Selling our 2BR Apt in Brunswick (Melb, Vic) - Agent Needed

Hi All,

We have an IP that we need to sell to be able to upgrade to be able to buy our first house.

Apartment is approx. 10 years old, has some charm. In Brunswick, 3056.

Our rental agent is OK but would prefer to do some research on our own and get recommendations from this forum.

Lease is up very soon, we are, at this stage, not moving back in and planning on doing some quick improvements to increase value/desirability. Therefore, seeking informed advice on our ideas from a cluey agent.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks kindly!

 

gfish, how far do you live from the IP that you're looking to sell?

 

Quite close, about 5 k's or so.

 

In that case, I would not consider using a traditional agent, especially if you are looking to sell in the high $400K's and into the $500K's. Unfortunately, using an agent is so deeply entrenched in the Australian psyche, that very few people question it and look for a better way.

To give you an idea of a better alternative, I've attached a few before and after photos of a recent unit that we sold. We used the money ($10K) that we would have had to pay in commissions and spent it on strategic, cosmetic improvements instead. We then sold the unit for $290K and pocketed $280K. As a comparison, the identical unit next door (which looked exactly the same as ours before the renovation) was sold by an agent who is a local area expert for $265K. After commissions, the owner pocketed $255K, which is $25K less than what we kept.

A commission is the single worst 'investment' you can make in marketing your property as you are lucky to get a return OF the investment letalone ON the investment. In the above example, we generated a 2.5 times return on our investment.

Of course, there is more to it than just simple renovations. You need to follow a recipe or a process to achieve success (Preparation, Presentation, Pricing, Promotion, Negotiation), but the good thing is that this recipe doesn't care who follows it and it certainly doesn't have to be a real estate agent.

 

Very interesting @David Kaity, was that $10k including tradies, or did you put a lot of work in yourself?

 

Property is in inner city Melbourne so you would be crazy not to auction unless it was a newer style apartment.

Did you auction your property Dave?

 

This is a stunning renovation. Did you rip out the old kitchen to put in a new one? Or could you reuse some of the old cabinets etc?

 

95% of the work was done by tradies. I applied the tile paint to the kitchen splashback myself, however, our handyman could have done this for a few hundred dollars. The change to the kitchen was laminate paint to the cupboards, tile paint to the splashback, new handles and appliances, window blind, flooring and paint on the walls.

There are many properties in which you could not get away with this kind of renovation. The trick is knowing the area, your likely buyer and their expectations and renovate accordingly. Having said this, there are affordable ways to conduct any renovation, as long as you know what they are. Either way, if you're going to spend money to market your property and you can spend some money up front, these clever and strategic renovations are not an expense, but an investment.

I did not sell at auction as I know that in most circumstances it is not the best way to obtain top dollar. The only situation in which I would consider an auction are the types of irrational, white-hot markets we recently saw in Sydney and Melbourne, which have now come off the boil a bit.

 

What did you do with the air conditioner in the kitchen?

Was there a book or any other recourse you used? I have a house that looks just like you're before photos and would love to do a cheap reno like that one!

 

Simon, the airconditioner in the kitchen remained as is. It is remarkable that when 90%-95% of the place looks new, people don't notice/question the relatively small stuff.
Some years ago we did Cherie Barber's course, but the experience we had since then is what made a huge difference. This stuff is best learnt in the field.

 

it is in the overhead cupboard now?

 

The angle of the photo is different, new one was taken seriously stretched to make it look big, air conditioner is not in the image. Clever, but misleading. Just saying.

 

Go to some open houses for similar properties and get to know the agents the buyers and the prices.

 

David, would you be able to recommend the products you've used and if you don't mind, the tradesperson contact? We are looking to do something similar in our place. Very impressed with the results shown here