1. Find a good sales consultant
The difference between a mediocre salesperson and a very good salesperson can mean thousands of dollars more for your home.
2. List exclusively with one agency
Listing with us exclusively will enable you to secure a dedicated Lochore’s salesperson to fully commit their time, resources and expertise into selling your home. Listing with multiple agencies can result in less attention and commitment.
3. Price your home at the right market value
Pricing your home too high is a sure way to deter prospective buyers. We will advise you on how much we think your home is worth in the current market and recommend the appropriate sale price to attract the optimum number of buyers.
4. Avoid over-capitalisation
If you’re planning on making any significant improvements before selling your
home, first ask our advice about how much extra value they might add to the sale price. This will assist you to make a more informed decision about whether the expense is justified.
5. Develop a customised marketing campaign for a specified timeframe
We will appraise your home, identifying if there are any repairs or maintenance necessary to bring your house to a market-ready standard. We will then work with you to customise a marketing campaign to attract the biggest possible number of potential buyers in your price range.
6. Present your home at its best
Keeping the lawn mown, the garden cared for, attending to obvious small repairs and ensuring that your home is clean, tidy and free of clutter will make a good first impression. If you are selling in a high-priced neighbourhood, consider using a professional home-staging company to optimise your presentation.
7. Use a good salesperson to negotiate the sale
There’s often a gap between what the buyer is prepared to pay and what the seller is willing to accept. Our role is to close this gap in your favour and to achieve the best possible price for your home.
Questions to ask your salesperson
- How long have you been selling real estate?
- How many homes have you sold in my area?
- What do you know about the market in my area?
- Do you live in the local area?
- What range of marketing packages do you offer?
- How many open homes do you recommend?
- Do you provide regular feedback reports to sellers?
- If I list my home, when would the marketing begin?
- Why should I choose you?
What do you offer that’s different from other real estate agents? - What is your company’s commission rate? Does it include marketing?
Marketing options
The real estate market is constantly changing. We recommend whichever marketing option we believe will be best for the buyer at the time. Many of our competitors only promote auctions, whereas we create a marketing strategy that’s tailored to suit the vendor and their property in the current market conditions – and this may or may not include an auction.
Exclusive agency with an asking price
- All buyers are eligible, conditional and unconditional.
- Fixed asking price makes negotiating easier for the buyer.
- Has a defined marketing programme.
- One person is responsible for all activities and reporting to the vendor.
- Over 90% of our sales come from exclusive listings.
Auction
- An opportunity to maximise the sale price.
- Pre-planned marketing programme to maximise property profile in the marketplace.
- Buyers compete against other buyers, not the vendor.
- Established sales date creates urgency for buyers.
- Eliminates perceived negatives and objections to any asking price.
- Unconditional sale on the vendor’s terms and maximum price on the day.
- One person is responsible for all activities and reporting to the vendor.
Tender
- All buyers are eligible, conditional and unconditional.
- Pre-planned marketing programme to maximise property profile in the marketplace.
- Creates urgency for buyers with a pre-set closing date.
- Buyers must give their best price and terms.
- You can negotiate with buyers after bidding has closed.
- Privacy – you don’t have to declare what bids were received.
- One person is responsible for all activities and reporting to vendor.
For sale by negotiation
- A proven advanced system of marketing with established negotiation guidelines.
- Opportunity to maximise sale price by not fixing an upper limit with an asking price.
- Allows a margin for a premium without over-pricing your property.
- A greater range of buyers can consider your property.
- All buyers are eligible, conditional and unconditional.
- One person is responsible for all activities and reporting to the vendor.
Prepare your home for sale
View your home from a buyer’s perspective and make decisions accordingly.
Checklist
Exterior impressions
- Ensure that street numbers and tidy letterbox are in an easy-to-see position.
- Wash paintwork and decks and spray the driveway, paved paths or courtyard to eliminate moss or mould.
- Clean/repair spouting.
- Clean and tidy garage/carport.
- Tidy and clear away rubbish bins.
- Repair any cracked or broken windows.
- Trim hedges and shrubs, mow lawn, weed garden.
- Cut back any vegetation growing over windows.
Front entrance
- Ensure the entrance is clean, tidy and uncluttered.
- Check that the doorbell works.
General interior impressions
- All chipped paint and cracked plaster is repaired.
- The wallpaper is in tidy condition.
- All door, window and cupboard latches open and close easily.
- All lights are operational.
- Ensure halls/stairways are tidy and free of clutter.
- Carpets are freshly vacuumed.
Bathroom
- All surfaces – mirrors, fixtures, taps are clean and polished.
- All taps are in good order.
- Seals around the bath and basin are in good repair.
- Floors are clean, rubbish containers emptied.
- Cupboards and cabinets are tidy inside.
- New or fresh towels are hanging on the racks.
- All clutter removed from vanity unit and around bath or shower.
- The shower curtain is clean or new.
Kitchen
- Sinks and taps are clean and polished.
- All appliances are clean.
- Benches are clean and polished and free of clutter.
- The cupboards and pantry are neat and tidy.
Bedrooms
- Ensure that all wardrobes are tidy. Potential buyers often check storage facilities.
- Remove clutter from all surfaces.
- Ensure the bed linen is new or clean and pressed. Arrange pillows neatly.
Open homes
- Jewellery and valuables are safely locked away or taken with you.
Create an atmosphere when your house is being shown to buyers
- Use a diffuser with scented oil in the main living area.
- Place fresh flowers in vases in key living areas/hallways.
- Heat the home if the weather is cool.
- Curtains should be open and the blinds rolled up.
- Play light music softly in the background.
- Ideally, pets should be absent during showing.
Multi-unit dwellings
Sellers of a unit title property need to comply with disclosure obligations outlined in the Unit Titles Act 2010. They are obliged to provide buyers with up to three separate disclosure statements to assist them to make an informed purchase decision.
These include:
Pre-contract disclosure statement
The seller must provide this statement at the time they enter into a listing agreement with a real estate agent. The statement contains general information about unit title ownership, as well as specific details such as the amount of the levy for the unit, upcoming maintenance to the development, funds held by the body corporate, and whether the unit or common property is or has been the subject of a claim under the weather-tight homes resolution service or if there are any other issues relating to water penetration.
Before a buyer enters into a sale and purchase agreement, the seller must cover the cost of providing the following information to the buyer:
(i) Body corporate levies and proposed levies for the next 12 months.
(ii) Proposed maintenance for the next 12 months.
(iii) Balance of bank accounts.
Pre-settlement disclosure statement
The seller must provide this statement no later than the fifth working day before settlement date. This settlement is usually organised through the seller’s solicitor to give the buyer a summary of the current fees and charges relating to the unit.
(i) Due date for levies.
(ii) Amount of any unpaid levies.
(iii) Disclose whether legal proceedings have been instituted for any unpaid levy.
(iv) Disclose whether there have been any changes to the body corporate operational rules since the most recent disclosure statement.
Additional disclosure statement
The seller provides this statement at the request of the buyer, and the buyer must pay all reasonable costs associated with providing this information. The purpose of this statement is to make accessible to potential buyers the body corporate records on maintenance, finances, insurance, contracting and governance.
(i) Details of regular expenses incurred by the body corporate at least once a year.
(ii) Insurance details.
(iii) Information about every lease affecting the base land of the unit title development.
A buyer can request an additional disclosure statement at any time:
(i) The fifth working day after the date the sale and purchase agreement was entered, or:
(ii) The tenth working day before the settlement date.
If a buyer makes a request, the seller must provide the additional disclosure statement to the buyer within five working days of receiving the request.
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