OT-Going for the SEA CHANGE - need advice on selling house ...

Why not put your own for sale sign out the front?????????
You can save a bit on commission and you can offer a buyer a better deal.

We,ve sold 2 properties like this and it's a very satisifying feeling to know that you haven't paid some agent $2000 per minute to sell your house.

Just remember one important rule in buying and selling real estate:- The agent is working for himself, not you, not the buyer, but himself first last and always.

If you're new to buying and selling real estate make sure you ask a lot of questions about the new property.

And don't believe ONE WORD an agent tells you about the " dream home ",
most of them would sell their own grandmother

ozboc there is some web sites that you can listed your home on to sell
one is owner but if you google you will find more.
do not buy your dream home until you have sold your home
unless less you are in a financial position to do so.
cheers craig

Hi Boc
Have a look at this site as it may help you. http://www.jenman.com.au/

I have no connection to that site whatsoever but have read several of his publications which are very interesting.

Good luck

Hi Ozboc, congratulations on a good decision. We did the tree change 25 years ago and have never regretted it.

I always reckon that agents are working more for the buyer than the seller as they do not get paid until the buyer parts with the money and they seem to do more to appease the buyer than the seller. But ultimately I suppose it is just as stated that they are really working for themselves.

Selling yourself seems like a good idea. Put an add in the local papers and look into putting it on ebay or some such other site. You may be surprised at the outcome.

Regards, Bruce.

Whatever you do if you go through an agent under no circumstances tell the agent you have your eye on the other property. They will use this against you in a form of emotional blackmail in order to try to get you to accept a lesser price and they make a quick sale!!!
Just tell them your selling up ---you dont have to justify your actions to them!!
Similiarly when you negotiate an agents fee confirm if it includes GST and not plus GST.
a good rate would be 1.75% INCLUDING GST

Its great is it not.

Bag the agent, bag the accountant, bag the lawyer, bag the plumber, bag the electrician, bag the mechanic, bag anyone who works as a professional in any job that you do not do. Lets all become a do it yourself mob.

Never support a trained licenced professional dong his job. You get those qualifications out of a weetbix packet. Lets all get a job with the government & then winge about them.

Sell real estate yourself & make one blue by saying the wrong thing, & you will need to be a lawyer with plenty of money to defend yourself.

Make sure you have a couple of million dollars professional liability otherwise you can loose everything.

& what is the name of the Victorian boarder (border)
Daz

G'day Boc

I would never list with an agent again after the last one really st*ffed up a genuine sale and lost me heaps of $$$'s which I looked on as a breach of contract so set about a DIY sale. It's not hard, just takes a bit of work and most of all 'very rewarding' in both $$$ terms and satisfaction, not only that the prospective purchaser gets 'correct' information from you, not someone who knows zilch about your house nor has any real interest in when/if it sells, nor not!

Take the time and type up a 'full' description of the house/garage/sheds/yard/etc (mine was 5 x A4 pages) and contained measurements of all rooms. Next I took heaps of photos and had several sets printed (pre-internet) to send to prospective buyers along with a copy of the description. Reference the photos to the room number in the description, might be a good idea to burn a CD or two, and also have some prints for non-computer purchasers.

Lastly, place an ad in Trading Post as it can now be read online as well as hard copy. Don't skimp on the ad contents as the extra $$$'s (in my case) were well spent...think the ad cost around $30 but would have changed by now. When people phoned and left their address I sent a set of photos and a copy of the description and funnily enough all (except the final purchaser) returned the photos..not that I asked for them to be returned and didn't really expect it to happen. In the end there were three people 'very' interested and the first lady to make the trip from Sydney bought it then and there, even though her husband hadn't yet had an inspection. The other two had planned to make the trip the next weekend...unfortunately it was too late for them.

Hope this helps?
Bronwyn ;-)

If the so called professionals acted like professionals then we would be happy to use them but, too many of us we have been ripped of by them as they serve their own interests and not their customers. Unfortunately it is generally too late when you realise you have been had. I agree with Daz though, be careful what you say and promise, be truthful and you will stay out of legal trouble. Use a good conveyancer to finalise your deal.

I think most Real Estate agents would not let you list it with other agents at the same time - and you'll probably still have to pay advertising costs whether they sell it or not (so one 'set' of costs would be for no real benefit). If your property is listed on a well-known website (would be allhomes in ACT/SE NSW) then it will have all the exposure you should need.

As for the question of whether to sell it yourself or use an agent, it's similar to whether you sell your old car yourself or trade it in to a dealer. Perhaps you'll get a few more thousand bucks if you sell it yourself but you'll have to field the calls, conduct the inspections/open-houses, draft the sales contract, do the negotiating etc. etc. Yes, you pay a lot to a real estate agent (you'll be one of the people helping them to pay off that BMW they so often show up in!) but they do actually do something to earn at least some of what you pay them! You'll have to decide for yourself if you think their charges are "value for money" or if you can do it better yourself.

If you decide to use an agent, make sure you talk to a few of them as their rates vary, as does what is included in those rates - and be specific (ie. if they say "advertising" does that just mean a sign out the front, or a short description in the weekend paper, or does it include an internet ad as well?). Ask lots of questions and get some "all up" rates that include everything (some will hit you for extra costs for different advertising options, contracts, professional photos etc.). As with anything, when choosing an agent to sell your home, it pays to shop around!

definitly negotate their fees - if they wont neg then theres aways the guy accross the road . i think i got 5% without a hassell from memory

Thanks to all for the excellent advice - I think i will Give the Private sale a go, Getting all new Carpet put in tomorrow upstairs and i should finish the painting by tonight ( just have touch ups to do now )

Have a digital SLR so will take HEAPS of photo's of the house - inside and out - also will include google earth photo

I may even do a walk through with the video camera and burn to disk( and photos set out in powerpoint format) for those who may want something posted out to them

Once again - thanks for some excellent advice and i knew this would be the best place for this question

will keep you posted if it sells

Boc

Hi BOC

We have just gone through this (we sold November 08) it can be heart breaking - so many "lookers" through the house and 5 open houses (eeekkk!!!) we made the BIG mistake of signing exclusively with one agent (in the end we begged them to let us out of this and to their credit they did).

Fees's not 100% (I would rather forget how much we paid them.....) however I think it was $1800 of the first $5,000 then 2.5% of the balance (this is in QLD not sure about NSW).

So $355,000 sale price you are looking at a fee of $10,550.00 however I do believe there are companies around that do a fixed rate of approx $5,000 GECKO is one that comes to mind.

Can you make an offer on the other home? just be sure to put in the contract "Subject to sale of your home" not 100% sure on this either check with a professional first.

I too recommend looking at the JENMAN website as someone else has suggested. Good luck

I recently sold on Bribie Island and had an joint exclusive with 2 agents The selling one to get 100% commision.

Cost $20,000 roughly in fees for an over $700.000 house Lawyers were another $1,000.
My advice is ask local sellers how the agent is Surely you have been there long enough to see who is selling houses and who isnt. Is an indication of their ability.
Research your dream thoroughly or it may turn out to be a nightmare.

You can put an offer i n subject to the sale of your home within a set time.
However the seller can also put a clause in that may give you 72 hours to confirm if they get a cash buyer.
Called a sunset clause in Qld
have fun

G'day Ozboc,

We sold our home in February 2007, after getting several "valuations" from real estate agents. One guy said we should accept $580k but in the deteriorating market, realistically we probably we would end up with $560k after fees etc.

We got our sign wording cut and made up our own signs.

3 weeks later the place was sold for $618k with no-one to pays. No agents creaming it.

If you would like to know the nitty gritty of how we did it, ping me.

Peter

G'day Ozboc,

We sold our home privately in February 2007, after getting several "valuations" from real estate agents. One guy said we should accept $580k but in the deteriorating market, realistically we probably would end up with $560k after fees etc.

We got our sign wording cut and made up our own signs.

3 weeks later the place was sold for $618k with no-one to pays. No agents creaming it.

If you would like to know the nitty gritty of how we did it, feel free to ping me.

Peter