Selling Information
Selling your Home
When selling your home, house, unit, apartment, villa, land or property, you need information to ensure your sale is a profitable one. Selling your home may be the largest financial decision you ever make, yet surprisingly, may property owners will call in any agent and not even ask the agent what experience they have or what results they have achieved.
Many sellers fail to understand the complexities of the documentation they are asked to sign, let alone the agent’s success rate, the number of days on market within their market place, or the various sale methods. You as a consumer could unknowingly be appointing an agent who spend most of their days drinking at the local pub, or an agent who only sells one or two properties a year. In a declining market, this could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Often we see sellers appoint ‘friends’ to sell their home.
This can be disastrous! Friends are unlikely to give you all feedback from buyers, especially if they feel it may hurt your feelings. Friends are unlikely to bring you an offer if they feel it is too low. However, these low offers are often negotiated to sale contracts by experienced, professional real estate agents.
Without a written offer, there is little chance of negotiating a successful sale. Perhaps you've been listening to rumours started by struggling local agents, rather than reading testimonials from the agents happy clients? Has your agent explained to you the various options available to you when selling? Have you discussed the pitfalls of Open Listing or the advantages of an Exclusive Listing or the advantages of Selling by Auction? Do you understand all the real estate terms or do you dismiss it as ‘jargon’?
If you’re thinking of selling, be sure to read all the information available to you on our website. We frequently update our blog and there’s even a section on tips for Selling your Home. The biggest mistake home sellers make is asking agents for their opinion of value. Agents are not valuers. Valuers can only be plus or minus ten percent accurate when it comes to an appraisal of your property’s worth.
Yet real estate agents are expected to be more accurate than valuers, who are required to spend five years at university to learn how to do their job. Agents can be agents after a five day course! In a downward market the value of your property may be significantly less in a few months time. Not selling now, can be a costly exercise.
It’s vital that you see what other properties are on the market and what recent sales have sold for what price, so you can make your own informed decision as to the likely sale price of your property. See our tips on Pricing your Property for sale. A professional agent will show you a list of recent comparable sales in your area and a list of what is currently for sale.
They will know how long properties are taking to sell, how many properties sell in what price range and what the most likely sale price range of your property will be. They will also take the time to explain any documentation you are signing, not just leave it in the letterbox and hope that you return it! We aim to make the process of selling your home a memorable and pleasant experience!
