Browse Forums Real Estate 1 Feb 25, 2013 2:26 pm We're considering selling our own house....is it easy or should we do it through a real estate? If you've sold your own house, how did you advertise and how long was it on the market for? Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 2Feb 25, 2013 4:17 pm OK Balilover had to post (fellow Bali lover here). LOL I haven't sold privately but have bought lots of houses. My concerns would be that the average buyer dosn't know what houses are worth. They need an agent to tell them. So when seeing a private sale they don't know whether it's the right price. example- I post on a property investment forum. Someone was looking for a home in my area. We were selling. I said they could have our house for $700K. This is what we wanted to clear. They didn't look as they didn't know if the price was right. 2 weeks later we sold it for $720K at the second open. Now they can't find anything for $700K. I have seen MANY vendors that use those cheap 1% agents. They are often over priced (so they get the listing). Have you been to some of their opens? You get what you pay for IMO. They go stale and then list with another agent for a realistic price. But people look and say "that's been for sale for ages, must be something wrong wit it". So that's the risk you take. Most people I see trying to sell thier own home have an unrealiostic view of what it's worth. They want the same price that they think an agent will get and pocket the commission. Doesn't always work that way. Of course it depends on your property too. Is it unique? Is there high demand? Who is your target market? If it's First home owners you've got Bucklies. Get a few agents out to give you valuations of course so you can asscertain a realistic value. Go to open homes and compare to yours. Then ask the agents why is mine better/or worse than that one. What are the best features of the house. What should I fix/change. You really need to know your stuff and your area so you can sell the house. Agents know this stuff. Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 3Feb 25, 2013 4:31 pm thanks travelbug.. I'm not an expert at selling homes whatsoever (this is actually our first home we bought).... we had an agent come out and give us an estimate and that was $330....to be honest, we don't want any less than $350. She's priced it at $330 because 2 houses down the road sold for $270....I've seen those houses and I'd rather live in a tent. We're wanting minimum $350 because we have a brand new kitchen, fresh paint, new carpet, solar power, shed w/ electricity and it's quite modern (I personally wouldn't have it any other way).... so in saying that, I don't want to sell my house at some low price because 2 houses down the street, that don't have what our house has, sell for cheap.... do you know what I mean? Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 4Feb 25, 2013 5:33 pm Hi balilover It's all good & well to say you don't want any less than $350 but is that what you think the current market price for it is. If you have only had 1 agent valuation you need to get more & see where they come in at. Also what have houses in a similar renovated condition sold for recently? Ultimately it also depends on how desperate you are to sell & whether you are happy to meet the market or hold out for your ideal price. Best of luck. I have recently sold so understand how stressful it can be. Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 5Feb 26, 2013 9:31 pm What you want is irrelavant really. First agent said to me "how much do you want?". I said "how much can you get?" It's good that you are comparing your home to otherrs but in the end it's your home and you are proud of it and that clouds your judgement. So look at lots of houses and get a comparison. Even that is hard because you don't know what people want and what streets they perceive as better etc. I don't think I'd sell my own house. Well maybe an investment one because there's no emotional attachment. Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 6Feb 26, 2013 10:52 pm balilover thanks travelbug.. I'm not an expert at selling homes whatsoever (this is actually our first home we bought).... we had an agent come out and give us an estimate and that was $330....to be honest, we don't want any less than $350. She's priced it at $330 because 2 houses down the road sold for $270....I've seen those houses and I'd rather live in a tent. We're wanting minimum $350 because we have a brand new kitchen, fresh paint, new carpet, solar power, shed w/ electricity and it's quite modern (I personally wouldn't have it any other way).... so in saying that, I don't want to sell my house at some low price because 2 houses down the street, that don't have what our house has, sell for cheap.... do you know what I mean? I understand completely, but it all depends on location, the market at the time and what other houses you are competing against in the same general area. You might have added heaps of features, but sadly, at the end of the day, don't ever expect to get your money for those extras back unless you are in a top suburb. Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 7Feb 26, 2013 11:51 pm I am prepping ( and packing ) my house at the moment, in readiness for the Market. Agents will often "agree" with your valuation, until you have signed up with them. Then the story changes to "the market has dropped, so you should too". An Independent Licensed Valuer will cost a bit, but give a Bottom Line figure, that can form the basis of you determining "extra value" in the special merits of your place. The main criteria is to be objective. I don't have the confidence, nor negotiating skills, to market and sell myself. Am considering the services of the following company. Their site has a reasonable amount of info available, so might be worth a few minutes browsing. I have no affiliation with them, just thinking about using them. I don't know of anyone who has, but there are a number of Testimonials on the site. http://www.therealestatehelpers.com.au Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 8Feb 27, 2013 8:12 pm Have a look at www.buymyplace.com.au .Internet is an invaluable tool for buying/selling realestate these days. From $600 gives you advertising to the major real-estate sites which you can write a description, add floor plans, photos,etc. When i had a few agents give me an appraisal they basically said the property would sell itself by listing it on realestate.com.au, and that the majority of sales comes from the internet Why pay an agent $15,000+ to do the same thing IF they have your best interests at heart? Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. George Carlin Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 9Apr 08, 2013 9:11 pm surfprado Have a look at http://www.buymyplace.com.au .Internet is an invaluable tool for buying/selling realestate these days. From $600 gives you advertising to the major real-estate sites which you can write a description, add floor plans, photos,etc. When i had a few agents give me an appraisal they basically said the property would sell itself by listing it on realestate.com.au, and that the majority of sales comes from the internet Why pay an agent $15,000+ to do the same thing IF they have your best interests at heart? Because an agent can easily make up that $15K in final purchase price rather than what you think you could get. These people are professional if you get a good one. They have databases of buyers that are ready and willing to buy a property, they know how to to sell the And you shouldn't be paying more than 1.5% p/c in fees, so at $15,000 your property would be worth 1.5 million. We sold our flat a couple of years ago for $559,000 and only paid $7,500 final fee. And if they don't sell it, then you don't pay anything apart from advertising. If you've ever seen selling houses Australia, it's always a terrible idea to sell your own place. Too much emotion involved and it's hard to watch people come through your home and listen to them critique it. Which is what they will do. Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 10Apr 08, 2013 9:22 pm balilover thanks travelbug.. I'm not an expert at selling homes whatsoever (this is actually our first home we bought).... we had an agent come out and give us an estimate and that was $330....to be honest, we don't want any less than $350. She's priced it at $330 because 2 houses down the road sold for $270....I've seen those houses and I'd rather live in a tent. We're wanting minimum $350 because we have a brand new kitchen, fresh paint, new carpet, solar power, shed w/ electricity and it's quite modern (I personally wouldn't have it any other way).... so in saying that, I don't want to sell my house at some low price because 2 houses down the street, that don't have what our house has, sell for cheap.... do you know what I mean? Yes, it's only worth what people want to pay for it. I've seen so many places that have stayed on the market for 6 months, which does nothing but devalue the property. They list the price too high. Always better to list it lower, then raise the range if required and the property shows lots of interest. Always go for an auction, the private sales don't provide the potential buyer with any deadline, so they'd rather see how properties that are auctioned go first and potentially bid, and they'll leave the private sales until later. At the end of the day, the agent can only provide ball park figures, and if the vendor isn't ready to meet what the market is willing to pay at a particular moment, then it's not their fault, it's the vendor for having higher expectations. Agents get the blame for not selling properties, but any property will sell, it just has to be at the right price. Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 11Apr 13, 2013 5:28 pm I have just sold my property........without an agent. I have had 5 different real estate agents come and value my apartment in the last 4 months. They all quoted between $380-400k. They all are local agents that "specialise" is the area, and said that $400k is achievable but will take time to find the right buyer. Being in the area for 7 years i had a feeling i could get a better price... I placed my ad on www.realestate.com.au , posted up some photos and a spiel about my property and listed a few inspection days, but if need be i would be able flexible by appointment. I had 17 couples and few singles come thru, and on the first inspection day, late at night i received a call from one of the couples that offered $424,500 (asking price was $427,500). The property was listed for 5 days. Lets say the agent sold my apartment for $400,000 minus $14,300 (commission and advertising fees), that leaves me $385,700. By listing it myself cost $600 (internet listing) and probably 2 hours taking photos and getting creative on the keyboard. I have pocketed an extra $41,800 by doing it myself. I have been thinking of selling for the past 12 months, so have done research as to what property in and surrounding areas are going for. Who better to sell your own property ? You know the area, selling points and have a vested interest in geting the best deal for YOU. ALL the agents i dealt with felt were just trying to make another sale, turn over another property and make a quick $10k plus. They dont really care trying to get you the BEST deal, just a good enough deal so you accept, if not you've wasted $2000+ on advertising and are in the same position. An agent and dozens of property they're trying to sell at any time, so how much time an effort are they going to put in to ensure you get the best deal? Just my 2 cents....and it payed off Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. George Carlin Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 12Apr 14, 2013 7:58 pm Yes, it seemed to work for you. It probably worked as you took the emotion out of it. For the majority of people, they can't take the emotion out of it and it won't work. Each to their own. Regardless of if you go with an agent or yourself, it's all about timing. The right buyer ready to buy at the right time, at the right price. And one that you feel happy with. Would you have sold for $400,000 if that's the only offer you got? Also, how did you list on realestate.com.au, I thought it was only for registered real estate agents? You must be in a very high demand area to have 17 couples and a few singles come through so quickly. 5 days is a very quick turn around, did the buyer do a building and pest inspection? Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 13Apr 14, 2013 9:36 pm The apartment block is 6 years old, the buyers are satisfied without a building and pest inspection. it is immaculate and very well looked after place. I listed it thru www.buymyplace.com.au ,pretty straight forward, gives you access to domain and realestate.com.au It is a pretty in demand area, that's why I thought I could do better selling it myself Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. George Carlin Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 14Apr 14, 2013 10:30 pm I think it depends on a lot of variables. Firstly you have do do a lot of research yourself. If your kind of property is in high demand and similars houses are sellng fast, I think it's worth giving it a go. In my area I've seen a few try to sell themselves and been unsuccessful, only to go on and sell within two weeks of listing with an agent. If you have time why not give it a go? Just not preserveer too long before going to an agent. Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 15Apr 14, 2013 10:32 pm Sorry I forgot to add that I also considered selling our old house myself then decided I didn't have the time to do it properly. In the end our agent found us our new home off market as well, so he was worth the commission! (We had very specific requirements for the new place and houses like ours don't come n the market too often.) Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 16Apr 15, 2013 11:58 am leni I think it depends on a lot of variables. Firstly you have do do a lot of research yourself. If your kind of property is in high demand and similars houses are sellng fast, I think it's worth giving it a go. In my area I've seen a few try to sell themselves and been unsuccessful, only to go on and sell within two weeks of listing with an agent. If you have time why not give it a go? Just not preserveer too long before going to an agent. Personally I think it looks cheap when someone tries to do it themselves. To me, I think, they are tight wads, who want to save every extra penny they can, then I find myself asking myself what else have they skimped on with the property or presentation. Have they tried to hide serious issues with the house to save money in fixing anything? Same goes with the vendors who use the 0.5% agents, it just looks cheap and makes me think they are holding out for unrealistic prices and will be difficult to negotiate with on any offer. I think it's best to list your property once, and do it properly the first time. Fine if you want to do it yourself, but go through the whole campaign. If an in demand area, I'd always go to auction. It's a risk, but if it's so high in demand a bidding war can easily push the price up another 50K. It did for us. Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 17Apr 15, 2013 4:24 pm What looks cheap when people try to sell their own house? Im sorry but i dont understand..... A large portion of buyers/sellers are using media/internet for looking for property. They can reach a very large audience with detailed information and photos/floorplans. Sure,10 years ago i can understand the importance in using an agent. There was probably alot more work involved in selling a house back then, Internet wasn't as big as it was back then. Who better knows your property? Somebody who has actually LIVED there and know the area, or someone who takes a 5 minute walk around your house and blurts out a figure so you sign with them. How many man hours do they work for your commission? (Id love to know the average?) Are they worth the $10,000+ ONLY to find another owner for your place? Yes, using an agent is a conventional way of selling your property, but how long will that last? Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. George Carlin Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 18Apr 15, 2013 7:49 pm It looks like the vendor who sells their own property is skimping on everything, so personally I look at that and think, "okay what else would they be skimping on". Is there an issue with the house they have tried to hide. Why are they bypassing an agent and selling themselves. So when you showed people through your house, did you tell them it was yours? Appearances count for everything, and even comes down to the photos that are placed on the internet or real estate board. Some of the photos on the do it yourself listings are terrible. Some of the furniture placements are terrible. We had an understanding in our flat about how to present, and removed our daughters cot and styled it as a second bedroom (we moved out during the process). It even comes down to walking through the house during open for inspections and make sure cupboards are clean and every square inch shows how good the property is. Did you have a board out the front of your place when you sold? Agents advise on all of this, and there are heaps of bad ones, but the experience I had, no way would I do it myself. They don't just blurt out figures, they know the area they are selling, and the figure they give is based on comparative sales in the recent past. I know what you mean, $10,000 + sounds like a ridiculous amount for the perceived little work they do, but I know a few agents and they work hard for their money. The agency still makes a bit profit (on most homes where the vendors actually want to sell and arren't just wasting agents and their own time by testing the market, worst advice). Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 19Apr 15, 2013 8:57 pm Some agents are lazy, and not worth their commission. I have worked with RE agents as a settlement agent and its like any job, there are agents who are good at what they do and vice versa. So shop around. If you decide to do it yourself, here are some hints to make a property more saleable: 1. tidy garden beds and keep lawn mowed neatly 2. Remove quirky bricabrak, clutter and any excess furniture you may have accumulated. You might love your stuff but it definitely detracts from people imagining themselves living in your space! 3. Freshen up paint if necessary/or paint in neutral colours- having a few feature walls are okay, but make most walls neutral. 4. Ensure everything is in good working order 5. Get windows, oven, carpets cleaned and tidy contents of cupboards 6. Check your rooms for good "traffic flow"; furniture placement is important and can make your spaces look smaller or larger. 7. If you have pets, make sure you clean up after them. No smelly laundries or "landmines" on the back lawn! Re: Selling our own house - tips and have you done this befo 20Apr 15, 2013 9:32 pm Treeseachanger, excellent pointers. My dogs are going to be visiting a neighbour during inspections, along with their food and drink bowls. I've been working my way through all your points over the last 3 months and nearly there. Picked up those and others from experts on realestate.com.au, under selling and experts tabs I'm not going with a traditional agent, but an internet based company. They take the right type of photos, field the phone enquiries, weeding out the tyre kickers, provide the professional signage, and deal with negotiations. As an added surety to the potential buyers, I will also have a Building Inspection done by a licensed firm, so can confidently answer questions. I don't think sell your own vendors skimp. In many cases they can actually be prepared to sell at a lower price, as they are not paying for the big $$ colour ads in the papers, where the Agent get a lot of "free publicity". Not paying anywhere near as much commission can allow them to drop lower. If your house is a few thousand lower than others, this could get a faster sale. In the last 4 months, I've spoken to 2 people who only advertised on the Internet. One sold in a day, the other a week. Yes, this does not happen all the time, or even often. Just had to tell it. Another couple I know have booted their agent after 4 months. Not one inspection. Fliers that were meant to be distributed, only one ended up in their letter box. None to the neighbourhood, as contracted. Ad in the paper, not all went in, as contracted. If you can get a copy.. Neil Jenman Don't Sign Anything read before signing ANYTHING. then make up your mind. $10,000 does sound like a lot. Seeing agents in top of the range, always latest model, Beemers and Mercs might also demonstrate something as well. I am in the same situation, would you be able to give some insights in to this? I am in SA 8 16964 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20189 Ardo That is so funny! I wonder how many people know who Larry Haun is these days. I have a couple of young guys we call Mo 1 & Mo 2 who run a crew of 6 boys and… 9 15433 |