Advice needed about selling property using agent

[Brits]

Hi
I am thinking seriously bout selling one of my investment properties. If anyone wants me to elaborate on that and give me advice about the sense of doing so please say. However I would like to know how much I can sell my property on my terms if using an agent. What I'd like to k

1 I would like to sell through an agent and will give them exclusivity however I do not want to sign anything to this effect or anything else. I am good to my word and can ensure an agent that given he/she does the right thing by me I will do the right thing by them. Is this a fair request?

2 I do not want to pay for any advertising. I believe the property being where it is and what it is will sell pretty easily despite little advertising. Is this reasonable?

3 once the agent and I have agreed on a minimum price for the property I will not reduce it and I will tell the agent so. What do you think?

4 I will give an agent exclusivity for 6 weeks max then the deal's off. Fair?

Given all of the above and the property is prob worth about 300,000 in a highly sort after area so pretty easy to sell what is a fair commission to pay my agent?

I'd like to hear other's comments. Also who has sold not using an agent and how hard is it?

Thanks
Brits

 

[neK]

When i sold my unit i told them they had 6 weeks to make it happen.

When going through the contract (agent was completing it), there was a end contract date - I said 30 September, he said yep, 30 November and started writing it down.

I made him cross it out rewrite it properly. It was NOT an honest mistake, it was him being sly and hoping I wouldn't notice.

I can tell you that if i was all excited about selling and missed this point, come 30 September, he would have pulled out the contract and said it says 30 November and you signed it.

Anyway, just watch out for sly things, probably doesn't hurt to have another person who has no emotional attachment to your property to view the contract prior to you signing just to make sure you don't get caught out.

 

[neK]

To answer you actual questions:

1. I do not believe you have to sign exclusivity, however some agencies may not be willing to take on your business if you do not. Also I don't think your word means much to an agent - mainly because you are telling a person who lies and bends the truth to trust you (when they know if they told a person to trust them, they would be lying through their teeth)

2 I do not want to pay for any advertising. I believe the property being where it is and what it is will sell pretty easily despite little advertising. Is this reasonable?

2. Good photos sell houses - i would pay for that. Agents like to pass the cost of listing on the internet to the vendor.

3. You can try, it won't stop them from conditioning you. You're human and have emotions. Agents will exploit that for their own benefit. Only thing you can do is stick to your guns.

4. Then sign the exclusivity agreement for 6 weeks. I did that and it worked fine.

Regarding commission, find out what other agencies are charging and go from there.

 

[Jaggannath]

Hi
1 I would like to sell through an agent and will give them exclusivity however I do not want to sign anything to this effect or anything else. I am good to my word and can ensure an agent that given he/she does the right thing by me I will do the right thing by them. Is this a fair request?

2 I do not want to pay for any advertising. I believe the property being where it is and what it is will sell pretty easily despite little advertising. Is this reasonable?

3 once the agent and I have agreed on a minimum price for the property I will not reduce it and I will tell the agent so. What do you think?

4 I will give an agent exclusivity for 6 weeks max then the deal's off. Fair?

Given all of the above and the property is prob worth about 300,000 in a highly sort after area so pretty easy to sell what is a fair commission to pay my agent?

1. Would you trust them if they proposed it to you? If not, no.
2. There are always advertising costs, even if only taking photos and listing on re.com.au. If you want to org yourself, why not sell it yourself and just pay a conveyancer/solicitor?
3. Fair enough
4. Fair
5. If it's so easy to sell, do it yourself. If you want help, and considering you don't want to move on price, perhaps negotiate a fixed fee for meeting your target price, and bonuses if they sell it higher.

 

[belvoir]

I think you are being a little bit of a tightass.

Agents need to eat as well (as much as I hate them).

 

[Ed Barton]

Hi
1 I would like to sell through an agent and will give them exclusivity however I do not want to sign anything to this effect or anything else. I am good to my word and can ensure an agent that given he/she does the right thing by me I will do the right thing by them. Is this a fair request?

Any agreement worth doing verbally is worth doing written.

2 I do not want to pay for any advertising. I believe the property being where it is and what it is will sell pretty easily despite little advertising. Is this reasonable?

Unless it's high end or unique I don't think advertising is necessary - apart from the net. Pay for good photos though.

3 once the agent and I have agreed on a minimum price for the property I will not reduce it and I will tell the agent so. What do you think?

Totally reasonable. But by telling the agent what your minimum is you have provided no incentive for them to try to squeeze a few more k out of the buyer.

4 I will give an agent exclusivity for 6 weeks max then the deal's off. Fair?

Then sign a contract with them to that effect. It provides them with a time pressure, with the confidence they get their best shot at it.

Given all of the above and the property is prob worth about 300,000 in a highly sort after area so pretty easy to sell what is a fair commission to pay my agent?

2.5%?

I'd like to hear other's comments. Also who has sold not using an agent and how hard is it?

So is your question really - should I use an agent?

 

[Scott No Mates]

An agent cannot work on a property without having an agency agreement in place.

The agreement will state the period of exclusivity.

If the period is short, then you will pay for advertising.

Not all buyers are consciously looking to buy (or out of area friends of neighbours etc), signage is an essential element of the marketing strategy.

Good photos and floor plan are an essential now for the webvert.

The agency will provide you with their estimate, use this as your guide and keep your opinion of value to yourself (unless it's much higher).

 

[Brits]

I think you are being a little bit of a tightass.

Agents need to eat as well (as much as I hate them).

Yeah you're right I am a tight ****. Have decided to not use an agent at all. The 6 or more grand I save there can go towards my next o/s holiday. LOL

Thanks for all the replies. Much appreciated.
Brits

 

[Tyla]

Hi
I am thinking seriously bout selling one of my investment properties. If anyone wants me to elaborate on that and give me advice about the sense of doing so please say. However I would like to know how much I can sell my property on my terms if using an agent. What I'd like to k

1 I would like to sell through an agent and will give them exclusivity however I do not want to sign anything to this effect or anything else. I am good to my word and can ensure an agent that given he/she does the right thing by me I will do the right thing by them. Is this a fair request?

2 I do not want to pay for any advertising. I believe the property being where it is and what it is will sell pretty easily despite little advertising. Is this reasonable?

3 once the agent and I have agreed on a minimum price for the property I will not reduce it and I will tell the agent so. What do you think?

4 I will give an agent exclusivity for 6 weeks max then the deal's off. Fair?

Given all of the above and the property is prob worth about 300,000 in a highly sort after area so pretty easy to sell what is a fair commission to pay my agent?

I'd like to hear other's comments. Also who has sold not using an agent and how hard is it?

Thanks
Brits

Good marketing is really important. Although it will sell regardless, good ad will give you better outcome usually. IMO it is not worth saving on the ad.

A friend of mine sold his property a few years ago and he told the agent "if you can sell above this price, I would give you 0.5% above normal rate". It worked and it was win-win situation.

 

[Brits]

Hi everyone
I think I kind of made it sound like I did not want to advertise. Of course I want to advertise what I meant was I was wondering if it's fair that I expect the agent to absorb the advertising costs. If he/she agrees to that then they will only use the advertising that really works and not use my property in expensive spreads (paid by me) to advertise their business.
As far as being a tight **** I at no time suggested I was not prepared to pay their commission. I really think that if they are earning upwards of six grand on a house of 300 000 which will sell pretty easily (because of it's location and presentation) I should not be up for anymore. Also if An agent wants my listing I decide what I sign. My word is good. If they don't believe me I'll find someone who does. The competition in my area between real estate agents is fierce. Besides don't they all say they have so..... many people on their books just looking for a place like ours? If this is true they shouldn't have to work very hard at all. Just give them all a call and let them through.
Besides all that I've been on the phone to Colin at Sale by Owner and what he says makes a lot of sense. He suggests that real estate agents generally just cause a stumbling block between vendor and potential purchasers. I know this first hand in that I manage my own rental properties all except one. The one I don't manage myself is the most difficult. The tenant and I have actually come to an arrangement whereby he just contacts me if there's a problem because the prop manager is so busy and impersonal.
Anyway I'd really like to know about others that have used Sale by Owner. I am pretty good at negotiating and the house is an investment property so I have no warm and fuzzy feelings about it. Just want to sell it and ensure I get my minimum price. It's just about the dollars and cents.
Ain't all this stuff just so much fun? Hee hee.
Brits

 

[Spades]

Hi Brits,

Haven't used Sale by Owner nor the link i'm providing from a poster who posts on SS.

http://www.sellmyestate.com.au/

 

[Big Will]

1 I would like to sell through an agent and will give them exclusivity however I do not want to sign anything to this effect or anything else. I am good to my word and can ensure an agent that given he/she does the right thing by me I will do the right thing by them. Is this a fair request?

2 I do not want to pay for any advertising. I believe the property being where it is and what it is will sell pretty easily despite little advertising. Is this reasonable?

3 once the agent and I have agreed on a minimum price for the property I will not reduce it and I will tell the agent so. What do you think?

4 I will give an agent exclusivity for 6 weeks max then the deal's off. Fair?

5. Given all of the above and the property is prob worth about 300,000 in a highly sort after area so pretty easy to sell what is a fair commission to pay my agent?

Having worked as a REA in Victoria, see my comments below;

1. An agent requires an authority to act which needs to be signed otherwise he cannot represent you. You are giving him authority to sell your property and agreeing to what rate in commission, how long, what inclusions/exclusions and what property you want them to sell and that you are the owner of the property.

2. You don't have to pay for advertising, just means it will sit on the books and make it harder for the REA to sell as they can only refer people who will in turn ask send me a link which they cannot do as you haven't paid advertising (it does cost the REA to list your property on realestate.com or domain).

3. You always have the final say, you put down your minimum price on the authority and if it isn't met you do not need to pay them anything. However if you were going to agree on a lower price then the authority they will ask you to sign a new authority before you sign that contract.

4. Sure is fair, however if you were happy with how they were performing you would have to sign a new authority. Again no authority they cannot represent your property.

5. Not paying for advertising means they would have to absorb the cost in the commission so I would say 3% plus gst or inc gst. If advertising was separate then probably 2.2% inc gst maybe up to 2.5%. Really don't know where the property is located and how hot the market is.

End of the day, the old story you get what you pay for and there is no such thing as a free lunch.