Hi, I am wondering how hard it is to sell without an agent when one lives far from the house for sale.
My problem is, my 2 houses (one in NSW and one in QLD) have both been on the mmarket awhile now. I really don't think the estate agents are doing much for me. One I havn't even heard from in months, the other I always have to call. I have spent heaps in advertising costs etc and will then have to pay their commision if they happen to finally them.So how hard would it be for me to sell them myself? Where would I advertise etc???????? I think I am still locked into contracts for now with the agents, but if I withdrew the houses from sale then re-listed them on my own, would that fix that problem? Or even if I was the one to send a potential buyer to them, would they only get part commision?
I took the plunge and advertised them on a sell your own home site today and even put one in the ebay classified for 28 days, just to try to get a little more exposure rather than forking out another $700 odd to cover real estate marketing in the newspapers that lucky to last 2 months or so.
Any ideas for best places to advertise etc….and also, being so far away (especially from the qld one) would it even be in my best interest? Perhaps I could give the key to the neighbour to show anyone through.
I mean, even looking at the estates write ups for my houses, they aren't really focussing on the selling points I feel shoild be adresses!
TIA
Hi TIA,
I hate to hear how badly some realestate salespeople treat their clients – you are the perfect example and I would be giving them the shove if I was you. However, if your property sells whilst you have a contract to sell with these agencies you will be liable for the commission. Have a read through your agreement with them and see if you can cancel at any stage with written notice and what subject to's they include when you do this. I have done this very thing with an agent that was very nice but kept trying to tell me I was expecting too much money for my property – she had no idea I had been working as a REA for close to 10 years at the time. I gave her written notice that I was withdrawing my property for sale after a mini-cyclone had decimated our neighbourhood ( my house and yard were untouched but it worked as a great excuse!) and then put it into the hands of another agent who sold it within a week for close to $50,000 more than she was trying to convince me was its true worth. Hmmm – perhaps she wanted a friend to buy my house?
So, as the agents you have are not working your property well it can't hurt to try www. owner.com.au or the like – as you have already done – but the distance you need to travel could be a problem. May I ask what area of Queensland your property is in? Perhaps you could take the time to get to it once a fortnight and have it as an open house and advertise in the local paper? If it is an investment property you should be able to use your travel as a deduction from any profit you might make on it – check this one out with your accountant though. Have you thought of phoning another agent (all agents) in the area to see what their thoughts are on the saleability of your property? Have you actually considered speaking to the person in the office that you have your house listed with to voice your complaints? Sometimes this can do wonders to get some action moving on having your property sold.
I hope you achieve your goal shortly.
All the best
Debbie
Thanks for the quick Reply Debbie,
I think i'll give the QLD agent a ring and make sure he hasn't lost my number…lol…that property is in Warwick, so an 8 hr drive from here….yuck! I guess I worry that with so many houses, how much attention is mine REALLY getting from the selling agent. Like my one in Narrabri is listed at 148K and is one of the cheapest on the market there and in good cond. yet it hasn't sold….is this because the agent is steering buyers to the more expensive ones to get more commision????? etc etc….Well just called, and the one near warwick is no longer exclusive, they hadn't even changed the price on the net! Have ton wonder if they have done so in the windows, apparently they get enquiries every 2nd day but no-one goes through when they are told it's 10 minutes out of town, have to wonder if prospective buyers knew the price had dropped would they be more interested!
I still think your agent is not working for his/her commission. Of course now that you are out of the "exclusive" agreement they will won't to know even less of you I expect. Of course not everyone works like this but it would appear the majority do. I can understand you don't want to drive 8 hours to meet someone only to find "they have changed their mind". If you know a neighbour well enough leave them with the key but make sure they are the kind of people who could talk a potential purchaser out of the deal – this can happen even when owners get involved! Maybe find out what the house could rent for – there are not that many on realestate.com.au. and include a projected, realistic rent and then maybe advertise it in the Courier Mail and the Gold Coast Bulletin if it works well on expected figures.
Keep at them though and if they still don't get their act together either do your own thing – at least give it a try – or find a new agent. One of the very first properties I ever bought I never even saw an agent! It was with an agent but he was too far away and wouldn't drive anywhere on a weekend – can you believe that! I bought the place and made a fortune on it after 5 years of hard work getting it into some sort of shape.
I do love property when it works well.
May you solve your problems soon.
All the best
Debbie
Mate there are a lot of agents down there and several who could do the job better…as an agent myself i am so sorry you're not being treated better…give us all a bad name!!!!! you could try some of the toowoomba agents too…there is some good ones there and even though Warwick is an hour away – Many rural buyers go to toowoomba (being the major regional centre) to start their search and then look out from there (I work Brisbane but used to live up there).
good luck with it
I offered my selling agent more commission and promised the salesman a personal bonus for selling within the agreed period and within my price parameters. He got very busy, focussed on my property, and sold it for my price within the agreed period. It was a pleasure to pay him, which is what it's all about. Sales people work for money, and they choose which house they give most attention to, so why not make it attractive ? And as many people say, make your property stand out and get attention, so I did.
Worked for me.
Cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
Never spend any money on advertising.
It is a total con. Agents make a good part of their income from it and they rely on it.
The punters are already out there looking in the windows, the streets and on the internet. besides; there are already many other people advertising their houses, so there is plenty of advertising to draw their attention to your area.
All you need is a photo on the internet, a photo in the agent's window, maybe a very basic sign on the property and a few fliers on the reception desk at the agent's office if people ask for one.
Make the agent pay for all of this out of their commission.
Finally, spend the saved ad money on getting the house valued by a VALUER (not an agent as they will try to "buy" your listing by promising the world).
Also, do your own research on the similar houses in the area and what they are selling for right now – not 3 months ago or longer.
You will then know what the actual value of the property is worth TODAY, and you can put the correct price on it and sell it in a short time.
You can sack an agent at any time; just send them a written letter stating they are terminated. Unfortunately you can't recoup the ad costs, and there may be a period after the contract ends where the agent is still entitled to a commission if you sell to a buyer they have already introduced to the property. See the fine print on the contract.
You may have to wait a little while before signing another agent to avoid this clause. This is not a bad thing, as by now your property is "stale". All the buyers have seen it, and they have either bought something better value, or are waiting for you to drop your price.
It may be best to take it off the market for a month or two, then start again.
Next time, stipulate to the new agent no advertising unless they pay for it out of their commission, and only sign them for 60 days maximum (45 is even better – they will get to work as they are short on time).
Thanks Marc,
Yes we have had proper valuations done, one was 2 months ago when we were looking at refinancing to access the equity, and then again just a week ago as we sold one of 3 houses tied into the one loan.
Now if we could just sell one of the others, preferably the one near warwick (would actually prefer to keep the Narrabri one because the rent more than covers the loan and it will be worth alot more in 18mnths, but if we get a decent offer will sell).How long should we leave them on the market before 'resting them' a bit.
Ebay seems to have been getting a few hits, even a phone call about the Narrabri one beleive it or not!
, but if we get a decent offer will sell).You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
