weeks time and dumping the website.

If investors/home owners do start creating websites for their homes in the future, then, domain names themselves would become Cyber Properties themselves since there would only be one of: 55MyStreetDrummoyne.com.au

what if your property was in first place/page for the keyword "Properties for sale in drummoyne".

you would have to buy a keyphrase domain eg: Properties for sale in drummoyne.com.au etc and have the keyphrase in the title

you would then have to submit the site to the google yahoo etc

and wait 4-6 weeks to get indexed no guarantees you will be in the first page but if there isnt many sites for this term then it would possibly be listed in the top 10 easily enough problem is people look on realeastate.com.au and domain more then they would type in the keyphrase in to a search engine as they are well known sites

this domain "55MyStreetDrummoyne.com.au" would not be listed as easily can be done but it will take quite awhile longer for google to pick it up
 
I do websites too but this is a property site and there's no market for property websites (for all the reasons listed above) so I've never put my business listing in my sig here.

I do have a site in my sig with a tonne of plants listed by common name (among other things - it has a lot of food on the site too, and cute furry animals), with photos, which comes up on this site semi-regularly and is a bit more relevant :)
 
Hi wobbycarly, yea I think it's within our human nature to be lazy. I personally have been hunting for a place for the past month or so and it's true most of the time, I have used either domain.com.au or realestate.com.au for my searches. I have been frustrated from the lack of quality photos and descriptions that don't say anything about the property.

I think you're defining the solution (a single-property specific website) without properly qualifying the problem (poor quality photos and description). Rather than create a solution suits you (you design websites, so of course the solution is obvious!) what is the actual problem that needs solving?

Thinking out loud, maybe a better business proposition is offering to rewrite the REA copy and produce better quality photos. This solves the identified problem. And doesn't inhibit the existing marketing - or mess with the heads of the public who only look on realestate.com or domain.com.
 
I think you're defining the solution (a single-property specific website) without properly qualifying the problem (poor quality photos and description). Rather than create a solution suits you (you design websites, so of course the solution is obvious!) what is the actual problem that needs solving?

Thinking out loud, maybe a better business proposition is offering to rewrite the REA copy and produce better quality photos. This solves the identified problem. And doesn't inhibit the existing marketing - or mess with the heads of the public who only look on realestate.com or domain.com.

Good thinking however realestate.com.au paid alot of money to have the site created the way it is today they could definantly remove the pop ups and other slow loading ads just don't get it billion dollar site but they use pops where most users have pop up blocker is a real pain when seaching the site for properties and ie locks be it for a few seconds:mad:
 
I want to re-clarify, this thread is not about me and what i can provide. I am simply asking whether it is feasible to have websites created for certain Investment Properties. This idea came to my mind when I was think for what purposes business owners make websites, then i thought that some investors here on Somersoft use Investment Properties as a form as business.

Either way, whether it is feasible or not. You guys are assuming it take 5-10K to develop a website and another 1-2k to maintain it. Realistically an individual can learn to make a simple website themselves by reading a couple of online tutorials. One can purchase a .com.au domain for approx $13 per year, there are also quite a few free hosting providers online. Finally how hard is it to obtain an ABN, i think i got mine created 3-4 years ago and it was a fairly simple process.

The are quite a few problems with both domain.com.au and realestate.com.au.
Domain abuses it's listing and list way too many advertised listings to a point where there's almost no point trying to sort by Price or Latest Listing (since so-called "updated" listings also get pushed up). Realestate has its slowness problems and it's lack of features like including properties from surrounding suburbs.

Eventually, google itself will have a directory specially for properties for sale/rent. When that happens, there will be a rush to purchase these domain names, both by the owners themselves and by squatters. I guess this thread can also be an eye-opener. If i'm wrong, you can potentially invest in a domain for 10 years where you will lose.. approx. $130 or, if am right with my guesstimates and in 3-5 years time, this rush does occur, you could be saving thousands of dollars!?

But yea, at the moment there's no need for Web4IP's... (lol i think i just gave it a name).

unless the property is super special and has a very unique market, then i don't think this is a practical idea.

For starters, a 500k property in Sydney may only stay on the market for a week to 10 days. Normal advertising methods already get them sold very quickly, so why would i pay someone like you to put it on the web. What extra value do you add that beats the traditional methods - that are already proven.

What use is the site after i bought the property?

Besides, if you have had any experience in obtaining a com.au domain name, then you'd know that you would need either an ABN or a ACN to get a .com.au name. Are you willing to transfer ownership of that domain to the new owner of the place (who may also need to have an ABN to own that domain)?

OR - are you the type of person who wants people to pay for you to buy and sit on thousands of domain names!!!!!



g

Good thinking however realestate.com.au paid alot of money to have the site created the way it is today they could definantly remove the pop ups and other slow loading ads just don't get it billion dollar site but they use pops where most users have pop up blocker is a real pain when seaching the site for properties and ie locks be it for a few seconds:mad:
 
firstly - putting a link in your footer is fine. My "flame" was aimed at your thinly disguised attempt to self promote - thats all.

On the topic at hand the websites made for high end (we are talking $2m + here) properties are done for a number of reasons:

- allow potential buyers to show site to friends and family to brag
- allow high end agent links/advertising of their own services through a footer link/contact details (meaning a $20m house could bring multiple buyers in to the agency for multiple sales in the lower end).
- a bit of a "****" factor

Now - when looking at a commercial business you need supply and demand. Now you - along with others on this forum (myself included) are into web development. There are two ways you can make money from doing property websites: sell to the agents or sell to the buyers.

Buyers wont want to part with the money upfront - agents however could work. The only viable way I could see your concept working is to deal directly with the agents - get them to push it to their clients and split the profit. Even so you are probably looking at around $500/job less the agents comm. say they only take $100, then $20 for domain and hosting down to $380. could work on a large scale I guess but you would want 10+ coming in a week (and you doing it as a full time job) to be viable.

Not sure on this one - but I wish you the best.
 
Eventually, google itself will have a directory specially for properties for sale/rent. When that happens, there will be a rush to purchase these domain names, both by the owners themselves and by squatters. I guess this thread can also be an eye-opener. If i'm wrong, you can potentially invest in a domain for 10 years where you will lose.. approx. $130 or, if am right with my guesstimates and in 3-5 years time, this rush does occur, you could be saving thousands of dollars!?

I think I must be missing the point. So you're suggesting people register a web domain in case they want to sell their properties down the track? And if they don't, my property like www.10smithstnorwood.com.au will be registered by a squatter?! So these squatters are going to register the domain of every residential address? And if that happens I won't just be able to register www.10smithstreetnorwood.com.au for $10 but will have to pay the squatter with the original address $k's??

Sorry, I must be losing your point along the way somewhere?? :confused:
 
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