Selling Owner Occupier Home by Myself

Liamhunter on 06/02/2019 - 23:56
Last edited 07/02/2019 - 08:56 by 1 other user

These days there are companies out there who can help to list property on Major real estate website and owner does inspections themselves and get an offer from potential buyer and prepare sale of contract through a conveyancer and then settle; so the process looks simple but is that in real?

What's the opinion of fellow OzBargainers about it?

If talking money-wise if a house is worth $600K and average real estate agent commission is 2% + outgoing charged like for sign board, listing on website, photography etc about $2400 roughly; we are looking anywhere up to $15K, and DIY through those online websites is maximum I have seen is $700.

It's all my experience so far could be completely imaginary/false as have never done in my life; but has anyone tread this path I would call Owner agent to sell their home?

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  Hybroid on 07/02/2019 - 00:02

  https://www.buymyplace.com.au/

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  swapsey on 07/02/2019 - 00:24

  +3

  Never done it myself but I see the biggest issue is the emotional attachment most people have to their homes, which makes having a third party do open houses, take offers, and manage the whole process, is worth the 14K just to move the property faster. Most people overvalue their house on those sites and I would love to see what the average time on market is compared to through a traditional agent.

  Can you be more business-like, less emotional, in selling your own house?

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  josho9 on 07/02/2019 - 00:26

  Selling yourself is an excellent idea. You will spend far more time preparing a good campaign than the real estate agent, have a better feel for the market, and not be conflicted. In this market agents have improved somewhat given the reduced demand and listing volume, but during the boom owners were really being short changed.

  • 

    thirtysixd on 23/02/2019 - 19:08

    As someone looking at houses I think this is probably the opposite

    Its a falling market and vendors seem to be stuck in the 'property always goes up' mentatility

    Last house I looked at for example;
    489 listing last year but recently dropped to offers above 459
    Probably got an offer for 450 but declined and now wish they had it again

    I think its now worth 420-430

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  fantombloo on 07/02/2019 - 02:42

  +1

  IME real estate agents, on the whole, outdo used car salesmen as shifty and slimey operators. I hope for people to be increasingly smart enough to boycott them; perhaps only the good ones will remain and provide real value to their clients.

  I've seen private transactions (sales and rentals) go fine without them. Go for it OP; good luck.

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  Bourb on 07/02/2019 - 06:56

  +1

  I tried selling my House using a couple of DIY Website a few years back, fairly easy to set up as long as you upload some nice photos and an accurate description.

  The only downside that I found was that Buyers who use these DIY sites tend to be bargain hunters, they figure that if there are no RE Commissions then the place should be cheap. I had a couple of offers , but never anything that I could take seriously.

  I ended up selling through my local RE Agency. But don't let me turn you off it, you may have a positive experience.

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  [Deactivated] on 07/02/2019 - 08:04

  +4

  I would never do it, the money you pay in agents commissions will more than cover the extra money an agent will get you. But use an experienced agent (there is plenty of rookies don't use them). There is a lot of legal things where you could go wrong having an agent that knows all this.

  • 

    Liamhunter on 07/02/2019 - 08:22

    Thanks for your reply all, its not a easy one but still worth trying once in a life time as when I see product review website and read reviews about companies like property now or cubbi its very tempting and people have done that successfully and can be done.

  • 

    djkelly69 on 07/02/2019 - 09:40

    -2

    There is a lot of legal things where you could go wrong having an agent that knows all this.

    HAHAHAHA

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  HighAndDry on 07/02/2019 - 09:00

  so the process looks simple but is that in real?

  Probably not as simple as you think. At the very least, an agent could proofread your listings.

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  bobbified on 07/02/2019 - 09:18

  +2

  I think the marketing reach of the agent is enough to justify the cost in my mind.

  The $15k or so fee can easily be recouped if the right buyer is engaged. The agents advertise through a number of different channels.

  Even the pictures that they use involve wide angle lenses to make the property more appear larger and more appealing. Yes, it's not necessarily an accurate reflection of property, but it does its job by grabbing potential buyers' attention.

  It's that one particular buyer that you might miss out on if it's not advertised properly that'll make or break your sale.

  • 

    djkelly69 on 07/02/2019 - 09:31

    -1

    I think the marketing reach of the agent is enough to justify the cost in my mind.

    I am going to guess something like 90-95% of buyers find properties through the big real estate websites, which you can also advertise on through the sites the OP is referring to. I don't think it is worth paying $Xk to an agent just to get access to that extra 5-10% of people who still read the paper or wait for an agent to call/spam them to tell them about a new property.

    Even the pictures that the agents use involve wide angle lenses to make the property more appear larger and more appealing.

    All of the owner-sale sites have an option to pay a bit more for professional photography, which I would recommend.

    • 

      bobbified on 07/02/2019 - 10:12

      +1

      I don't think it is worth paying $Xk to an agent just to get access to that extra 5-10% of people

      It's that one person that everyone's looking for. If I was looking for a property, I'd speak to a local agent first to see that he/she thinks. I'm sure I'm not the only one that does that. They're the people that OP could potentially miss out on.

      • 

        djkelly69 on 07/02/2019 - 10:39

        Yes, they are the people the OP could miss out on (as I said). But it is a numbers game - it is up to the owner to decide if they want to get access to 90% of relevant buyers for $1k or access to 100% of relevant buyers for ~$15k.

        • 

          bobbified on 07/02/2019 - 10:50

          @djkelly69: It's hard to quantify how much that additional 10% of people would be worth though. It's a bit of a gamble. Out of the people that misses out, one may have been willing to fork out $20k more to buy the place. That would leave the owner more than $5k extra, even after paying the agency's fees.

          The reason I'm saying that is, when I bought my place, I was easily willing go $30k (I really wanted it!) over what I actually paid, had their been any other competition. But with the help of the agent (yes, conflict of interest right there!) I snapped it up before it even went on the market because I was told about it early.

          • 

            djkelly69 on 07/02/2019 - 11:10

            @bobbified: It is certainly possible, but statistically you will be 90% likely to find the imaginary person willing to pay the extra $20k by just paying the $1k fee and accessing 90% of the buyer pool.

            There a lot of unknowns/what ifs in a situation like this, so yes you will have to make hard decisions. You will often be left with doubts about whether if you went with an agent or held out for longer or whatever that you could have got more. My way to deal with it was to work out what the property was realistically worth (recent sales, etc), pick a price point you would accept, and go from there.

            Funnily enough, in speaking with the agent for the place we bought, I told him I sold my own place, and his immediate response was that he could have got "$15k more" without even knowing the property or how much it sold for. I said yes, I suppose that is possible, but it would have cost me ~$13k in your fees to find out.

            • 

              bobbified on 07/02/2019 - 11:19

              +1

              @djkelly69:

              and his immediate response was that he could have got "$15k more" without even knowing the property or how much it sold for.

              I generally wouldn't expect any less from an agent! They used to tooting their own horns! You pay them, but their own interests are still at the top of their priority list.

      • 

        pernunz on 07/02/2019 - 12:08

        I disagree that it's the 'one person' that everyone's looking for.

        A good agent will try sell a home quickly, and have one or two open inspections with a large number of people coming through.

        That 'one person' who falls in love with the property: If they attend a private open with the owner, or attend a public open with 15-20 other possible buyers (even if 10 of them are just nosy neighbours) will have a greater sense of "I need to offer a higher amount to secure the property which is in high demand"

    • 

      HighAndDry on 07/02/2019 - 11:33

      +1

      I don't think it's purely a numbers game so that you can make this kind of comparison. Less serious buyers are far more likely to just browse on property listing websites, while more serious buyers, or possibly more importantly, buyers with stricter requirements and so who're less price sensitive and willing to pay more for the 'right' property, are far more likely to speak to someone in person like a local real estate agent.

      And the real estate agent (judging by the amount of spam emails I get from them) will also have a list of potential buyers who're looking for particular properties or characteristics and therefore may be willing to pay a premium.

      I think it's fitting that legally, real property is one of the few areas where you can almost by default get specific performance instead of monetary damages, because each property is seen as being unique and not replaceable with another (or with money).

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  GG57 on 07/02/2019 - 09:22

  -1

  I highly recommend having a look at Purple Bricks for your sale.
  They are extremely popular in the UK, and are growing in profile here.

  Best of both worlds in my view.

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  djkelly69 on 07/02/2019 - 09:39

  +1

  I personally did this last year and would highly recommend it. I do however work in the property industry so had a good idea of what was going on.

  I particularly chose a site which didn't mention that it was a 'sale by owner' site anywhere in the name or anywhere in the ad to avoid people knowing (at least initially) that it was an owner sale.

  Cost was about $700, plus (optional) $300 for professional photos and maybe $50 for an 'Open House' signboard. This got you an add on realestate, domain and a few random other sites, and the for sale sign, etc. It had a heap of other options to add on things as well, like them writing your copy for the ad, taking your phone calls, and even negotiating for you.

  Like just about everything, planning and doing research beforehand were very important IMO - eg. minimising crap in the house, knowing the process, knowing similar sales in the area, etc.

  • 

    activ8newbs on 07/02/2019 - 11:43

    Would you mind sharing the website/aggregator you used to post to RE/Domain and others? $700 seems reasonable!

    Thanks

    • 

      djkelly69 on 07/02/2019 - 11:51

      +1

      I used PropertyNow.com.au, but I think most of the sites advertised on both sites and were around that price.

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  pernunz on 07/02/2019 - 12:25

  +2

  My house selling experience with an agent in South Australia:

  Agent suggested the minor improvements we could do to our house to:
  Improve the value of the house with minimal financial outlay
  Improve the 'first look' impression of the house

  Total cost of $11,500
  Paid $3,400 for all advertising costs and hosting an open inspection
  Paid a bit over $8,100 in commission

  Agent held the single open inspection which had ~30 people through it on the Saturday. Had 3 people wanting to see it again by the Monday, and 3 offers. Agent handled all the negotiation, and used their experience to get the best price.

  Sold house for well above what we expected. Would have settled for $30,000 less than what we ended up getting.

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  Liamhunter on 07/02/2019 - 22:37

  Its Totally right that I just need 1 buyer but most of the buyer these days are looking at real estate websites to look for the best value property. But in my case I am not keen to sell or in other words if I cant sell will rent it out but if got sold for the price I desire I wont mind, As djkelly69 mentioned that its doable so no harm in trying and those listing website will do the proof reading.

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  onevstheworld on 08/02/2019 - 10:58

  A good agent does more than list your property and smile at the door. They can advise about realistic pricing so you don't waste your time, any improvements that will increase sale value, and negotiate with buyers.

  I'd suggest going to a few open houses in your area and see how the local agents performs. It'll give who an idea who's good and who doesn't give a sh*t.

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  Logical on 09/02/2019 - 00:18

  +1

  I sold my apartment in 4 months. I was paying $99 per month to an agency for listing it on the main property websites like domain, real-estate etc. I conducted all open house inspections (around 6). Sold it for about $30,000 more than the agent recommend and avoided the $10,000 commission fee. I also put my bank account on the contract for holding the deposit.

  • 

    Liamhunter on 11/02/2019 - 00:12

    Thank you so much for kind words, if you dont mind may I ask which company helped to list the property on major sites for $99/month? and as you said put your account on contract is that called as trust account? Regards