For Sale By Owner

G

geoffmich

Hi,

I am considering selling my IP without an agent by using For Sale By Owner:
http://www.forsalebyowner.com.au

I am ready to go with the contracts, the house is in the process of getting done up and I am confident with the open houses etc. I will do a some research on negotiation techniques and hopefully be able to save myself a good sum of money and be in control of the sale :)

Has anyone had any experience with using For Sale by Owner or selling their own property.

Thanks
Michelle
 
I haven't sold one of my own privately, but my parents had me sell the family home a few years ago.. Depending on the market and the type of house you can do quite well.

We paid for an independent valuation as there weren't many comparable sales. You could even disclose it to a buyer if they're trying to lowball..

Pay for professional photos - they're worth it!

Conducting an open house yourself is dead easy.. a house can sell itself. As long as you've advertised on realestate.com domain.com, most of the work is done.

Negotiating can be tough if there is just the one interested party.. Ideally you want to play offers off against each other (silent auction). It's unethical, but a lot of agents do it. Or you could request "submit your highest offer, one chance only".
 
geoffmich said:
.... I will do a some research on negotiation techniques and hopefully be able to save myself a good sum of money and be in control of the sale :)
Click to expand...

Michelle, I hope for your sake that you don't come up against a skilled negotiator then......:eek:

I would not attempt carpentry, as I've never been to trade school. I can do some minor tiling because I had a few goes (and made some stuff ups, and learnt from it), but I still would not tile a big area. What makes people think they can "do some research on negotiating techniques" and then go about selling their biggest asset for the best price possible? :confused:
 
If I see a property listed for sale by owner I actually don't even bother investigating. I suspect I am not the only one so you'll cut out a lot of your market.
 
Aaron_C said:
Lack of professionalism, no call backs and unrealstic expectations have been my past experience.
Click to expand...

Sounds like some of the REAs in my area.

There have been some sales by owners in my area. Marketing was generally good. Presentation was typical for the area. Pricing ranged from competitive to unrealistic. All of the ones that I was following sold. The ones that were priced better sold faster. The unrealistic ones eventually sold too but I am unsure of price. The market in my area is that hot.
 
I can see two different scenarios:

1. As long as you can get more than you paid for it, fair price, etc. you're happy. In that case go with the valuation and accept the highest offer that meets those expectations, spend minimal on marketing and fees.

2. Get the highest price possible for the property, with appropriate marketing to reach a large pool of buyers, and negotiate with buyers to get the most money.

The fact that you're interested in learning "negotiating techniques" makes me think that #2 applies ;) An agent familiar with the local area would likely get you a better sale.

Yen
 
I was actually thinking about doing this next time.... But with a twist.

Vendor financed deposit scenario. Charge full retail but leave 10-20% in the deal for 24/36 months. (80% value covers the target net price I wanted).

The 20% is paid in a combination of monthly payments and refinance in 2yrs time. Using a 2nd mortgage (after the main bank's mortgage) to secure the money.

I'd be interested to see how the 20% funds are treated for tax. It should be still capital gains and taxed as such.....

Cheers.
 
A friend on mine sold his own. A few years back (4?).

First he approached a select number of local agents he thought suitable. They gave opinions on price, method etc. They all suggested auction as he had good water views BUT had a rail line and roadway along back fence. Their view was difficult to determine value and competitive bidding would push price up. Valuation range $710 to $740K. He thought high $700's but they all argued will not get that due to train line and road between his home and water. Maybe $750K. Costs likely 2.5%. ($15k) + advert

He was sitting on train doing commute going past and thought he could at least try to sell it. He needed every cent for next purchase. Arranged for a HUGE vinyl banner sign on his back fence facing road & train. Signwritten for $800. With his mobile number. "Sale by Owner"...Open for Inspection: was all it said.

He was swamped. Traffic driving past and train passengers. He conducted opens at set times or if someone was genuine he did at other times.

He set a price of $800K and was happy to negitiate down to a fair price. He invited offers and didnt mention a price other than his asking price of $800. He ended up with three very interested buyers. He communicated with all three as bidding rose. An auction of sorts. Eventual offer from two for $795K. He agreed to one which had no finance chain.

He was contacted by all the local agents offering to bring buyers for a commission. That annoyed him. He also did flyers (officeworks) for local homes since agents sugested many buyers buy same or near streets especially to trade up to water views. Never got to advertise any other way as sold in two-three weeks. He found the mags and newspaper very expensive if you arent an agent + artwork etc.

He was around $70k better off. Said the contract issues were no problem. He had it all ready and the buyer and he met at solicitors and it was all done under supervision of his solicitor who handed a copy to buyer to give his solicitor. I recall too he arranged pest and building reports himself to get fast sale too. Buyers liked that.

He did say it involved a bit of time but nothing outrageous. He approached opens like he would with an agent. No corners cut. Dressed nicely. Found buyers asked questions that only an owner could answer eg : How old is this, what repairs etc and he could give accurate answers. He wondered how agents address this. (Thinks they make it up). One concern was train noise. He was able to explain that services are timetabled and very infrequent late at night and didnt slow or brake etc near his home so it was actually very quiet. He invited people to do an additional inspect later at night and the 2 keen buyers did at 10pm which actually sold it to them.

He suggested his success was based on visibility. He thought a DIY sale for a back street may be VERY slow.
 
I've done fsbo before and will do it again soon. The biggest trap people fall into when the go down the fsbo route is they fail to realise their home is sold in competition not isolation.
 
I've sold a couple as well. Easy peasy. The last one was sold for 13% higher than what an agent said I could get for it. I was 16% better off, when factoring in the agent's commission. Another agent remarked that he was suprised I got the price I did. These were predominantly development sites though, so less marketing effort involved.
 
When I bought my unit the agent (co agent) did not sell anything about it. I bought it as per what I could see, and not living within the immediate area I knew nothing other than where the beach, shops, main road was etc.

Now, if I did use an agent, I would be having a big say in the brochure, speaking with potential buyers etc etc. So half way doing it myself anyway.

"Cool in summer due to unit overhead, protected from sun entering unit due to balcony of unit above. In winter, sun floods halfway across the lounge carpet, lay on the lounge reading the paper with the sun shining through the glass doors - won't want to leave the unit on a winters day. Close all windows and curtains on stinking hot day in summer, the unit will stay at 25 degrees as brick construction which takes 3 days before heat radiates though bricks. Buses, you get XXX to XXX from around the corner here and here, or YYY to YYY from here and here, last bus at 12.20am from YYY, all buses except express stop at the main bus stop, all limited stops buses stop there. etc etc etc.

It took me a few years to appreciate all the benefits of my unit and location, I will make sure any potential buyer is paying for what I did not realise I was getting when I bought. I even have photos of where the sun reaches across the floor for when the time comes. How many agents can tell potential buyers all that unless I teach them?
 
I have very bad experiences with Real Estate Agents.

Example: A house in Victor Harbour SA I was interested in, I emailed the agent about 4 times - No reply
I rang his mobile twice, left a message - No reply
Called the office, left a message for him with whoever answered - No reply
I gave up and bought something else

Example 2; A unit I was interested in in Adelaide. I arrange a viewing with the agent. He does not turn up.
Does not answer the phone.
He never heard back from me because I did not want to deal with that clown ever again.

Other numerous inspections where the agent did actually turn up: They opened the door and I had a look - and that is it.

So if you can do better than all of the above; GO AHEAD, I don't think I can do any worse!
 
Have the advert ready with floor plan, pics and an open inspection time to be successful. Floor plans do a lot esp if it's a good layout.

There was one advertised on RE.com.au through For Sale For Lease, the seller got back to me and said 9:00am Sat inspection. It was way too early for me and we met half way at 9:30am. I decided to pull out and tell him I wasn't coming. I was actually put off when he wouldn't agree to a more suitable time like 11:00 which was perfect for me. If he wanted to sell it, he would do what it takes to be there at 11am given that I am the potential buyer.

Don't do early inspections esp in Winter. I am not sure if your allowed to publish an open inspection if selling yourself or through one of those agencies but I highly recommend you do to max the people coming without having to go out of their way and ask you.
 
Go for it I reckon!

If it doesnt sell, take it off the market for a couple of months and sell with a real estate agent (unless you are in a hurry to sell)
 
Propertunity said:
Michelle, I hope for your sake that you don't come up against a skilled negotiator then......:eek:

I would not attempt carpentry, as I've never been to trade school. I can do some minor tiling because I had a few goes (and made some stuff ups, and learnt from it), but I still would not tile a big area. What makes people think they can "do some research on negotiating techniques" and then go about selling their biggest asset for the best price possible? :confused:
Click to expand...

The problem though is that many real estate agents are not skilled negotiators either:

a. you look at a house and the agent says "put in an offer they're asking too much"
b. the ad says "owner desperate, must sell this weekend, has bought elsewhere"
c. your agent says to you i'm sending the buyer/lessee around to talk price with you

My tip for negotiating is:
Don't be the sole decision maker even if you are. Have the strategy "i can't agree in this without talking to my partner etc" and make sure your partner etc is not in sight and can't be rung on the spot
Also try and negotiate the whole deal rather than be picked off piece by piece
eg some people might agree a price, and then the buyer comes back with wanting other terms eg longer settlement, more inclusions etc
 
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