Selling House Tips Advice

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WhyME

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Hi guys

I am in a process of selling my house, I will be using estate agents to sell. Any advise or possible pit falls to avoid?

Thanks
 
WhyME said:
Hi guys

I am in a process of selling my house, I will be using estate agents to sell. Any advise or possible pit falls to avoid?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Best advice is don't use an estate agent.. that commission is an awful lot for what they actually do. Assuming of course that people WANT to buy your house...
 
I also agree, estate agents and used car salesmen add very little value but take a huge chunk of money.

I've only met one Estate agent that was ever worth her salt and she worked for rawson.
 
Do your own research to determine your property value, sites like propertyspy and windeed come to mind
Negotiate the agent commission down before signing anything, they will start at about 8%, realistically you could start at 5%
Negotiate lower commission once an offer is made, possibly as low as 3-4%
Ask about multi-listing or ERL, this will open up to all the agents in the area

Be realistic.
 
Arzy said:
Do your own research to determine your property value, sites like propertyspy and windeed come to mind
Negotiate the agent commission down before signing anything, they will start at about 8%, realistically you could start at 5%
Negotiate lower commission once an offer is made, possibly as low as 3-4%
Ask about multi-listing or ERL, this will open up to all the agents in the area

Be realistic.
Click to expand...

Thanks what is ERL?

Also this will be my first property sale, its not for business purpose, is tax charged on sale?
 
wentworth65 said:
I also agree, estate agents and used car salesmen add very little value but take a huge chunk of money.

I've only met one Estate agent that was ever worth her salt and she worked for rawson.
Click to expand...

Agreed. When we were buying house, we waited about 4 weeks for the estate agent to get the financials from the complex we were buying in.

Wife Whatsapps her one day in a bit of a mood as we were both (as well as the seller) getting extremely irate at all the dragging on - she tells my wife she needs to drive to the complex and pick it up herself, as she is busy with a prayer group.

Sale nearly fell through because the seller wanted to call off the deal completely, and was trying to prevent the commission being paid over to the agent, but turns out there was nothing we could do about it as technically 'she had done her job'.

They're just slightly above car guards in my opinion.
 
When they want to "show" your house on a day be very very weary and lock or take all valuables away.
 
Hemi300c said:
When they want to "show" your house on a day be very very weary and lock or take all valuables away.
Click to expand...

This. I might even go as far as hiring a security guard to stalk around on the day. People are twats and they will steal your stuff.

PS: Do not leave your car keys in a pot by the door, take them with you or the car will wander off.
 
Not the advice you are looking for but I would avoid estate agents at all costs.
 
Are the estate agents suppose to change commission + VAT on my account? Asking more about VAT.
 
WhyME said:
Are the estate agents suppose to change commission + VAT on my account? Asking more about VAT.
Click to expand...

another scaly thing they do, you unfortunately have to negotiate the commission to include VAT from the start otherwise they add it after the fact.
 
I know I have been advised against sole mandate, but for interest sake can it be signed for a fixed period, say I give agent time to sell for 3 months if they fail then I can get another agent to take over?
 
WhyME said:
I know I have been advised against sole mandate, but for interest sake can it be signed for a fixed period, say I give agent time to sell for 3 months if they fail then I can get another agent to take over?
Click to expand...

Yes. In fact insist on this. Keep it to a max of 2 months, you can always extend it if you want or need to.
 
I signed a tri-mandate and agreed on a fixed %.

I found that there was great competition between the three agents. They all tried to get as many feet through the door before the other agents sold.. I ended up selling in 30 days..
 
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