The book that tells you how to sell your home yourself!

How to List and Sell using a

Real Estate Company

This is brutally honest advice you won’t get from any real estate salesperson or company. If you do not succeed in selling your home privately, you need to read this chapter before talking to any real estate salesperson.

1.     Do some homework. Go to open homes of houses in your area that appear to be somewhat similar to yours. Try to get a good idea of value. Talk to the salespeople and ask them about recent sales and why one property got a better price than another.

2.     Remove your rose tinted glasses and view your property objectively. I know you absolutely love the cover you put over the deck, but if it does not have a permit or it’s poorly constructed it will reduce the value of your home – not increase it. Look at the good points and try to minimize the bad. Check out page 5 for the chapter on presenting your property for sale.

3.     Point out any defects to the salesperson, and make sure you tell him/her what you will fix, and what you won’t. As long as you are up-front about things like chattels that do not work properly or unpermitted works on the property, then you are safe. The salesperson must take responsibility for informing the buyers.

4.     Choose your salesperson based on a solid referral from someone you trust, or use your own best judgment. But don’t just sign with the person who happens to be there at the time and don’t let anyone pressure you into signing ‘on the spot’ if you have any doubts at all. Take 24 hours to decide, and interview other salespeople.

5.     Your salesperson should be perfectly happy to sign you up for 4 or 6 weeks rather than the 13 weeks that they will tell you is standard. They should be able to back themselves to do a good job and win your loyalty. If you are happy with their work then you can always sign an extension – but if you are not you can get out of it quickly.

6.     I still believe an exclusive contract is best, because you will have to deal with only one salesperson and you have tighter control over who goes through your home. If your contract is for a 4-6 week period then if you get a dud salesperson you can change fairly quickly anyway.

7.     Specifically ask if your salesperson will do conjunctional deals with other salespeople from other companies. They are working for you and should put your desire for a fast sale at a good price above their desire to keep all the commission. If they are hesitant about doing conjunctional agreements, don’t employ them.

8.     Remember, your contract is actually with the company they work for, not the salesperson personally. The manager should make him or herself available if you have questions or concerns, and the manager can re-assign the property to another salesperson within the firm if you are not happy with the service you are getting.

9.     Check to see what the contract says about the residual period after a contract is revoked – a period any longer than 7 days is unreasonable so change the contract or don’t sign.

10.  Consider paying for the marketing. You will have some control over the size of the advertising, the frequency of the ads and the content as well. Your salesperson may consider reducing the commission a little in exchange. It is usually best to pay for a marketing plan up-front. Any un-used funds should be returned to you promptly if they are not needed. Alternatively, you can give the salesperson a cheque every week for the next week’s advertising. This is fair and should be acceptable to your salesperson – it takes the risk away from both parties. It’s a bit more of a hassle, though.

11.  If your property is worth more than $300,000 consider getting a professional photographer in. Open2View do a great job of making your property look its best, and the price can be as little as $450.

12.  A photosign is probably a waste of money if you can clearly see the property from the road. If you can’t see the property clearly, then it could be a good investment.

13.  You have contracted a salesperson, so use them. Refer any enquiry you get to your salesperson.

14.  Demand a weekly report from your salesperson detailing the number of hits your property gets from the websites it is on, the number and quality of phone calls and how many people have viewed your property. They should also be able to tell you what people like about it and what objections they have to making an offer.

15.  Be absolutely honest with the salesperson. Do not expect them to lie for you. Do not accept evasions from your salesperson. Demand straight answers. Do not be afraid to go over the salesperson’s head to speak to their manager. Make sure you know who this is and how to contact them.

16.  It’s your call whether to do open homes or not. If you have a large home, then make sure there will be at least two salespeople present to escort buyers around the property. No-one should be able to enter your home if they will not give their name and contact details. Make sure your salesperson agrees to enforce this.

17.  You have a duty to look after yourself. Read and make sure you understand anything you are asked to sign. Double check things like addresses, chattels, conditions, etc. If you have questions, ask them. If you don’t understand the answer, ask your lawyer or the salesperson’s manager, but don’t sign until you are comfortable with what is in front of you.

18.  Accept the fact that buyers may not see the same value as you do in the property. Buyers will only buy a property they see as good value and suitable to their needs – or if they fall in love with it. The salesperson’s job is to get two or more people to fall in love with your property, thus creating competition between buyers to own the property. However, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder and sometimes the only thing that will make a property more desirable is a lower price. Analyse the feedback you get every week and see what buyers are saying. Look at what’s selling and for how much. Once again, educate yourself. The truth is that buyers set prices, not sellers.

19.  When you vacate the property, leave it clean and tidy. The buyer has a right to inspect prior to settlement and if the property and chattels are not as they expected, they can delay settlement. And you don’t want that.

20.  You should have an open and trusting relationship with your salesperson. If, for any reason at all, you feel this trust has been breached, then speak up and ask for clarification. If you are not happy, talk to the manager.

In Conclusion:

It can be hard to know, sometimes, why one property attracts multiple buyers immediately, and another similar property does not.

Discuss any concerns with your salesperson, but remember sometimes they don’t have an answer. As long as you can see they are working hard for you, the property is being advertised well, and they are doing all they can, then it’s not their fault the property is still unsold. The market may have slowed, there may be sporting events on the keep buyers away, and there could be a hundred reasons out of anyone’s control that are delaying a positive result. Try to figure out what these may be, and if you can change anything to overcome these issues, do so.

 Good luck with selling your home.

BUT WAIT!

You can sell your house yourself. For a mere $19.97, you're getting the answers you need ... PLUS MORE. Now, you can only get this product from me. It's not available in libraries or anywhere else on the net. Just imagine being able to get these answers downloaded to you right away.

Wishing you great success.

Warmly,

Linda Reid

P.S. Don't forget, you're getting the bonuses for free. Everything to get you started in presenting your house for sale, how to price your house to attract buyers, how to show your house to prospective buyers, what to say, what not to say, how to fill out an agreement, how to negotiate a sale, and even some common clauses that the professionals use to help get a deal together. So if that's what you want to do, this is the opportunity you've been waiting for.