Hi Everybody,
I'm considering selling my house, and being the loyal ozbargainer, am considering the DIY approach.
Any suggestions / tips / pitfalls to be aware of?
I've heard of this mob to get the property advertised on realestate.com.au
http://fisbo.com.au - any feedback, or similar options to consider?
Thanks
Thank you - looking into it.
Disclaimer: I'm an ex-property valuer and commercial agent in Melbourne. Sorry for the long post.
Short answer: You can certainly DIY with fisbo and the like. Just have a chat to someone with access to actual sales data before you list it so you know where you should price it.
Short-ish answer: It all depends where you are and what the market is like. If you have a property that is in-demand in the area then I would always go down the auction path with a local agent. If it is a pretty common property in a sleepy suburb then there is nothing wrong with having a crack yourself. Again, just make sure you have access to actual sales data so you are pricing it right. Purplebricks don't look too bad as an alternative/middle ground
Longer answer: I do a fair bit of Vendor Advocacy for people who sell residential stuff around Melbourne, which entails working out what the property is realistically worth based on recent evidence, and then inviting in the local agents for an opinion. Provided the owner has a realistic idea on what the property could sell for and how long it could take, then the whole process is actually pretty painless. People who get cranky about agents tend to have had bad experiences that involved choosing an agent who simply told them the highest price of all the agents they spoke to, and were then "conditioned" through the campaign to accept a much lower price at the end. It usually goes like this: they were told $1m, $1.1m, and $1.2m by 3 separate agents. They choose the $1.2m agent and happily agree to a higher commission because they have $1.2m in their heads. Through the campaign they are told that there isn't the interest they thought there would be at $1.2m and it is looking more like $950k-$1m. When it sells for $1m on the day, the owners feel cheated and wonder why they are paying such a high commission to someone who did a bad job, when it probably sold for what it was worth in the first place.
Thank you.
You are correct - the hardest price is deciding on, and sticking with the price.
Bake cakes so house smells fresh and would mask off kaka smells if you had any.
Have sold a few now privately a piece of cake, let em stroll around for 5/10 mins., then point out the good bits, nobody knows you own home better than you do!
Just sold another without paying any commission via this mob…
oh man it was just so easy again, had excellent advertising text, added some real nice clear pictures, added a floor plan, had the property in a clean uncluttered state, had 3 open homes of an hour each, received 3 offers from 12 viewers, one contract fell over another was successful, saved about 12 grand!.
Did you have to get a convenyancer to prepare the contract for you? I've never sold property before (sorry if this is a silly question)
Thanks foxtail.
Looking at this mob - seems quite good.
Who prepared the contract of sale / section 32? What were the approx. costs for legal?
Yes we normally do as buyers feel uncomfortable doing it, in scale of things its minimal cost to seller anyway and easy to arrange. Once they agree to a price get their details, send to your conveyancer/solicitor he/she forwards to theirs, its simple, bloody simple!.
Its best not to pester buyers, let em roam around for few minutes, then point out best features and engage them in conversation, if hey show interest ask for their details. We usually give em a colour brochure of the property and a standard offer form which is not binding.
Important things are neat tidy and uncluttered, if its an obstacle course shove some furniture in the garage, take large clear pics for adverts, remove bathroom bottles, cans sprays etc. and have dunny seat down!, its all about presentation.
Its also a good idea to have open home sandwich board/s get ply & hinges from Bunnings, have one out front and one down street corner with arrows, can have printed at office works etc., open longer than the agents do, say an hour or more, we've found mornings 10.30am to noon and after 3pm good.
Always have the conveyancer do the contract and cost can be up to a grand, not bad saved $12K commission though.
We did it through Your Hor Property. They were very good and we got more than any real estate said. Selling your property is a good idea as agents have worked out it is better for them to sell more properties faster sacrificing a bit of commission.
My tip is don't give up, it will sell just wait for a good price. Also for us open days didn't work, it was better just to have private inspections.