Craig - Agent in a Box | Agent in a Box

What do Mercury and Selling Real Estate have in common?

Everything – apparently.

Note that today is the 23^nd of March, 2018.

And for the next couple of weeks we could be in for a fun ride.

“I just want to sell my house. What does another planet have to do with it?”

Let me explain…

Walking through the door of my home a few nights ago, my wife greeted me with the always loving and romantic question, “Do you want dinner?”

After a long lingering pause for thought, I replied, “Not hungry, what a shit of a day!”

“What happened?” asked the (potential) cook.

“Mobile site decided to wig out, scanner on the printer went on strike, our chat system wouldn’t reply to clients…and I’ve been hounding the techs all day to get it all sorted.”

She just stared at me with that, “Well don’t you know, stupid?” kind of look.

“Mercury is about to go into retrograde,” she said with what I could have sworn was an almost Fatty Vautin-like head wobble. “My phone wouldn’t answer calls, and about half a dozen emails just disappeared.”

The boss/cook/knower of all things (who needs Google) had mentioned something like this a few years back, but I just nodded and continued watching the replay.

“So, Mercury is f***ing stuff up?”

“And this one is apparently going to be a doozy, and it doesn’t really start until the 22^nd!”

I try to be as open minded as I can, and I believe we are probably a mixture of space dust and alien DNA, but one planet having a direct effect on another?

We are part of a massive intergalactic web with energy and vibrations from all over the cosmos affecting our moods, actions and behaviours; but our technology?!

Maybe it was just a co-incidence?

As of this morning, I am almost convinced it is not!

One website I needed to do some business on simply froze and didn’t want to play ball.

I tried to log on to do some online banking and the bank’s site told me it was simply unavailable, then my wife told me that she had gone to the local branch and their systems were down.

My office manager’s computer hard drive heated up and sounded like it was about to explode and to top it off…

The remote for my car decided it didn’t want me to drive this morning.

Our little real estate empire was being provided with challenges all at once.

But we have taken a deep breath, filled the swear jar and pressed on.

Darn you Mercury – do your worst!

What about you?

Any blips, switch offs or delays in your world?

PS: And don’t worry if you are trying to sell your own home, buyers will still be out and about, albeit with just a little Mercury influencing their actions and behaviours – so embrace the moment and go with the flow.

I am Selling My House – Well, Maybe Not if I Listen to The Media!

WARNING: The prophets of doom have had a sniff and they are ready to scare the pants off everyone!

Since the recent stock market ‘correction’ the media and the usual suspects have put the bit between their teeth and galloped headlong into the ‘End is Nigh’ fray.

As I have been right in the thick of the property market for the last 15 years, I like to see what other people (see self-appointed gurus) are thinking to try and get a few different perspectives a see what they think about the ‘mood of the market’.

The ‘Mood’?

Yep, the Mood!

EVERY market is driven by fear and greed.

And it is SO easy to feed either of them.

Right as we speak, fear is being fed lashings of fast, fatty food through mainstream media and some alt-media types.

As I mentioned, I subscribe to a couple of newsletters from market watchers and financial types and their ‘doom’ narrative has amped up since the corrections in early February.

Emails with these headlines have populated my inbox over the last 7-10 days;

Get Ready, Here it Comes…

Crash Alert!

How to Avoid the Worst of The Coming Crash

…and so on.

Sure, I read the content, but ultimately, it’s written to get me (and you) to download or join up for the author’s foolproof book or course in surviving the economic Armageddon that is almost upon us.

Offering to alleviate a person’s pain or fear is one of the quickest ways to make a dollar – that is marketing 101 – but if you put enough people in fear, the whole thing becomes a self-created certainty.

And now the mainstream media are jumping in on the act with scary headlines on widely read online news platforms.

They are probably sprouting the same line on the TV bulletins but thankfully I stopped watching or listening to any sort of mainstream news about 13 years ago…try it and watch how your outlook on life changes – for the better.

Here is what flashed onto my screen this morning as I was looking for the latest sports updates…

PLUNGING?!

These are the sort of headlines that feed the fear and send people scurrying under rocks and worrying about their immediate future and plans.

Yes, price growth in the biggest property market in Australia, Sydney, has slowed. I’ll repeat that, PRICE GROWTH HAS SLOWED IN SYDNEY.

Where in any of the most recent property market stats does it say prices are plunging?

My last post only a week ago, clearly shows a property market that is in general good health. Buyers still want to buy in just about every city and regional area.

Just because Sydney buyers are catching their breath and have basically said, “We aren’t chasing silly prices for a little while,” doesn’t mean the whole market has turned to sh%t – have a look at the growth in Hobart and Melbourne alone!

This might help explain it a little better…

Hey, I was born and bred in Southern Sydney but realised there were loads of opportunities outside of the Harbour City. It just may not be the centre of the universe after all!

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I would like to close by saying that despite the best efforts of the media, it is quite safe to stay in the game of buying and selling property.

To stay ahead of the curve, it’s not about wondering ‘if’ the wheels are going to fall, it’s about knowing ‘when’ the wheels are about to fall off.

And that ‘when’ is definitely not ‘here and now’.

It doesn’t work – I can’t sell my house

Lets’ face it. Not EVERY house or property sells in a heartbeat. And some can take considerably longer than others.

Real Estate sales can be tricky and for those who have not been exposed on a regular basis to the marketing, buyer attraction and engagement, and negotiation process that goes into selling a property, it can be a daunting process.

To sell your own home might not be an undertaking that every owner/seller has the confidence and motivation to embark upon.

However, that increasing number of home and property owners who do, almost to a man (and woman), say it is the best thing they have ever done.

The empowerment and skills they quickly grasp not only helps them secure a great deal on their sale, but the shared knowledge provided can be used in all walks of life.

If you had a serious medical condition that required immediate attention and the specialist/surgeon you were referred to had something like 1,000 similar successful procedures under their belt over a decade or more, how confident would you feel placing your faith in them to get the job done and make you well again?

The private house sales space is no different.

Take Agent in a Box for example.

It is a property marketing, sales and support system based on the following skill set and experience over the last 15 years:

More than 1,200 marketing campaigns created and conducted
Over 25,000 buyer enquiries, engagements and interactions
Over 7,000 Open homes and personal inspections conducted
Well over 1,000 negotiations conducted
Over 1,000 completed traditional sales PLUS almost 1200 assisted sales through the AIAB system

Does that sound like we might know what we are doing?

How confident would you feel selling your own home with sort of experience and knowledge served up on a platter to you for less than the cost of a new mobile phone?

No – I am not plugging the business (well really, I am).

I am reminding all our members, current and future, that we REALLY know how Real Estate Sales work, yet for a few, sadly, they do not take advantage of this wealth of knowledge and support.

Case in question:

A male member listed a lovely cottage in an area growing in popularity, with sales activity in the area showing signs of being solid to very brisk.

The enquiries came in thick and fast for this property over a six-eight week period, and when you see this type of activity, you know it’s only a matter of time before we hear from the excited member saying, “I’ve got a contract” or “I’ve had an offer”.

In this case we received an email from the member asking for the property to be removed from the market.

OK, he must have sold it. I gave him a call.

“Hi (name), I see you are taking your property off the market. There has been loads of enquiry, have you sold?”

“No. I can’t sell my house. It doesn’t work!”

As I picked my jaw up from the desk, I asked, “Really? Over thirty direct enquiries on your place in a very active market. How many inspections did you have?”

“About 6 or 7”.

“Ok, what did the buyers say?”

“Not much, some who made appointments didn’t even turn up”.

I have to say here that buyer no-shows are not uncommon and simply part of the buyer ‘sifting’ process.

“Did you get any offers?”

“No, it just doesn’t work in this area.”

Straight away I knew buyers were not in agreeance with the seller’s price expectations – hence no offers – and he hadn’t asked the $64,000 question.

“Did you read our tutorial on how to get helpful buyer feedback?”

“No.”

“Ok, you know you could have called us at anytime to get some guidance or advice- right?”

“Yeah, but, ummmm…I’m moving. I’m giving it to an agent.”

“I am sorry to hear that, one phone call to us could have made all the difference. All the best.”

This client took the path to pay an agent thousands of dollars for what he should have done himself by digesting the wealth of information and support we provide for a few hundred dollars.

Basically flushing his money down the crapper!

So, remember this: If you are not sure – ask.

“Help!! I can’t sell my house!”

There are no silly questions, just the silliness that goes with the result of a question going unasked.

Its not all about selling houses

When did you last step back and take a look at your life?

Do you sometimes feel like you are on auto-pilot and sub consciously perform the same routines and activities; feel the need to please others before yourself and rarely stop to ask, “What is all this about?”

I have just had one of those moments, but, as with this one, these moments are usually brought on by experiencing a major life event.

For me, it is the recent death of my dad, Allan.

Twenty months ago, after the death of my mother, Margaret, I thought I had taken stock of where I was going, what I was doing.

But nothing changed. The auto-pilot was still on, whilst going hell-for-leather trying to please everyone.

Laying dad to rest just a week or so ago has stopped me in my tracks. Made me think.

My deepest inner voice is telling me to take stock, re-evaluate, work out what my purpose really is.

Looking at my dad, just minutes after he taken his last breath in his hospital bed, one thought hit me like a tonne of bricks:

We all come into this world with nothing and go out the same way.

What happens in between is important. We all want to lead the best lives we can but how many of us find our true purpose?

Many of us tend to sacrifice our own time and dreams to help fulfil the lives of others. That is noble and caring, but what about ourselves?

I have a philosophy that unless you look after yourself, you cannot not give your best to others.

This is not a selfish notion. Selflessness is an admirable trait. Yet to continually push yourself to please others or pursue a career, wealth, fame or notoriety without first being good to yourself is a path to pain and even self-destruction.

Now before you think this is a pre-cursor to me saying, “Sayonara”, and heading off into the sunset, I might disappoint some of you – it isn’t.

However, what will change for me is:

Immediate rejection of time thieves;
Working smarter not harder;
An immediate stop to giving out free advice – allowing people to learn from their own mistakes;
Be more self-aware and don’t let head and heart over-rule gut.
Ramping up my passion for learning, reading and writing; and…
Spending more time with people who want to spend time with me.
My love for helping others to sell their own home hasn’t and won’t wane.

It’s now in my blood and will always get my heart pumping.

I have found inspiration in my dad’s passing to be the best I can be – now more than ever on my terms.

The pursuit of pleasing everyone is a dead-end game.

Helping those who genuinely want my help is my focus from here on in. This is a big part of my re-aligned purpose.

Even though dad crammed a lot into his 95 years, we can’t get past the fact that life is short and should not be wasted on people, pursuits or activities that don’t nourish you and give you joy.

My true purpose is becoming very clear, and those who want to benefit from it are most welcome share my time and expertise.

Also, my family will benefit even more as I clear the decks and give them the time and guidance they deserve from me.

I hope that dad’s strength of character, integrity, stoicism and good humour live on in me, and my sons, and drive us to lead purposeful and meaningful lives.

I already miss him, but he would have wanted me to press on; and that is what I am doing – albeit with a few ‘wake up and smell the roses’ changes along the way.

See you dad – you were one of a kind and kind to one and all.

Allan Heppell: 30/6/22 – 29/11/17

Your home hasn’t sold? The REAL reasons properties don’t sell & what to do about it

How many reasons or excuses can your rattle off as to why your home didn’t or took an eternity to sell?

Phil Spencer, the likable Pom real estate ‘guru’ says in the trailer of his show, “There’s a thousand reasons why a home doesn’t sell.” Sorry Phil, you’ve overshot the truth by about 997 reasons.

You’ve heard it here ladies and gentlemen, there are actually only THREE, well three and a half, reasons a home or property languishes on the market or frustration gets the better of the sellers and they take it off the market.

Whether you are selling your home privately or through an agent, these are the immutable laws of whether or not you are going to be slapping that SOLD sticker up or, like a beaten favourite, dragging the ‘For Sale’ sign in and using the backside of it to advertise the upcoming school fete.

The best thing about these immutable laws is that they are controlled by one person or group of people – the sellers, the owners of the home or property being sold. Yep – you have total control over these laws and can fix or adjust them at any time. And to make it easy to remember, they all start with the letter ‘P’.

PROMOTION: Reaching and attracting buyers

You can’t sell a secret. Always think of promotion (advertising) like this –

Who is the likely buyer(s) for my home? Where will I find them?

A hint for part one is, they are likely to be just like you were at the time you bought the home, and part two – it’s nearly ALL online baby!

Buyers follow property, not agents and 95{5be8b5650852dcf96a34828ba5a88d9285f6c7439f02c8133f6b05e7d943eaff} of those buyers are searching, researching and shopping online. The advertising resources you need to promote your property are almost identical if you decide to sell your own home or hire the services of an agent.

Always think BIG online as it costs a fraction of print media which now only accounts for less than 5{5be8b5650852dcf96a34828ba5a88d9285f6c7439f02c8133f6b05e7d943eaff} of total buyer enquiry.

PRESENTATION: Impressing buyers

Is the home or property Clean, Uncluttered, Tidy, and Smelling nice? – C.U.T.S.

There is no quicker way to repel a buyer than to present an untidy, cluttered, unloved home. If you don’t show that you love it, the buyer won’t either.

If it doesn’t CUTS it, you are definitely handicapping the chance of a quick, well priced sale.

Inside and out, it needs to look its absolute best.

PORTRAYAL: Attracting and meeting the expectation of buyers

Portrayal is the half a reason – extending on both presentation and promotion.

Do the images (photos) and description match what you have to offer?

Did your 16 year old niece who studied photography at TAFE for three months take six brilliant shots of the birdbath? Is the washing up still on the sink of that ‘Chef’s kitchen’ that you had installed a year ago?

One of the biggest repellents for buyers is too few photos, or poorly taken images. Four is NOT enough and thirty four is too many. The optimum number to show online (where ever buyer looks) is around 12-15 shots.

I strongly recommend hiring pro- property photographers and make sure they don’t ‘overstate’ your home. Buyers hate turning up to what they believe is the Taj Mahal and finding the Taj Mahole. Be honest and accurate with your portrayal.

Do you want to hear the biggest and often the most ignored reason why properties take ages to sell or simply don’t?!

PRICE!: Attracting and providing value for buyers

No matter if a market is hot or cold. If you over price your home or property, based on the informative power of the web, buyers will give your home a wide berth and continue to look for better value amongst your competition. And always remember this – you will always have competition.

This has been proven time and time again. Price can stop a train.

This one law would account for over 90{5be8b5650852dcf96a34828ba5a88d9285f6c7439f02c8133f6b05e7d943eaff} of stagnant or unsold properties.

A lovely client of mine called just a few days ago and asked the $64,000 question, “Craig, why hasn’t my home sold? I haven’t had anyone come to see it?”

We agreed that the other 2.5 laws had been satisfied, however, it was bleedingly obvious that the seller had overshot the runway on price, although she did try to reach for some of Phil Spencer’s imaginary 996.5 reasons why a home doesn’t sell.

She was priced at $640,000 and we agreed that a change to ‘Buyers from $600,000’ might help things along. We made the change. Within 24 hours she had her first genuine enquiry.

That horrible term ‘Drop the Price’ does not need to be used – ever. Adjusting the pricing strategy is what it’s all about. In most cases an adjustment of 2-3{5be8b5650852dcf96a34828ba5a88d9285f6c7439f02c8133f6b05e7d943eaff} and a change of how you express the price is all it takes to get buyers moving.

I have written so much about this very subject, and this hugely important law can have significant impacts on the expectations and psyche of sellers everywhere. For Agent in a Box members, you will find a video on the subject in the members area.

So there you have it, 3.5 reasons why a home or property doesn’t sell. These laws won’t change. Observe them and your next real estate selling experience will be much happier and smoother.

How important are photos when I sell my house?

Maybe that question should read, “How important are great photos when I sell my house?”

On a scale of 1 – 10, the answer is 20!

Any images portraying your home or property for sale need to be a true representation of the property and be attractive to buyers.

Clear, crisp, uncluttered… however home sellers and some agents, are still uploading photos that just don’t cut it and turn buyers off.

Now that almost all buyer research is done online, photos, videos and floorplans are what buyers look for first.

A picture tells a thousand words – and you want those words to get buyers interested, not scrolling to the next property.

Recently a client who had made the decision to sell her own home asked me why, after 12 months, she could not sell the property.

It took me only 3 .7 seconds to find out why.

Her photos were dark. The home was untidy. Humans found their way into every second photo (including the cardinal sin of the ‘photographer’ being seen in the bathroom mirror).

“Does your home look like the photos you have used in the marketing?”

“Yes.”

“I rest my case – tidy the place up and get a pro to do them.”

Sadly, she has not seen fit not to take this advice onboard and the property remains for sale.

I say it time and time again – prepare, clean, tidy and unclutter your home then HIRE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER!

Simply Google ‘Property Photographers (your town/suburb)’. For about $200-$250 you should get around 12-15 professional shots and possibly a floor plan.

A small investment for a bigger reward wouldn’t you agree?

Or, if you feel that you or your 17 year old niece, who is studying photography at TAFE, are capable of getting the job done, here are a few tips to ensure your images are ‘buyer friendly’.

Let there be light. Open all blinds and curtains, turn on the lights to any room you may consider as dull. Buyers are attracted to light filled homes.
You may have already ‘presented the home’ as best you can, but make sure it looks not good, but great. The more pristine it looks, the more buyers will like it.
Use a camera with a good wide-angle lens. A picture tells a thousand words and buyers like to see space and depth and study a photo more closely if they are getting more interested in your property as they look.
Make sure the images are in landscape format NOT portrait.
Photograph your home front to back. Start with shots of the front (that is the first thing that buyers see when they come for an inspection).
Photograph each individual room aiming for the best depiction of light and space.
Kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces are the real visual ‘attractors’ of any home. Not the birdbath next to the gardenia bush.
Take multiple shots of each room and angles and pick the best. Ask the opinion of your family or trusted friends and do not be offended if your favourite is not theirs. You are photographing your home to attract buyers, not to please yourself!
Always pick your top 3 or 4. These are the shots that buyers will see first up on any of the major websites. If they like the look and value of your home, they will search deeper on your listing and see the rest.
Get the ‘money shot’ right. This is your main photo. The one that buyers see as they are scrolling on a page. This is the one you want to make them stop and look at. ALWAYS REMEMBER, you have got about 4-7 seconds to make a buyer consider and look further into your home.

In short, DO NOT leave your photos/images to chance.

You get one opportunity to make a good first impression!

When SOLD isn’t SOLD!

When do you tell the world that you have sold your own home?

It appears that many of you, and a good proportion of agents, want to jam on the ‘under contract’ sticker on the For Sale Sign and splash the same message all over the online property sites before the weight challenged lady actually sings.

What do I mean by that?

Even when we have shaken hands in agreement with a buyer and then signed the contract, in the vast majority of cases, there are conditions that have to be satisfied on the contract before the buyer is actually ‘locked and loaded’. Plus there is a mandatory cooling off period for buyers who have purchased under private treaty, rather than auction.

If a buyer purchases under Auction rules, whack up the SOLD sign. They own the property, purely waiting for completion or settlement date.

In some states this ‘locked and loaded’ milestone is called deeming the contract ‘unconditional’ or ‘exchanged’. This is the moment where, say, the buyer’s finance is approved or they are satisfied with their building inspection or both, or some other condition of purchase has been satisfied.

This means the buyer is now fully committed by law, and trying to leave the contract would put the buyer’s deposit at risk and followed up by possible legal action instigated by the seller.

Prematurely announcing to the world that the deal is done is a common mistake made by sellers and agents alike.

The big question is – What happens if the buyer pulls out because a condition of the contract could not be met or satisfied? Your home or property is back on the market!

If you have ‘SOLD’ or ‘Under Contract’ plastered everywhere, how many potential buyers have you scared off because they thought the property was actually sold- done and dusted?

Until any contract is locked in, you should and must continue to take enquiry from potential buyers just in case the worst happens – it falls over.

Simply tell them that you have a conditional agreement and will contact them should it fail to complete. The majority of buyers will understand this and be encouraged by the fact that someone else thought the property was good value and laid down an offer. This is the herd mentality at work in the seller’s favour.

I call this, ‘placing buyers on the bench’. It is a vital tactic whether selling your own home privately or using an agent.

If your current contract falls over you can go straight to the list of buyers you spoke to during the ‘conditional’ period.

Yes, it is very exciting when that deal comes together, but put that itchy ‘Sold’ finger in your pocket until that contract is set in concrete.

A ‘Sell My Own Home’ Story

How Max & Di did it themselves (with some help from us).

Max and Di are the sort of property owners you would find anywhere in Australia.

They have lived in Stafford Heights, a northern suburb of Brisbane, for 32 years and recently retired to the Sunshine Coast.

The time was right to sell the family home and move onto the next phase of their lives.

They, like every other home or property owner in Australia, asked the question, “Could I do this without an agent, sell my house? Save all that money on commission?”

“We’d heard that there were a few online real estate companies that could help you sell your own home without paying commission,” recalls Max.

“We had a sniff around the internet and saw this group called Agent in a Box.”

“The site and the process they offered looked pretty straight forward, but we still had a few questions, and we were a little nervous about doing it ourselves.”

“We decided to give them a call and spoke to the founder, Craig.”

“Within a few minutes we knew we had found the right place. His knowledge and straight forward approach was impressive.”

“We signed up, put together the info about our home and before we knew it, our property was on the big websites and a sign was delivered – it was real, we were on the market.”

“In the first week or so, we only had a few lookers come to our open homes but one lady made an offer which was way under what we really wanted. We weren’t sure what to do to get her price up or bring in a few more buyers.”

“Although there was plenty of advice and information on the Agent in a Box site, we thought it was time to talk to someone – we rang Craig.”

“We can’t believe how quickly Craig summed up our situation. We were firing questions and situations at him and he ended up saying, ‘You need to listen!'”

“Aren’t we glad we did. Craig gave us a couple of great ideas and tips that we used straight away.”

“This changed everything. Over the course of the next week we worked out the lady who had made the original offer was wasting our time, another couple who had shown tremendous interest were identified as ‘tyre kickers’ (we think it’s Craig’s favourite saying) and a serious buyer emerged and we agreed on a deal which gave us a price we were very happy with.”

“The whole process: signing up, putting our listing together, running some open homes, talking to buyers, dealing with offers and going to contract took about 6 weeks.”

“Looking back, I’m not sure what we were worried about.”

What was it that really impressed Max and Di about the process of selling their home without an agent?

“I think it was the quick and easy access to many years of real estate experience,” says Di

“I don’t think I’ve ever dealt with anyone who knows his stuff better than Craig. It’s like his entire working life and experience has been transferred to the information that’s offered on Agent in a Box.”

“Of course, not paying commission to sell my own home was a huge bonus and dealing directly with buyers helped us to understand how they really think.”

“We learned a lot from working with Agent in a Box. If we can do it, anyone can.”

Well done Max and Di – your success was well deserved.

Editors Note: Max and Di preferred to let their I SOLD IT sign do the talking rather than trying an ‘Oh What A Feeling’ Jump.

What does it REALLY cost to sell a property?

Are the current costs too high to sell real estate? What can you do to save a packet when you want to sell your home?

The Australian average for the period of time for residing in the same house is somewhere between 7 – 9 years. So about every 7-9 years, and for a hundred different reasons, we put our home out to the market to sell.

For the average Aussie family, who might have an adult working life of around 40 years, plus a healthy 20 years enjoying retirement, that means you may sell up, buy and move about 6 or 7 times. Each time the costs are as real as they are weighty.

Costs to sell your home

There are no taxes payable when you sell a residential home that you have lived in as your Principal Place of Residence. Phew! But when you buy your next property to live-in, there is an inescapable impost (tax) that you have to pay for the privilege of putting a roof over your head – Stamp Duty.

It is applicable to almost every property purchase in every State and Territory in Australia. For this article, we are going to stick to residential/buy to live in purchases, because purchases to invest attract a different and higher rate of Stamp Duty.

Before we talk about the immovable, non-negotiable cost of Stamp Duty, what about the optional, negotiable cost of sales commission.

To sell a home or property, around 97% of sellers will hire an agent to market the property and help negotiate a sale.

The average commission charged by Agents across Australia is 2.6% of the sale price, plus whatever advertising costs the Agent recommends and you agree to.

We’ll use the RP Data-Rismark Daily Home Value Index, 5 City Aggregate; which is an average of the current prices being obtained in Australia’s five largest capital cities (as at 3 March 2014). That price is $625,000.

You have just sold your house for $625,000.

Commission payable @ 2.6% is – $16,250
Marketing Costs (these vary) – $3,000
Total marketing and sale costs $19,250

There are still a few fixed cost, low fee Agents inhabiting the sales space, and they are usually charging around 1%-1.5% of the sale price plus advertising costs, whereas at the other end of the scale some ‘upmarket’ agents will charge in excess of 3% of the sale price.

Hence, the 2.6% average, which the vast majority of Agents observe and charge.

Then there are solicitor and moving costs. Of course you could go through the backbreaking effort of shifting the furniture yourself and save a few bucks. And it is possible to avoid the solicitors fess, though as discussed in my previous post, DIY conveyancing should be avoided.

So after all this, the $625,000 sale price will have cost you well in excess of $20,000.

Costs to purchase a property

Now for your purchase. Yahoo! Let’s say you found the dream home, in the area you always wanted to be in for $650,000. Going in (the purchase) the Stamp Duty must be paid. Calculated on the averages of all the State and Territory Stamp Duties throughout Australia, your $650,000 purchase will have you coughing up $28,600.

Throw in solicitors fees for the purchase, and you have a total ‘change over’ cost of $50,000 +, in this scenario.

How can you save on real estate transaction costs?

As you can see those 6 or 7 moves over your adult lifetime could really start to add up.

So how do you put a big hole in those selling and moving costs when you HAVE to pay stamp duty and pay an agent?

One of them is actually an ‘optional’ cost and I can already hear you saying it – “hiring the Agent is the big variable, can I sell my own home without an agent?”

In the scenario we described earlier, considering and undertaking a private sale, i.e. to sell your own home, would save you at least $19,000, almost halving the overall ‘change over’ costs.

Although, only 3% of Australian Home Owners are taking the calculated plunge into a Private Sale, this number is expected to increase as online marketing, sales, knowledge and support services such as Agent in a Box grow in popularity and strength.

These minimal fee, no commission, owner assisted models are becoming a viable, proven and cost saving alternative.

Everyone is looking to save money wherever they can in an economy that is showing signs of confidence, yet being tempered by job cuts brought about by large corporations looking to minimise labour costs.

The costs of selling a home or property are definitely going to come under the spotlight and alternatives to the long held traditional methods are emerging to bring relief to home owners.

12 Real Estate Terms You Should Know When Selling Your Own Property

In every industry, business sector or organised body of people, a language tends to form specific to those groups that individuals within the group can identify with and readily understand, allowing clear and concise communication within the group.

Many of us may know this as jargon.

The Real Estate Industry is certainly one of the groups that has its share of ‘terms’ or ‘Jargon’ to describe people, events and situations that is unique to itself.

You may know all or some of the terms I am about to share, however if you are selling your own home hearing, understanding or using these terms may not be so foreign to you during the marketing and sale process.

The Market:

This term describes all of the parts that go into the ‘space’ that is so often called the ‘Real Estate’ or ‘Property’ Market – Houses, land, units, buyers, sellers, agents, prices, yields…

However, the term, ‘The Market’, is predominantly referring to buyers.

The sentiment of buyers; their greed, fear, indifference, beliefs… is what really drives ‘The Market’. They are ‘it’! Without buyers there is basically nothing.

So, when you hear anyone say, “The market is hot.” “The market is active.” The market is sluggish.” They are actually referring to the sentiment, behaviour and actions of buyers.

Listing:

This describes a piece of real estate actually being offered to the open market, for sale. ‘Listed’ for sale.

Value:

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – and so is value!”

Value: The regard that something is held to deserve: the importance, worth or usefulness of something.

I have always said that sellers set the price, buyers determine the value.

The value of a property is what another party is willing to pay so you can transfer the ownership.

Price:

There are three types of price: The vendors expectational price; the list price and the sale price.

The price that matters most is the ‘sale price’. The best number that ‘The Market’ is willing to pay for your property.

Auction:

This is where a property is offered for sale with an ‘end date’, whereby a ceremony will take place publicly, at the property or in an auction room, conducted by a licenced auctioneer calling for ‘bids’ from interested buyers – and the highest bid, acceptable to the seller, deems that buyer as the new owner.

Private Treaty:

Listing a property for sale with a price, price guide or price range and calling for interested buyers to inspect and make direct offers, usually resulting in a negotiation process.

Objection:

When it comes to dealing with buyer objections it can be a tough experience to hear someone ‘knock’ your property – bring up things they don’t like about it.

Very early on I learned that an ‘objection’ was an indication the other party wanted more information or a solution to their doubt.

Most objections are around value, yet buyers express them in other ways, “The 3rd bedroom is too small.” “The back fence is not high enough.” “The driveway is a bit steep.”

An objection is a great indicator to ask a question and engage the buyer further.

Offer:

The action of a buyer interested in a property for sale, whereby they put forward a price (written or verbal) to the owner in a hope of immediate acceptance to purchase the property.

Counter Offer:

The price response from a home seller to the initial offer from the prospective buyer.

Negotiation:

The process of ongoing offer/counter offer between a buyer and seller to determine a price acceptable to both parties that will commence the transaction of completing the sale.

Terms/Conditions:

Terms refer to the ‘rules of law’ that are required to be observed by both buyer and seller to complete a property transaction. Each State in Australia has differing terms and when buying or selling a property it is HIGHLY advisable to engage a lawyer, conveyancer or settlement agent to assist in this regard.

Conditions refer to the satisfaction of the requirements of the buyer that will ensure the transaction can be completed.

The most common conditions are: Finance approval from the buyer’s lending institution and the buyer employing the services of a qualified building inspection to check for possible faults within or around the property. These conditions must be met/completed by a certain date for the transaction to proceed.

Contract:

The legally binding document(s) that encompasses, indicates and stipulates the agree price, amount of deposit held, all the terms and conditions and dates for conditions and settlement.

All parties (Buyers and Sellers) must sign and initial where necessary, and the contractual process and time frames are monitored by legal representatives for both parties.

*Always be in communication with legal representatives during this time to make sure conditions are being met and dates adhered to.

I hope this sheds some light on not only the terms used in Real Estate, but also the processes that make up the marketing/sale/transaction process.