Selling Tips

10 ESSENTIAL THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING AN AGENT TO SELL YOUR HOME

At Realty Excellence, we are with you from the very beginning to the very end to achieve the best result possible. We will give you advice on price, presentation, marketing and dealing with offers. At all times, we remember that you are our client and as such, give you a written guarantee of our level of service.

When selling your home,

- You deserve a guarantee of satisfaction.

- You deserve to know the appraisal of your home is based on fact and experience, and that the appraisal is put in writing.

- You deserve feedback within 2 hours of an inspection.

- You deserve a weekly update in writing even if there have been no inspections.

- You deserve to know up front what your costs are going to be.

- You deserve an assurance that your agent is working for you, the vendor.

- You deserve an in depth marketing plan so you know what to expect and when.

- You deserve not to be pressured into reducing your price or taking low offers.

- You deserve an entire agency working for you, not just your appointed agent.

- You deserve to sell your home for the maximum price with the minimum of fuss.

If you believe at any time that any of these essential things are not delivered to you by our team whilst we are exclusively selling your home, we will give you a letter of apology and $100 cash each time.

We also tailor a marketing program specifically for your property including method of sale, methods of advertising and the finer points such as your individual requirements regarding inspections, settlement terms and finding and purchasing your next home. We will also help you do a home audit to ensure your home is presented at its very best when it is on the market.

If you are thinking of selling, or are selling and not getting results, click on the Market Appraisal button in our Selling Section and contact the team that are willing to guarantee their level of service, No if’s, but’s or maybe’s. You deserve to benefit from our excellence through experience and to get what you pay for. You deserve nothing less than "Realty Excellence".

MAXIMISING THE RESULT WHEN SELLING YOUR HOME

These include but are not limited to:

SETTING THE RIGHT PRICE

There always seems to be an agent who says everything you've been waiting to hear. This is the agent who knows what your home is worth but puts a bit of padding there to cater for ego and the fact that every home owner thinks their home is worth more than it is. Understandably, your home is filled with many memories and special moments and all your friends have told you what it’s worth. In fact, there are a number of houses that have been on the market for a while at a much higher price that offer the same features so surely your home is worth more … right?!

But … legally speaking, an appraisal is meant to be based on past sales in a relevant radius to your home within the last 6 months. What's on the market may help you decide on a listing price, but it is past sales that is meant to determine an appraisal. And, that appraisal forms part of your appointment to act authority for your agent. If your agent is unwilling to put that appraisal in writing and to fill in the appropriate parts of the PAMD 22a (The appoint to act form), then please hear the alarm bells ringing!

The first few weeks of your home's time on the market is the time where there will be most activity, so why waste all those buyer's on an unrealistic price. You will also invest all your advertising money at the wrong price and have none left when your motivation increases and your agent's motivation has decreased. If you then drop the price too late, your home will be stale and burnt. In fact, buyers see that you are now desperate and come in with insulting offers, less than you could have achieved if your home was priced fair and reasonably from the beginning.

At Realty Excellence, this is one of our guarantees. We will give you an appraisal in writing and proudly put that information into our appointment authority. If you want to try at a higher price that is fine, but we will never mislead you or try to buy your listing by inflating our appraisal. Our discussions are confidential and we will present the facts and happily discuss these with you at great length before working out an appropriate listing price to achieve a successful sale within the time frames you require.

LISTING METHODS

You can list your home to sell with an agent in a number different ways. An exclusive listing is exactly that. Exclusive service from a dedicated agent with only your interest at heart. The agent is assured of a commission no matter who sells the home so is more likely to work hard to effect a sale for you. A sole listing is when your only appointed agent or yourself can sell the home and an open listing is when any appointed agent, including yourself can sell your home. Typically in these last two scenarios, there is a loss of control and you end up getting less service from your agent. Consider a company who approaches three software developers to come up with a solution for their business, but, they are only going to pay the one who finishes first regardless of whether it is the best solution. What effort, if any, do you think each software company will put into developing this software solution? They may wait around to come across some run of the mill solution, but rarely will they tailor a design or keep in regular communication because at the end of the day, they may not get paid.

Giving an agent this exclusive right to sell your home does not limit it to only the buyers on their books. Part of the listing authority covers the conjunction arrangements and most agents will be happy to approach another agent if they have a buyer because they still do get a portion of the commission. You do not pay two commissions in this instance, it is simply split between the agent you listed with and the selling agent.

DISCOUNT COMMISSIONS

Everything in real estate is negotiable but beware of those willing to negotiate on what they are legally entitled to. If they are so quick to negoatiate on what they think they are worth, how quickly will they lower the value of your home to potential buyers and even to you! Most of the time, you do get what you pay for and if someone is willing to negotiate on their commission, they may also be willing to negotiate on the service they offer! There are many down sides with people who say they are going to do the same job, for less. People who discount their commission are reliant upon the quantity of the properties they are turning over rather than the quality of the transactions they are producing. Another thing is as we just mentioned in our previous paragraph, conjunctions. Agents who are used to receiving the full REIQ commission will not want to conjunct with these discount people because instead of getting a split percentage of the full REIQ commission, they are getting a split percentage of less than half their normal commission. Vendors are often lured into thinking they are saving $10,000 or more because they are paying less commission. But there isn't a buyer out there who doesn't think, ''well they are saving on commission so I will save on my purchase price.'' So at the end of the day, the vendor ends up with the same amount, if not less, in their hand.

PRESENTATION

INSIDE

A home needs to feel like a home. So keep it neat and tidy at all times because you just don't know when there will be an inspection. And keeping it tidy everyday is better than the mad rush when you get that phone call. Make sure you put all your dishes away and empty the rubbish bin regularly. Keep the house dusted and vacuumed and don't leave personal things like bills and other personal effects lying around for people to have a good old sticky beak! Always have as much light in the home as possible. If you are home before an inspection, turn the lights on and bedroom lamps. If not, leave blinds open so that the home is light filled for inspections.

De-Personalizing and De-Cluttering your home

There is a saying in real estate --- more floor means more money!!! The aim of de-personalizing and de-cluttering your home is because you want buyers to view it as their next potential home. Personal items and photos of your family can stop them from visualizing their own family in the home so it is a good idea to remove these items to allow their emotions to freely flow and not hit any stumbling blocks. As such, people also like to imagine their own furniture in a home and feel like there is room to move. Not being able to move through a room easily and clutter on shelves, counters, drawers, closets, garages, attics and basements, down to masses of things on the fridge can limit their imagination and make them feel closed in. We of course will help point out things you can do, but you can also get a friend to point out areas of clutter as long as you think you can handle their criticism! Taking out a storage shed for a little while, or borrowing some space in someone else's garage is a great way of reducing the clutter. Also having a garage sale and moving the furniture for an easy flow all help to make a difference. When people have to turn around on the spot or twist around furniture to get out of a room, they lose the feeling of space. Go check out some display homes to see how they lay things out to get some ideas.

Kitchen, Cupboards, Wardrobes and Storage Areas

Remove things from the benches including the toaster and kettle. Clean out the cupboards and put things you don't use very often into storage. Buyers tend to open kitchen cupboards and drawers, especially the pantry, so clean them out and make them neat. If they don't think you can fit everything in, they might find it hard to believe that they will. Use excess food things in your pantry, including the cans, it will make packing and moving easier anyway! Clean out beneath the sink and give everything a good scrub because people like to check for leaks. Get rid of any tell tale signs of cockroaches or other pests and put down some eucalyptus oil --- they hate it! Everybody opens wardrobes and the linen press when they are looking at a house as they like to see how deep the cupboards go and if they can fit all their clothes in so put things that you don't use that often in storage and put some lavender in here --- better to smell pretty than to smell of old shoes! Basements, garages, attics and sheds accumulate not only clutter but junk. Remove things that are not essential and put them into storage --- or of course, have a garage sale. Don't limit what people can do in a particular area because they may not be able to see their workshop in the garage if you have the extra space filled with boxes.

Plumbing & Fixtures, Ceilings, Walls & Painting

Rust isn't a good thing on plumbing and fixtures and can generally be changed fairly inexpensively and are also fairly easy to install. We have plumbers and handy men that we can recommend to you if that makes things easier for you. Fix any drips or leaks and make sure that all hot and cold water taps are easy to turn. Try to clean old water stains in basins etc. and if you are struggling, get a professional cleaning team in for a once off clean – they seem to be able get rid of stains that are stubborn. Leaks and old water stains are an immediate turn off for a prospective buyer. Check all ceilings and get any problems fixed. Even old stains can be off putting as buyers are fearful of dodgy repair jobs or cover ups. Chances are they will turn up in the building and pest inspection report anyway and the buyer may pull out over something minor that you could have repaired. Walls can also have traffic marks so cleaning them with sugar soap and inspecting them purely for cleaning purposes will help you to see things that have just become part of the furniture!

And … whilst doing a major renovation is not always worth it, if your paint colours are way out of date, it is well worth repainting with neutral tones and nice white ceilings. People do find it hard sometimes when they are looking at your choice of decoration, to imagine their own things there. Whites and off whites brighten homes and make them appear more spacious and newer. We can help advise here as to what is worth doing and what is not.

Carpet & Flooring, Windows & Doors

Generally speaking, carpet and flooring is not worth replacing unless it is a very outdated style or extremely worn. Flooring can be expensive and is something people do often have personal taste in. Getting a carpet cleaner in and replacing any broken tiles may make the difference needed without the expense. We can give you advice in these matters so please speak with us before you go doing the place up just so you can move out! Clean windows and lots of light makes a huge difference to a potential buyer's first impression. Check that all the windows and doors open and close easily. If not, WD40 can often help and of course replace any cracked or broken window panes. Flyscreens should be free from tears and cobwebs and curtains should be clean and hang nice and evenly. Give your door knobs a clean and polish if applicable as most people are going to be walking through every door in your home.

Odour Control

Smell is one of our senses and if it isn't a nice smell, the first impression may not be good one. Masking a bad smell can often end up in a blend of good and bad so best to eliminate bad smells or purchase an odour eliminating spray rather than just a scent. For smokers, you may want to minimize smoking indoors or near doors and windows. Pets also can create odours and leave pet hair around that you may have grown accustomed to, but are obvious to someone who doesn’t have pets. Putting your pets in a separate fenced area or taking them for a walk when you have an inspection will also put buyers at ease. Smoking and Pets can also have a negative effect on asthma sufferers or those with allergies so getting the carpets cleaned and then adapting your habits while you are selling will really make a positive difference.

OUTSIDE

A homebuyer's first impression is from the outside of your house, generally from your agent's car. Walk across the street and take a look at your house as a marketable commodity. Compare yours with neighbouring homes to see if it is going to look better or worse than others in your street. It is good to start on the outside first as some of the things needed out here may take the most time, especially if you need to get a tradesman, so good to get them started and then you can work on the inside.

Landscaping

No need to go to any major expenses here – aim for the average look in your neighbourhood if you are not already above average! You can buy a few bushes and plant them if needed but don't put in trees as not everybody wants trees and immature trees don't always look that good anyway. Get rid of all the weeds, give your lawn a good mow, edge clip and a bit of chip bark will lift the look of your garden immediately. Keep the grass watered and get rid of any brown spots. Rake up loose leaves and grass cuttings, and get rid of all those excess palm fronds. Fertilise everything so it all looks happy and healthy. This is why it is good to start outside as it is most likely going to need the most time for your improvements to take place. While the new grass is growing and the mulch is being delivered, you can work on the inside! We have gardeners that we recommend for the selling "pick me up" so we can help in this area also.

House Exterior

The big decision is whether to paint or not to paint. Rarely is it vital, but a guide is when you look at your house from across the street, does it look really tired and faded? If so, a paint job may be in order. Again, it is a buyer's first impression of your home. However, a pressure clean may also have the same effect and the couple of chips in the paint may be easily touched up rather than going to the expense and timely exercise of repainting the outside. Also, once you repaint, it might highlight that the gutters need doing, and the roof, and oh, now the fence looks a bit tired and so on. It really is hard to know where to stop so please consult us before making this decision. It is about getting the most for your property, not making it the best house on the market!

The Front Door & Entryway and the Back Yard

The entry to your home begins the journey for a buyer. This should be cleaned and free from dust and cobwebs. Remove any personal name plaques from the door and mailbox etc. Have a nice tidy door mat rather than an old ragged one and make sure the locks work easily and that the key fits properly. The last thing we want is to be jiggling the key as the buyer is beginning to imagine if they can come home to this home. Keep the backyard tidy and free from the presence of pet "presents"! They should be clear of debris and it is wise to remove things like swing sets and pots that you are not planning on leaving with the home. Pool areas should be maintained and constantly cleaned. Again, space is everything so de-clutter out here and put brooms and tools away, especially if your back yard is not that large.

A ROUGH RULE OF THUMB FOR COSTS OF IMPROVEMENTS AND REPAIRS

Do not do anything expensive. If possible, do the necessary repairs and improvements like structural repairs and leaks etc. Repair or replace leaking roofs, rusty gutters and rotted timber. The building and inspection report will give the buyer enough information about your home for them to think about, without the added fear of old termite damage or the need to replace the roof. However, if they are major and out of your budget, this can be used as part of the negotiation process so discuss any concerns you have with us before extending yourself beyond your means. – do not go charging up credit cards or obtaining new loans because part of selling your home is remembering that it will soon be someone else's home. They will have their own way of doing things and spending masses of money doesn't necessarily mean you are going to recoup that or more in the sales price so please seek our advice before doing anything major.