8 questions smart home sellers ask

Look for answers beyond the superficial. For example, “I sell lots of houses in this area” or “My average time on market is only 22 days”. Be wary of agents that are self-focused. They are easy to identify as they often simply sit and gloat about properties they have sold.

The right agent will focus on you and your goals: how they can help get you where you want to go. Good agents are well trained in methods and strategies of sale that benefit you, the seller.

Decide what you want from your agent.

Choosing your agent is a key factor in making smart selling decisions. They will guide your decisions around price, method of sale, use of advertising media and your marketing investment.

Hiring the right agent to sell your property is crucial. Hiring the wrong agent costs a lot more than just their selling fee. Take great care when deciding which agent to trust.

When asked this question, good agents will provide a strategy that will minimise your risk.

You should not have to pay marketing costs upfront when selling. At PH Property, we defer your marketing costs for up to three months or until your property settles, whichever comes first. This takes the immediate financial burden away to help you make clear decisions on your biggest asset.

As well as providing financial safety, our process allows home sellers to test the market without damaging their property’s digital footprint. A digital footprint is important; it is your property’s online history and can greatly affect the final price you receive if the initial process is not handled with care and diligence.

Your agent should be aware of your property’s digital footprint and monitor it closely. To safely market a property and obtain the highest price, a strategy must exist to manage the conflict that arises between advertising online and the digital footprint. Any agent you interview should be able to discuss their strategy for managing this conflict.

Many home sellers have a legitimate fear of underselling their property. And why wouldn’t they? Approaching the market with a clear plan and price point will minimise damaging your digital footprint.

The right agent is able to discuss the many factors that can drive a sale price below market value, including poor advertising, a price indication that is too low, an asking price that is too high or an agent underselling a property to a friend or colleague (real estate’s version of insider trading).

To avoid underselling a property, it’s important to understand the methods of sale various agents are likely to recommend, what they are designed for and the significant part the agent plays in selling the property.

The chosen method of sale will affect marketing options, initial costs the agent expects sellers to pay, the price quoted in advertising and, most significantly, the final price achieved.

While seemingly an obvious question, agents will rarely give a clear and direct answer.

The two most common lies* told in the real estate industry involve the price estimate quoted to potential sellers. They are:

1. The improbable lie. This is when an agent intentionally inflates a property’s potential selling price; it’s the lie most people are aware of and dislike about real estate agents.

2. The lie of omission. This is when an agent, knowing the probable selling price, chooses not to tell the owner; it’s a more subtle lie, but still prevalent in the industry.

Both lies have the capacity to hurt you financially and emotionally. An agent who is honest about all facets of selling, including price, is a rare, true professional. They deserve your trust.

Ensure that any price agents discuss with you is based on evidence in the form of comparable, recently sold properties in your area. They should also reference other properties you would be competing with and current demand for your style of property.

Important point: when discussing price with agents, never disclose how much you are hoping to get. Above all, never disclose the minimum price you are willing to accept. Doing so will almost certainly cause you to achieve a lower sale price.

Remember, a real estate agent should be chosen on their ability to find the best buyer for your property and to negotiate that buyer’s maximum price. This can mean as much as $30,000 or more in your pocket.

Agents should not be chosen on their ability to simply quote the highest price.

*Source: Real Estate Dangers by Andrew Trim (John Wiley & Sons publisher)

Selling your property should not mean having to find thousands of dollars for marketing before your campaign has even begun.

At PH Property, we do things differently. We hold your marketing and advertising costs for up to three months, meaning there is no upfront marketing or advertising payment required when your property goes to market.

We are confident in our ability to position, present and market your property effectively. We do not expect your property to remain on the market for that length of time.

If a property has not sold within three months, the marketing and advertising costs will become payable. More importantly, reaching that point is usually a sign that something within the campaign needs to be reassessed.

In most cases, this comes back to price positioning.

Buyer enquiry, inspection numbers, feedback and market activity give us valuable information about how buyers are responding to your property. If the market is consistently telling us that the current price position is preventing a sale, we will have an open and honest conversation with you about repositioning the property.

Adjusting the price does not mean simply reducing it for the sake of achieving a sale. It means responding strategically to market feedback and repositioning the property to attract the right buyers, create renewed interest and give you the best opportunity to achieve a successful result. Some properties sit above the market. Positioning your property within the market helps attract buyer interest.

Our goal is simple: market your property properly from the beginning, remove the burden of upfront marketing costs and work with you throughout the campaign to get your property sold.

This question is two-for-one. Smart sellers will look to see if the agent has given consideration to how buyer inspection styles affect the final sale price. Does the agent understand how the inspection process is tied to the negotiation?

One-on-one inspections should always be available to buyers. This is particularly important in a stable or falling market. If the balance of power tips towards the buyer, a property should be available for inspection at a time that suits them.

If a genuine buyer wants an inspection, the agent should arrange it. In stable or falling markets there are fewer buyers and more properties for sale; forcing buyers to wait for a scheduled open home increases the chance they will purchase elsewhere. A private appointment to inspect, set promptly, increases a buyer’s expectation this property will sell quickly, in turn increasing your negotiating power as the seller.

Further to this, each prospective buyer is qualified, meaning you will have an understanding of their position: whether they have sold, have to sell, have money ready to go or have finance pre-approved. This will help you make the best decision regarding inspections.

Smart open homes should be conducted to attract buyers that may otherwise be unlikely to enquire on the property. When conducted, professional agents check identification and collect contact information before anyone enters the property.

Effective follow-up enables an agent to develop an understanding of an interested buyer, their motives and budget. This information is necessary to negotiate the best price for you.

Many agents will only use one method of inspection. To guarantee the best price, a combination of open homes and private inspections is essential. Good agents will give serious thought to their inspection strategy and be able to articulate it to you.

It is likely that the agent you’re interviewing doesn’t have a negotiation strategy. Most quite simply don’t understand negotiation and instead choose to discuss their ‘offer process’.

This is not negotiation.

An ‘offer process’ is simply the conveying of a buyer’s offer to you, the seller. Smart sellers realise that this isn’t a negotiation strategy, but rather a basic form of mediation.

A mediator is a person who assists and guides parties toward their own resolution. The mediator neither decides nor influences the outcome. They simply allow parties to reach an acceptable agreement with one another.

When selling your property, you do not want a mediator. You want a negotiator.

An agent’s negotiation ability is their true value to you as the seller, a point that is often overlooked or misunderstood.

The skills and tactics employed after an interested buyer is found (the method of sale, the marketing, the pricing and the inspections) all lead to this final negotiation.

The contract negotiation is the final chance to ensure you get the best price in the market today. An agent with great negotiation skills and the right strategy could make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars.

Beyond negotiating the sale, we will guide you through any conditions, keeping you informed and working on your behalf through any issues that arise with pest and building inspections to get you the best outcome and retain momentum with your sale.

Agents need to have the skill and ability to help achieve your goals. You and your requirements must be their sole focus. In doing so, the buyer will still get what they want, a great property.

Smart sellers understand an agent’s most important duty is that of a negotiator. Ensure your agent has a proven negotiation strategy focused on one goal: achieving the best possible result for you.

Agents must add more value than they charge.

Consider this: if an agent charges an extra $5,000 but negotiates an extra $20,000, wouldn’t you agree that this agent is $15,000 more valuable to you than a cheaper competitor?

Often people will hire an agent based on the answers to these two questions: how much will you get me? How much do you charge?

On the surface, these questions appear to be a fair and reasonable way to choose an agent. However, quite simply they are the wrong questions to ask. Smart sellers understand that superficial questions invite superficial answers.

Any agent being interviewed must be able to prove their value. You have to dig deeper than the superficial to make a smart decision.

Always consider value as opposed to cost when selecting an agent.

Guarantees provide property sellers with the peace of mind that if they select the wrong agent, they are not stuck with them.

Under various guises, almost all agents offer some sort of guarantee, such as ‘Our promise’, ‘Service plan’ or ‘Our commitments’. Unless there is recourse for the owner to terminate an agent’s agreement if they do not live up to their commitments, such promises, plans and ‘guarantees’ are all but useless in holding an individual agent or agency to account.

It is an unfortunate truth that an agent’s promises cannot be taken at face value. Therefore, along with their listing agreements, agents should offer a dismissal clause. If the agent doesn’t deliver on their promises, you can end the selling agreement.

A fair dismissal clause allows the agent a brief period to resolve any problems and to continue as your agent if they do.

Smart sellers know that if an agent is not prepared to back their service with a guarantee that contains a dismissal clause, then they are not the right agent for them.