Selling your own home?

Hi,

First time posting in the forums - I'm also relatively new to the property game as well!

I'm looking to gain some opinions from current/experienced investors regarding the idea of selling your own home. I've been doing some research and with property advertising predominately being online these days I'm wondering if the need for a real estate agent is on the decline?

I understand the legal/contractural need for an agent to complete the process, but for tasks outside of that ie. photography, listing, scheduling open houses etc. - I can't see why I couldn't do it myself?

Assuming someone qualified was handling the legal process - would you be wiling to do the leg work?

Really keen to get some feedback, would love to hear of anyone who has done this or would like to!

Cheers,
Luke

 

After selling a house in Melbourne last year and trusting an agent to manage all that, I won't ever trust an agent to do those things again. The photos were average, the floor plan was wrong, the advertising was inaccurate etc. Of course all these were overpriced, way above commercial rates. I would not have minded paying extra for good results but they were really poor.

With getting your own contractors to do the work, not only will you pay less, you have quality control over the finished products.

 

I didn't vote because I truly couldn't decide between the first two options.

First time I sold my PPOR was in 1982 and that was via a REA. So, Option 1.

Second time I sold my PPOR was in 1988 and that was a swap. So, Option 2.

Next time, I truly don't know. I needed an option called "Don't Know" .

I am interested in what others say as I will most likely be selling current PPOR in the next 12 to 24 months, depending how quickly the Brisbane market takes off.

 

My line of thinking exactly!

I feel that the 'expert' on my property will always be me. As such I think I'm well placed to oversee the marketing and listing of the property for quality assurance. Not to mention the potential cost implications as you touched on.

 

Good point, I didn't think of that!

 

But did you request to approve all marketing material prior to publication?
Did you go with all of the recommended marketing ie newspaper/internet/brochures/hand delivered flyers/billboard/car with trumpets and flashing lights etc?
Did you review their previous work eg current marketing/attend open homes?
Did you accept the costs without question?
Did you shop around or just accept the lowest comms believing this was the 'best' price rather than the best outcome?
Did the agent achieve the sales price you wanted to achieve or were led to believe?

 

We sold our ppor privately this year. We took great photos and put it on Gumtree, we then got a call from a 'Buy My House' agent (I think that's who it was, (will look for the email), who offered us a package to get it on realestate.com. It was their basic package and cost us $69. Some people don't seem to believe me when I say how much it cost to advertise, but there's no reason for me to make it up. It was a house in regional Vic though, in the $200k range so maybe it wouldn't be so cheap for others. Anyway, the house sold to the first viewer after we negotiated the price. Obviously would have cost thousands more for an agent and I can't see what else they could have achieved.

 

Very interesting, would be keen to know the company if you could track the name down.

So did they only handle the listing/advertising or did they handle the transaction as well?

Was the $69 a flat rate or was there also a commission involved?

 

The cost of getting on www.realestate.com.au is minimal, also professional photos are incredible value for money, staged furniture can be awesome for adding value also.

 

I did my best to get the marketing material up to scratch prior to publication but I didn't want to push too hard and have a falling out with the agent at the start of the campaign.

Yes.

Of course I did. It seemed good quality marketing.

This would have been ideal and I would have if I was in Melbourne at the time. Unfortunately I had to rely on phone interviews.

No.

Yes I "shopped" around but my decision was never about the cost to get the sale. To select an agent I went through all of the sales for the area and shortlisted 6 of the top selling agents, based on prices achieved (per square metre rate for development sites). I looked at their current listings, marketing material and sales results. I then wrote to each agent asking them for their opinion on price, recommended marketing, cost of marketing and commission. I then interviewed all of the agents by telephone... twice. The agent I selected was based on end sales prices and enthusiasm, not marketing price or commission. It was really equal between him and one other agent with the other agent's marketing package being $1,500 less for the same thing. Both offered the same commission.

I based my decision on the enthusiasm of the agent, mistakenly believing he would put that energy into selling the property. He didn't. He put the energy into asking us to reduce the list price of our property... approximately 20 times or more.

He got close to what we wanted. He did not get close to the price he said he would achieve, which he gave us in writing.

I would never accept a generic marketing package from a REA again. I think they are a scam. Marketing needs to be tailored for the specific property being sold. This is marketing 101. The marketing campaign we got was generic and not suitable for the type of property being sold.

In future, I would source my own plan, photos and copy. That way I can quality control the outcome. Either that, or pick a decent agent who can manage those things

 

I finally found the email. It was fisbo Private Homes For Sale | Sell My House Privately Online . We already had amazing photos that we'd taken ourselves. No other cost. We did the negotiation ourselves and our lawyer did the S&P agreement. Sold to first viewer.

 

I would never try to sell, I would prefer to do my homework and pay for gun re agent with the right skills, that takes the emotion out of it.

 

Sold my first PPOR via a real estate agent - he wasn't the cheapest, but I had known him from when I bought the place off him many moons ago - there was no slick sales - i did my homework and knew what the place was worth. He sold it for more than I had anticipated so I was happy with the commission and fees that went with it.

Sold our second place via word of mouth - no costs other than getting the legal paper work completed. Would I do it again? If I had the time, probably. But I think I'll be using the services of a real estate agent when we are ready to sell.

 

I am an REA and personally find it hard to negotiate anything for myself that I have an emotional attachment to. When I am acting for a vendor I am a competent and skilled negotiator as I have no attachment to the property, it is a process and I am a professional at it, however, when I am doing it for myself I find it much harder to achieve. My wife is far better at leaving the emotion out .

 

Mick has hit on the main point that people should consider when choosing an agent - negotiation - BUT not only that it takes a combo of communication skills and local area knowledge to achieve the best price for the vendor (remember that's the real job of the agent) - I have seen many many people try and sell privately - both successfully and unsuccessfully - if you have the time (it's the agents full-time job) then take up the challenge.

@Mick Butterfield

darren.

 

I believe any one could do it, there is not really much skill involved at all.

I wish selling your own home would take off in Australia and think in the future it will.

My 2 cents.

 

What i do think there is alot of skill in is Auctioneers eg tom panos. Totall different ball game and those guys are talented.

 

That is right. From my experience there are a percentage of people who can sell privately and do it better than the average agent. I don't feel that many can do better than a highly skilled agent though.

 

Of course anyone can do it. It is not hard to take some photos, put it online with a description and wait for the phone to ring. The thing is can you do it better, and get a better result (for yourself) than someone who has worked and studied in the industry for years?

You can also get your own home loan. I have a broker. You can do your own tax. I have an accountant. The list goes on.

 

I am glad you mentioned Auction LBM - It can be a very powerful tool to use in selling - in particular areas - mostly inner city areas - but you do have to be licenced to auction a property.

@lightbulbmoment