If you have previously listed your home on the market for sale but ended up pulling the sign down wondering why you didn’t get a result Justin Hagen has some insight for you.
Licensed Estate Agent and owner of Calibre Real Estate, Justin has been called upon to rectify many a real estate disaster. “Vendors often make the mistake of choosing discounted fees and cheap marketing over expertise and skills” – Justin believes this to be the main contributing factor to long days on the market and frustrated sellers whose homes don’t seem to be saleable. “It doesn’t matter what the market is doing, if you devise a strategic marketing plan and invest in your sale you will get a result.”
Justin helps debunks the common misconceptions of selling:
- Choosing a free marketing package
Be careful of free marketing – quality marketing costs money! Agents cannot sell a secret, you need to attract all the buyers in the market place to your home. You cannot do this with little or no marketing. Agents who offer to cover your marketing costs also have a vested interest in the sale. If they are out of pocket they will be desperate to do a deal, do you think they will push to get you every last dollar? They will be more concerned with making their shortfall back.
- Auction campaigns are expensive
Auction campaigns should cost the same amount of money as a private treaty sale. You want to sell your home, so no matter the process you should be investing in your final sale price.
- Choosing an agent based on discounted commissions
The agent you choose will be negotiating the final sale figure on your behalf. If they cannot negotiate their own fair fee, would you trust them selling your biggest asset? A good agent is an asset to your sales result and should be worth their fee. Remember an agent only gets paid when the house sells, if you’re not happy with their work they do not get paid.
As Queensland has recently de-regulated commissions, why not try a sliding scale agreement? A great incentive to ensure they are motivated to get you every last dollar. Just remember, never hire an agent who needs you more than you need them.
- Not picking an accredited REIQ agency
The Real Estate Industry of Queensland is there to protect your rights as a vendor and ensures the agent is governed by best practice standards. And should an issue arise you will have an industry body to turn to for help.
- Listing a set price from day 1
There is no recommended retail price on properties. Buyers discount list prices – if they see marks, peeling paint, cracks in tiles etc they automatically start taking these costs off the sale price. Or even worse you could be underselling your home. In most cased even a premium buyer wouldn’t offer more than a set list price. No price marketing combined with the right sales strategy means you can gather market feedback and price your home correctly. It can create competition and drive the sale price up.
- Not listening to feedback
You may think your home is worth a certain figure however you are not purchasing it. Your agent should be providing you with constant feedback via vendor reports. You need to listen to what the marketplace is telling you and react quickly.
- Inspections by Appointment Only
Open homes create competition and listing with an agent who only conducts private inspections can cost you thousands of dollars and longer days on the market.
Keeping these misconceptions in mind, below is a list of questions Justin believes you should ask when interviewing your agents:
- What is their strategy to attract premium buyers?
- The process for handling buyer enquiry?
- Do you provide vendor reports? If so, how often?
- Do you have a list of service providers to assist during the sales process to maximise my profit?
- What are the marketing costs involved? What does the package include?
- What are the negatives of my home?
- Do you have details of references I can contact? Questions you may like to ask their clients:
• What did you like about the agent?
• How long did the property take to sell?
• Did the agent secure the sale price you wanted to achieve? - What makes you different to other real estate agents?
- How many prospective buyers have you seen in the past month?
- Are they a member of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland to ensure they are governed by best practice standards?
