Selling Essentials

“Buyers decide in the first eight seconds of seeing a home

if they’re interested in buying it.

Get out of your car, walk in their shoes and see what they see

within the first eight seconds.”

Barbara Corcoran

Selling a property is not as simple as just opening the front door and letting people walk through your home and it will basically sell itself.

There is a long ‘To Do’ list to complete before the first Open House Inspection if you want to sell for top dollar.

Here are the 4 most frequently asked questions by property sellers:

1. Which selling method should I use?

2. How to prepare my property for sale?

3. Which are the best marketing strategies?

4. How much will the estate agent charge me?

The most common selling methods are sales by Private Treaty and by Public Auction and both have their pros and cons.

Selling Essentials

“Buyers decide in the first eight seconds of seeing a home if they’re interested in buying it.

Get out of your car, walk in their shoes and see what they see within the first eight seconds.”

Barbara Corcoran

Selling a property is not as simple as just opening the front door and letting people walk through your home and it will basically sell itself.

There is a long ‘To Do’ list to complete before the first Open House Inspection if you want to sell for top dollar.

Here are the 4 most frequently asked questions by property sellers:

1. Which selling method should I use?

2. How to prepare my property for sale?

3. Which are the best marketing strategies?

4. How much will the estate agent charge me?

The most common selling methods are sales by Private Treaty and by Public Auction and both have their pros and cons.

Private Treaty Sales

Private Treaty sales work in any market conditions and any areas and are preferred by buyers because:

1. Properties are advertised with a price tag - the buyer knows the seller’s expectations.

2. There is no time limitation – the buyer feels less pressure to make up their mind, they can take their time to conduct their research while still comparing properties.

3. Contracts can be exchanged with a Cooling Off Period – the buyer can pull out of the purchase with little or no penalty within that period while the seller cannot.

4. Price negotiations are between buyer and seller and depending on their negotiation skills the buyer can put pressure on the seller to reduce the asking price.

Private Treaty Sales

Private Treaty sales work in any market conditions and any areas and are preferred by buyers because:

1. Properties are advertised with a price tag - the buyer knows the seller’s expectations.

2. There is no time limitation – the buyer feels less pressure to make up their mind, they can take their time to conduct their research while still comparing properties.

3. Contracts can be exchanged with a Cooling Off Period – the buyer can pull out of the purchase with little or no penalty within that period while the seller cannot.

4. Price negotiations are between buyer and seller and depending on their negotiation skills the buyer can put pressure on the seller to reduce the asking price.

Public Auction Sales

Sales by Public Auction might not work everywhere but are preferred by sellers because:

1. Properties are advertised without a price tag – the buyer can’t focus on price.

Public Auction Sales

Sales by Public Auction might not work everywhere but are preferred by sellers because:

1. Properties are advertised without a price tag – the buyer can’t focus on price.

2. There is a time limitation. The buyer must complete their due diligence before the auction date and decide whether they are willing to buy the property by either placing the highest bid at auction or forwarding a compelling pre-auction offer.

3. There is no Cooling-Off Period – Contracts of Sale are unconditionally exchanged at the highest auction bid or accepted pre-auction offer.

4. Buyers compete against each other at the auction and the emotional pressure exercised by the auctioneer can drive the price up.

3. There is no Cooling-Off Period – Contracts of Sale are unconditionally exchanged at the highest auction bid or accepted pre-auction offer.

4. Buyers compete against each other at the auction and the emotional pressure exercised by the auctioneer can drive the price up.

Sales by Public Auction work against the buyer because:

1. Properties are advertised without a price tag – the buyer needs to decide what the property might be worth to them.

2. There is a time limitation – buyers have less time to shop around and they must complete their due diligence before the auction or before submitting a pre-auction offer.

3. There is no Cooling-Off Period – the buyer is unconditionally committed to the purchase if they won the auction or have their pre-auction offer accepted.

4. Buyers compete against each other at the auction and might get carried away for the ‘Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)’ and pay a maximum price.

This means in Public Auction sales the seller controls the process.

Preparing your Property for Sale

The extent of preparing your property for sale depends on the state of repair of your home and your available budget.

Presentation is everything and will impress your potential buyers, especially if you can’t afford any updates.

There are ample hints and tips on that subject in my book “Thinking of Selling – The Step by Step Guide to Selling Your Property for Top Dollar”.

Marketing your Property for Sale

Marketing your property for sale is for one simple reason – Creating Competition

You can’t sell a secret and you need sufficient buyer competition if you want to achieve a satisfying sales result within a reasonable time frame.

The longer a property stays on the market the less likely it will sell for top dollar or might not sell at all.

Potential buyers will think the property is overpriced and/or there is something wrong with it.

Competition is created with Reach (how many people will see your property advertised) and Frequency (how many times will people see your property advertised) of the marketing campaign.