Top 5 Things to Consider When Selling
The top five things to consider when selling a house or land:
- Engage the Right Agent
- Selling the House Yourself
- The Right Information
- Contract & Section 32 Statements
- Disclosure
Engage the Right Agent
......So many agents and so little time. Do you get the feeling that most have the same sales pitch and sometimes lean towards unrealistic amounts that they hope to achieve for you? We always ask clients how they found the agent that they engaged and how they rated their performance. We then pass this information on to all clients who would like to know what we have sourced from our many thousands of clients. Information like who's name keeps poping up as a good agency and more importantly, whom at that agency is good to deal with. Low Cost Conveyancing has a database spanning across Melbourne and Geelong and is free to our clients.
Tips for engaging an agent. The law of averages seem to work reasonably well. Discount the highest and the lowest and then sort between the most professionally presented of the remainder. I suggest that you don't use an agent who doesn't charge for advertising, unless sold. The reason being is that they may spend little to no money on advertising your property. You ad generally seems to be sub standard and the photo's and brochures sometimes non existant. Spend some money on your property and get it sold quick. Get good pictures and plenty of them! A house with only 3 pictures may well be overlooked in comparison to house with 6-10. A really good 'for sale' sign out the front is essential consideration along with Internet advertising is essential. The local paper doesn't seem to be as effective as it was in the past. I don't suggest you list with an agent for more than 45 days. Avoid multi listing agents as it just isn't as effective as one great agent. Multi listed properties don't get the attention and effort as an exclusively listed agent seems to provide. I myself have called about a property that was listed with 3 agents. I did all the ground work with one, put in an offer with the 2nd and then went rock bottom with the 3rd and got the property cheap. In reverse, when you sell and multi list the buyer can play you off against each listed agent. Great for a buyer, not so good for you.
Most agents will come back to you after the property has been listed for a little while and tell you that the market has dropped or that there aren't as many buyers as there were last month. When you hear this it may be time to change agents.
Put yourself in the buyers position. Look on the net at the agents ad's. What grabs your attention, what makes you want to look at a property and then make sure the agent replicates this for you.
You are not talking about a second hand couch on ebay, its your property and generally worth a lot of money. A few extra dollars spent on getting it sold quickly can save you thousands in interest to the bank while it just sits there.
Does you agent communicate every offer to you, even ridiculous offers. Do they update you with how many people have been through the property. Not every area is a good for an auction. Do some homework. If you do go to auction then the agent probably has some statistics on what has been selling at auction in the area. If the agent wants to go to auction it doesn't necessarily mean that they want to charge you more money for their service either. Generally the agent will have a good idea what works well in that area.
If you want our assistance, just give us a call.
Selling the House Yourself
........... When you go it alone, many clients often feel that they are alone. You don't have to be. Because we are fully licensed we operate a trust account which means that we can legally hold a deposit in relation to the sale of your property which is government guaranteed.
When we prepare a Contract of Sale and Section 32 Statement we also provide clients with an easy to use set of instructions on what to fill in and where to sign. Naturally its not something that you do everyday so our experienced team is only a phone call away.
You do the role as the agent and the seller and we do everything else as if an agent was involved. Its the same paperwork that we would have done if an agent was involved so to us it doesn't really make any difference.
If you don't like hands on when selling then selling yourself wont work and to be brutally honest, this option is not for everyone. If you are 150% committed to marketing, showing through prospective buyers, doing open for inspections, taking phone calls at all hours and being prepared to show people the property at the drop of a hat, consider your options. The money saved can be lost on time taken to sell so its important to take this into consideration.
On the otherside of the coin, some clients brilliantly do this themselves.
The Right Information
...........Being professional in our approach and wanting to keep your interests in mind, we take the time to get all the relevant information from you about the property that you are selling. Some clients ask 'why the 1001 questions? Most people don't realise that we never see your property and can only prepare documents based on your instructions. The extra 5 minutes we take gather accurate information about your situation, can minimise potential problems at a later stage. We will invite you to confirm your instructions before we start in most cases which further enhances your position when selling a property.
Contract & Section 32 Statements
.......Some clients ask 'when should I get a Section 32 ready' and we always say, now. Why? Because they are actually a complex document that if not prepared correctly, can leave loop holes open that buyers may be able to use to avoid contracts. Without them though a buyer cant be signed up by an agent, well not usually on any necessarily binding documents anyway. The longer they are not done, the greater risk of losing a buyer! It is easier for us to update a Section 32 Statement than it is to prepare initially, so holding off on its preparation is not a good idea. Low Cost Conveyancing Services knows how important it is to prepare these documents in a timely fashion but also knows of the pitfalls in not preparing them correctly. Coupled with 'The Right Information' (referred to earlier) we assist in getting you 'sales ready' so that your selected agent, or you, can sign a potential buyer at the first available opportunity.
We prefer to not only prepare a Section 32 statement, but also a Contract of Sale so we can enhance your position as a seller. We digitally endorse our contracts and section 32 statements prior to passing them onto your selling representative. We do this so if someone decides to change what we have prepared, without our knowledge, we have proof of same should you be a monetary loss when settlement takes place through our paperwork being altered or changed. Basically we take steps to protect your interest by security coding the contracts we prepare. There are countless horror stories of contracts and section 32's being altered without the permission of the Conveyancing representative or the owner!
When an offer has been made by a potential buyer on your property, I suggest you ask the agent the following question, 'What is the purchasers offer subject to' and see what the agents response is. If in any doubt always check with us before signing to seal the deal.
Disclosure
.......Isn't it sometimes funny how the law works. You hear it all the time. E.g.. You build a pergola or an extension illegally, (without a permit) but a section 32 only allows for disclosure of permits obtained in the past 7 years, not what has been done without a permit. You have a easement in the backyard (usually defined by a man hole cover or flu sticking out of the ground) and you have laid a slab of concrete over it and bolted a garden shed to it but never got a permit, what happens? No permit, no requirement to disclose.....crazy really! However, if a prudent purchaser discovers the slab of concrete over the easement they can enquire or force you get a permit. Failure to do so may allow them to terminate the contract. But if they notify the council that you built the pergola or extension illegally, the purchaser would probably end up having to fix it if the contract has already been signed by all parties. Conveyancing in Victoria is a maze that Low Cost Conveyancing Services can assist in navigating through. We can enhance your position when selling, so that you don't lose a buyer and you have saved hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars. That would make us true to our name - Low Cost Conveyancing Services. We don't advocate to be the cheapest in town and we are not interested in being that, but we are interested in saving you money and protecting your interests. If you are happy, you will tell your family, friends and colleagues to use us. Our motto "When all you do in Conveyancing, you get pretty good at it!"
