Selling Information
Are you thinking of Selling Your Home?
Here’s what you need to know.
Free Book
Before you do ANYTHING get your copy of the FREE BOOK - "Strategies for Selling Your Home" - exclusive to Brooke Stone Real Estate.
This book features a number of articles on how to get the best out of your house when it comes to selling your home.
Don't miss out. Call 08 9301 0662 today or email selling@brookestone.com.au to request
Location
You often hear the three most important things in buying a property are location, location location. Whilst this is a bit of a cliché but it does still hold some truth.
We would all like to have the ideal spot along the beach with uninterrupted views, in reality this is not what everyone can afford and we have to make the most of what we have.
Having said this – where your home is located in the suburb will have an effect on the value of your home.
Properties located across from a park, in walking distance to shops and schools or in a quiet street with well presented homes will have a great value on houses located near or on a busy main road where traffic noises are evident or near a commercial area or even in the flight path of the airport.
You can change the location of your home but it is a factor to consider when selling your property.
Take stock of your street, how do the houses compare? How do they present? If your neighbours are not looking after their garden why not suggest a “busy bee” where you spend a weekend pulling out weeds and generally tidying up their front garden? If the houses surrounding your home are neat and tidy this will have an impact on how potential buyers see your property. (Just make sure your garden is also neat and tidy)
Layout
The layout of your home will impact your house. Buyers are looking for homes with a simple layout, uncluttered and uncomplicated in design.
A house with an open breezey layout will be more attractive.
Look at ways of simplifying your home. If you are using one of the rooms in your home for an unusual purpose – for example using the dining room as a bedroom – if possible revert the usage to the standard until the house is sold.
Access
How often can a potential purchaser come and view your property? If you live there yourself it is likely that people can view the home quite often (obviously with notice).
If you have a tenant in the property special arrangements need to be made with the tenant to gain access. This is a process of negotiation.
Can a tenant restrict your access?
The residential tenancies act states the owner may gain access to the property:
for the purpose of showing the premises to prospective purchasers, at any reasonable hour and on a reasonable number of occasions, after giving the tenant reasonable notice
The wording of this states a reasonable time – however the word reasonable can differ from one person to another.
If a tenant will only permit access once per month then this may be deemed reasonable as it is reasonable for the tenant. This is why a good relationship with the tenant is important, so that negotiations for access can be smooth and hassle free.
In addition, the Owner will require the tenant to ensure the house is presented in a clean and tidy condition – for this reason the tenant should be given plenty of warning prior to a potential inspection. Incentives often work to encourage the occupants to present the home in the best manner.
At Brooke Stone we provide a bottle of wine and/or movie tickets to the tenants as a thank you for their co-operation.
In addition, we suggest to the Owners that, if required, the owners hire a professional cleaner to attend the property the day before home open. Naturally this requires the tenants approval.
It is important to note, the tenant does not have to permit home opens at the property.
Presentation
Presentation of the property is one of the key factors in selling a house. A poorly presented property can detract from value up to $20,000 to $50,000. This is a pretty expensive discount.
The first look at the property will create that first impression and set the standard for the rest of the viewing. Neat and tidy gardens are essential, mowed gardens, cobwebs swept from the eaves, a clean front door (including fly-wire), clean windows, a fresh welcome mat (not something half chewed by the dog) all go towards creating that initial positive first impression,
If the front of the house looks a little bare you can dress it up with some colourful window boxes or potted plants. They won’t cost a fortune and you can take these to your new home.
Inside the house should be clean and tidy. Free of clutter and mess. Pay attention to the interior of your cupboards as well – people will open built in fixtures so these should be neat and tidy.
Bathrooms should be clean – put in fresh towels that match. Ensure nothing is left on the bench top and that the shower is sparkling clean as well as the bathroom. And don’t forget the basin and the bench.
Beds should be made and neat and tidy. No clothes should be left on the floor. Ensure shoes are put away neatly.
The kitchen should be clean and tidy with no papers or left over dishes. It is optional to leave out biscuits for potential viewers.
The laundry should be clean and free of dust and lint. If you have washing that needs to be done, wait until after the viewing. People like to see themselves as part of the new house – not be reminded of the current owners with the dryer being left on.
Floors should be mopped and vacuumed and the house smell fresh and clean.
Pets
If you have pets (dogs, cats, monkeys, lions etc) these should be taken out of the property during home open. Whilst you love your pet and it’s probably the best pet in the world, not all people warm to animals in the same way. Also some people have allergies.
Fish and birds in cages are ok.
Privacy
To ensure your privacy, make sure all your personal belongings are safely away. This includes documents that you would not like a stranger to read.
Please ask your sales representative for an article on protecting your privacy whilst selling your home.
Photography
Whilst your house may be amazing and you – or the agent – are handy with the digital camera, the difference between an amateur photographer and a professional is extraordinary.
The expense of a professional photographer is minimal compared to the return this will have on your sale price. – Not only will professional photography attract more clients to your home viewings, it will also present your house beautifully.
Professional photography is one of the best investments.
Advertising
Today advertising is all about the internet. The number one real estate site in Western Australia is www.realestate.com.au. If you are selling your home you cannot afford not to be on this website.
Advertising on REIWA is also an excellent site as well as www.brookestone.com.au which receives a lot of traffic.
It is important to get your advertising right to reach the most amount of people in the shortest period of time.
Price
This is the most crucial factor to get right when selling your home.
Many owners make the mistake of thinking they should price their home high and hope someone will pay that price or to give them room “to negotiate”.
Pricing your home too high is actually detrimental to the sale of your property. Why? Because in the first three weeks that a house is on the market is the best opportunity to get people through your home – after that the number of new clients begins to dwindle and the house becomes “stale”.
People who look at the house in the first few weeks know its overpriced (most of them have been looking for a while) and they won’t look at the house – or if they do view the property they realize that it doesn’t compare to other properties of a similar price.
With no offers the owner drops the price. Now people have seen the house, thought “it’s not for us” and they are not interested in the home. It is stale and the owners begin to “chase the market down”.
No longer do the owners have the upper hand with a fresh new property – but a house that has been on the market for a while, that is overpriced and has no offers. All that initial advertising has gone to waste.
Now they need to attract buyers back to the property. How? By reducing the price.
The buyers that have already seen it won’t go back – unless it is dramatically reduced to become “a steal” – now the owners are chasing the buyers, trying to get them to look at their property.
Eventually the house will sell – but most likely under the true value of the property.
So what happens if you price your home too low??
You have a HUGE number of people attending your home open, looking at the place and thinking of all the possibilities they can do with the home.
Large numbers creates the idea that someone may buy it first and so a competitive environment starts to build.
Next thing – there are a couple of offers coming in (who doesn’t want a great bargain?)
Note – its illegal for the Real Estate Agent to disclose the amount of an offer to any other purchaser. However it is possible to advise other potential purchasers that an offer has come in.
If another person wants to put in an offer they should lead with their highest offer first – to avoid missing out on the premises. This often results in a competitive environment with offers higher than the asking price.
So who determines the price?
A Real Estate Agent can only guide you in determining the right price for your home – based on market analysis, recent sales, comparative listings and general economic climate.
However – the only way the actual price can be determined is by what someone is willing to pay for the property.
Free appraisal
Working out how to sell your home can be exhausting.
Why not let Brooke Stone help you with your selling options. Our team of real estate consultants have years of experience in the industry and can help you ensure you get the best result for your property.
Call us today on 9301 0662 for your free appraisal.
More Information
If you would like some more information on selling your home, ask for your copy of the FREE BOOK "Strategies for Selling Your Home" - only available through Brooke Stone Real Estate.
