Advice on selling a house

[Dutchy]

Anyone got any tips? anything would be appreciated, never had to do it before, got this week off work to tidy things up and paint a few walls, clean garden, remove stuff we dont need to storage etc etc

Tips on Real Estate agents would be good also, whats the usual commision, is it negotiable? sounds like we might be selling at a good time as Im hearing stories of similar homes getting 10 offers before they are even advertised in the paper, people we know sold inside 2 weeks from the internet and got $25k more than they were happy to accept!

thanks

[Pseudo]

This book is a good read for anyone buying or selling real estate.

http://www.jenman.com.au/REMistakes.php

[Psyber]

Anyone got any tips? anything would be appreciated, never had to do it before, got this week off work to tidy things up and paint a few walls, clean garden, remove stuff we dont need to storage etc etc

Tips on Real Estate agents would be good also, whats the usual commision, is it negotiable? sounds like we might be selling at a good time as Im hearing stories of similar homes getting 10 offers before they are even advertised in the paper, people we know sold inside 2 weeks from the internet and got $25k more than they were happy to accept!

thanks

Don't use agents who go for flashy coloured advertising and big advertising budgets - they are advertising the agency rather than the property and you pay for it. When I was in SA I generally found Elders were good, not flashy but effective.

Commisions are always negotiable. In SA I could usually get an agent who would work for 2%, but once selling a property near Hahndorf I agreed to pay a particular agent 2.75% when I had another one who would accept 2% because I thought the guy who wouldn't go any lower on his past form would hold out for a better price for me, and he did. In Victoria I haven't gotten anyone under 3%. Incentives are an option along the lines that you will pay 2% up to a certain price then give them say 10% of anything above that they get - do your arithmetic and set that threshhold high though - just not so high they have no hope of getting there.

Don't be in a hurry. If the agent thinks an auction will get the best price fair enough, but make it clear what the minimum you will take is and don't be talked down. The agent is working for you and should be talking the other party up! The place can pass in at auction, and still bring a higher price later. If the market is tight and it isn't reaching your price, pull it off the market for a few months and give someone else a go. To facilitate this don't give the first agent very long agency rights - give them 4 months not 12 for example.

When you show agents the house note their reaction. An agent who likes the house will get you a better price because their attitude to it shows to clients. Eastern suburbs agents don't generally sell the west well and vice versa, so someone local is usually good. The one who promises you the highest sale price is not necessarily going to get the best price. Experienced agents, rather than new ones are usually best.

[Dirko]

Dutchy, sold a few here and there. Recently sold a unit I had. Paid 2.75 % commision, and capped the advertising to 1 k.
The advertising is where they can really string along the $$$, especially once you take in the Messenger, Advertiser, Local mail drops, Internet etc etc.
Overall never had a bad experience which is a blessing ! Our last place we moved out of, we had a open inspection, both the missus and I crook as Dogs, just made the beds, sink full of dishes, stumbled out 10 minutes prior, and thought what a mess...Got sold that arvo !! The agent said the house had a "lived in feel" ! We laughed long and hard (once we got better !!)..

[smac]

Put them on a sliding commission scale - the more they sell for, the higher the commission. You will be able to get advertising included using this method also. No bling sales are best - plain signs, plain brochures etc. The ones who are good salesmen/women will know it and will not use gimmicks.

Good luck, fun times ahead.

[Dutchy]

Thanks all, very helpful....spent the day painting, wish I was at work, I hate painting!!!

going to get the house ship shape before we get teh agents to go thru it

[heater31]

Thanks all, very helpful....spent the day painting, wish I was at work, I hate painting!!!

Did the Mr Bean style paint job ever cross your mind????

[Hondo]

De-clutter the house for the inspection - if Mrs Dutchy likes her knick-knacks they have to disappear for insepction day

You should be able to negotiate the agent down to 2.0 to 2.25% commission. Play a couple off against each other.

I reckon the most important thing is to hold your nerve when the offers start to come in - if they are too low be prepared to say no and wait. We found that when the right person came along who really wanted the house, they came up $12,000 from their original offer over the course of 2 weeks. Mind you, that was after we told the agent to work harder on negotiating. We got another $3K by pushing the agent after she said the buyer definitely would not budge. She just wanted to close the deal without working too hard!

[MW]

Recently sold my place, paid 2.2% commission. They sold it in 24 hours $20,000 above what I wanted, all without advertising or floorplan costs etc etc. I basically only had to pay the 2.2% comission. Brock Harcourts was the agent.

[Dutchy]

Thanks, yeah we are going to look at Brock's, Tourney from the Crows actually owns their agency up here and his brother runs it, and yes we have already gone and hired a storage shed at $120- per month but believe by putting all our sh1t there it will be more than worth it in the price we get, our house is very small (hence the move) so it gets very cluttered very quickly esp with 2 kids....anyway Im off to the garden (beats painting!)

[Dogwatcher]

Don't spend too much money/time on 'improvements' to boost the value of the house.
Often you'll spend more money on paint, new fences etc than you'll recoup when you sell it.

[Lunchcutter]

Hey Dutchy, Me and my dh just sold our home through Brock Harcourts at Salisbury - Matt Sargent was the Agent. Sold at First Open for 15 k more than we (or the agent) expected. Paid 2% commission and about 1k in advertising. absolute pain/hassle free transaction. we also bought our new home through them too and we have nothing but praises to give the Team at Brock Harcourts Salisbury for their professional courteous manner in which they dealt with us. Good Luck to you and your family.

[Squawk]

Dutchy - we continue on the same path. Have spent this week at our newly acquired storage shed ($300 a month for our size!). Got painters and carpet people quoting. Looking at an agent quoting 2.5% comm + $2750 advertising and suggesting auction. All seems higher than what others have suggested above though. Aim is for first open to be the week after the Oct long weekend. Decluttering now, garden etc outside is next phase. Been here 8 years and as they say, the place will be fit for a king just as we sell.

Nov 14 is nominal house hand over date for us - what about you?

[Dutchy]

Thanks again all, some great stuff here, yeah not spending a lot, just painting the hallway where kids have dragged their hands and scratched with furniture etc, decluttering, adding some small plants to the garden, adding some fresh bark to the garden (makes a huge difference a RE agent told me) and some generally odd jobs....we have a house 6 doors down now on the market which is a very similar house to ours but they havent done a thing and its a rental, the price they are asking is what we thought we would get, but now looking higher as ours is heaps better and better presented,

good to hear about Brocks Lunchy, will definately be giving them the chance first...

no formal handover date Squawk but have been told early October, we have a huge family show planned for mid November so we have to have everything done by then...

what stage you at?, we are now at lock up, kitchen goes in late this week, things really starting to move now

[Squawk]

Locked up last week.
Kitchen being installed now.
Bathrooms being started now as well.
Haven't had time to go and see it personally for a week or so now, tho.

[Hondo]

Thanks, yeah we are going to look at Brock's, Tourney from the Crows actually owns their agency up here and his brother runs it, and yes we have already gone and hired a storage shed at $120- per month but believe by putting all our sh1t there it will be more than worth it in the price we get, our house is very small (hence the move) so it gets very cluttered very quickly esp with 2 kids....anyway Im off to the garden (beats painting!)

We used him Scott Torney for Mrs Hondo's house

We were happy with him, did a good job and seemed a good guy

[mighty_tiger_79]

we have a huge family show planned for mid November so we have to have everything done by then...

thats nice to know the family here at SAFOOTY will be attending your house warming and family show!!

when do we get our official invites????

[Hondo]

we have a huge family show planned for mid November so we have to have everything done by then...

thats nice to know the family here at SAFOOTY will be attending your house warming and family show!!

when do we get our official invites????

We'll all bring a plate

Dutchy can supply the beer tho .... it's his show after all

[Sheik Yerbouti]

, adding some fresh bark to the garden (makes a huge difference a RE agent told me)

To get the full effect use Jeffries ''Recover'' a black mulch that highlights all foliage, colour ect. Around the same price as a good bark mulch & freely available.

[FlyingHigh]

Show some moral responsibility and sell it to a legitimate home-owner, not greedy investors!!