How to choose RA to sell? How to neg. fees?

[Azza]

Hi,

Thnk you all guys for your previous advice on costs and taxation for PPOR and investment... If not you I will be in big, big trouble.

Now I left with no choice but to sell my family home in Greensborough.

How do I choose real estate agent? I looked on the biggest players in the area - Hocking Stuart, Barry Plant, Darren Jones.....

Just go for auction and negotiate the best agent fee?
About fees, I was thinking about progressive scale like personal tax:
<350K - $0 (thank you, will sell myself)
350-370K - $0 + 15% of what's above 350K (peanuts)
370-390K - $3K + 20% of what's above 370K (barely there)
>390K - $7K + 30% of what's above 390K (woo-hoo!)

What do you think?

 

[letiha]

I know in queensland there is a standard scale that is used, but you can negotiate, have you looked at these agents websites to see what the fees are. You can then look at where to start your negotaiting with.

I suppose the other thing is the market at the moment, if it is hot and there ar elots of sales the angents aren't going to be desperate for listings.

 

[james_w]

I know in queensland there is a standard scale that is used, but you can negotiate, have you looked at these agents websites to see what the fees are. You can then look at where to start your negotaiting with.

I suppose the other thing is the market at the moment, if it is hot and there ar elots of sales the angents aren't going to be desperate for listings.

agents fees are 5% for the first 18k then 2.5% for every $1000

standard queenslad rea rule

 

[wylie]

agents fees are 5% for the first 18k then 2.5% for every $1000

standard queenslad rea rule

So an easier way for we who are maths challenged is just add $18,000 to the sale price and divide by 40.

Wylie

 

[chrispy]

Azza

I sold a house in Lower Plenty, not far from Greensborough. I went around the agents, spoke to them, got them out and chose one that I felt would do the best job. For me that was Darren Jones in Greensborough. He is the Owner of the business and therefore had far more interest in getting my business. I accepted his standard fee as I believe he got me the best price possible at the time. Its no good getting a lower fee if the price and service you get is also lower.

Shop around, talk to the local agents, being able to relate to the person selling your property is essential.

Good luck

Chris

 

[Tulip]

I look at the quality of the ads of the RE agent in the area to see who is good on the advertising side. I will look at the houses listed by the different agents, some list high to get the listing but don't put the effort into getting that price if it can be reached anyway. Some list low to get volume sales. I work out what I think my house should sell at, then without telling the agent this price, will often go for an agent who thinks they can sell it at that price, if I think they will put the effort in.

I will also attend open homes of the agents I am considering before talking to them, tell them I am just looking and listen to how they deal with other people.

The first few weeks are the most important, so make sure you have a realistic price up front.

 

[urban cowboy]

Heya...

all the other comments are very valid - here is my take on it from sitting on the other side of the fence as an agent

ensure that you can work with the person!!! the best agent in the world is no good if you can't talk to them and work with them...communication is everything in this business.

dont always base your selection on the commission - base it on the service - in qld as our commissions are capped so its all about the service, but down south there, focus on what you are getting for your dollar first and select the agent that way...if an agent is very quick to discount their fee, one must wonder how quick they will be to discount your property in representations to you just to get a sale across the line.

the good agents wont drop their fees by much, if any - because they know that they can do the job well and attract as many buyers for you as possible - this is particularly important if you go to auction as a good agent will be able to market effectively to attract the highest number of potential buyers to your property for auction day and they will know how to create that atmosphere of urgency that you need on auction day...

be careful of any agent who offers to pay for marketing as well - it means they have a fiscal interest in your property and will be keen for the sale to recoup their monies...remember that even at the higher comms scales a 20k difference in price doesn't add much to the commission - so they are quick to try and get you to take a lower figure just to secure the sale. the real estate institutes are starting to frown on agents paying for the property advertising (as opposed to straight profile marketing) because of the possible conflict of interest.

above all as i said make sure you are comfortable with the person...no amount of fees or discounts can compensate you for the stress a bad agent can cause you

hope this helps some

cheers
UC

 

[wylie]

Hi Urban Cowboy.

As you know I have a family member who used to be a REA. One thing that is annoying is that many agents want you to pay for a (say) two column size ad and often about one third of the ad is the agency name, so the vendor is paying to advertise the agency.

Is it offensive to say to an agent, I want a two column ad but no agency banner on the top. Would many agents refuse do you think? If I was paying big money for an advert I would want my house and its features to be taking up the whole advert space. All the agent needs is a phone number in small type and maybe the agency name, also in small type.

I would think potential buyers will be attracted by the photo and/or details of my house, not the agency banner.

Wylie

 

[urban cowboy]

this is long...sorry!!

Hey Wylie!!!

Great questions!! - complicated answers but i'll try and do it without prejudice or sounding like a complete idiot.

There are two schools of thought here. I'll give them both and post my personal opinions at the bottom.

School of thought number 1...(all house and very small agent details)

The theory behind this is that the property will sell itself when presented in a large clear advertisement and that given the owner is paying for it, the property should get maximum exposure. The theory is sound in that research indicates the bigger the ad, the better response you will get and the better sale prices achieved (bad news for those who skimp on marketing). This method of advertising is especially good where the home is very photogenic and/or is unique... again, it sells itself. These ads work very well when the agency has a whole page (or large part thereof) booked for numerous ads as there will be banner ad with the agency name and all it requires is the agents name and number under the respective properties. What it can be argued to show is that the agent gets their profile from how good a job they do at inspections etc. and the home gets all the profile from the ads.


School of thought number 2...(prominent agents details and s head shot)

This school of thought is promoted a lot by prominent agents and works on a couple of levels. Very well known agents DO attract buyers. If i was to ask you the names of the agents in your area, how many could you name (wylie i know you know most of them - general statement to other readers). Once you have the names, think of why you know them - you see there names and faces EVERYWHERE...on signs, on bus stops in the paper under homes they are selling, in their own profile ads etc etc. Hiring an agent with a high profile can be a good move (unfortunately some of them also suck - got too big for their boots) as people naturally flock to those who have the biggest business as there is the appearance of success. High profile agents also have a quasi-celebrity in their patch and folks love to go through their opens because they can (sad, but true, i've seen it with some nthside agents). The thought is also that for buyers, there is a familiarity with being able to look at the ad in the paper see the agents face and then know what the agent looks like as you meet them at the property (good with stupid agents who wont introduce themselves properly or who don't stand out in a busy open home - buyers will often walk if there is the impression the agent isn't in control at an open and makes the point to talk to them - bad if you're the seller).


Now for my personal opinion - and i will no doubt get queried more about this. IF your advertisement is one of many on a page booked out by one agent i have no drama with position one as it will stand out and promote the property to the best when just a name and number is there and all the other agency details are in a header banner etc. If however your ad is a one or two off in a page of other agency ads, then there can be a benefit to a headshot (though a 3rd of the ad is ridiculous) as its adds that human factor and agents profile to the ad to aid in marketing - we do this on occasion as our area has 5 different quest newspapers in it so our properties are scattered across all five depending on suburb etc. Saying that, we also run larger ads regularly and do it as per position one when filling up a page (or even half page) in one paper.

I believe that if the agent has a profile of any sort it does help to have the picture in the ad for the reasons mentioned above - but not so that it takes up large amounts of it.

on the flip side - i also believe that it is the clients money and i will follow the clients wishes - if they don't want my mug on there - then it doesn't happen and i have no drama with that!!!

I have seen some local agencies get very cheeky of late - one very well known north west agent has gone so far as making her ad block very prominent with her agency and face and has some very small property pics. Quest papers divide their pages into 16 "units"...one unit is the size of a standard box (or picture) ad - this agent books out a 3 unit vertical column, has her details and face in one unit and squeezes half a dozen pics in the remaining space - This in my opinion is not on...

So, to specifically answer your question - It's your ad and if you don't like it - take the agent to task over it - they cannot market without your permission or approval - so enforce that and make your expectations and wishes clear - then bounce them from on high if they don't perform. In this industry we often have only one chance to do things right and if we bugger it up, then you lose the opportunity - if you make it work - it returns to you many times over in referrals and happy clients...

our mission statement is "creating clients for life through the finest of service" - you can't do that when your busy disrespecting your clients wishes.

So, in short, its your ad - you choose...and if the agent can't give you good enough reasons to go to the contrary - then they should do it your way - or you lose them??!!

again though - there can be benefit to some agency profile in and ad - just not so much that it takes away from the purpose of the ad in the first place.

hope this answers it for you - sorry about the length!!

cheers
UC

 

[Kevin Hockey]

Wanted to add further to UC's response. The Networks and Franchises will have a standard set template for their advertising which will not be allowed to be altered. Most of them are fair and reasonable with the space allocated for property photo and details.

At Go Gecko, we have received a lot of response from consumers saying they are sick of seeing the salesperson's details, photos and phone numbers plastered all over ads and business cards. This is why you don't see our salespeople self promoting. Our ads are designed to ensure maximum exposure of the property. Our For Sale signs do carry our message of a capped commission rate of $5950.

Kev
www.gogecko.com.au

 

[Dis]

I recently bought in Heidelberg West and many of the agents I encountered also cover the Greensborough area. The agent below was great to deal with as a buyer, but I also felt I would be happy to use him if I was a seller. This is pretty rare in my opinion.

As a buyer he was easy to deal with because he made viewing properties very easy (didnt take the lazy option and tell me to just attend the open inspection - wasnt always possible for me). He also took an active interest in what I wanted to see (didnt send me every listing he had) so I knew I wouldnt be wasting my time. At the property he knew what he was talking about and didnt give a a bunch of "I don't knows". The information he gave me was generally honest and acurate, even if it disadvantaged him on occasion.

At the same time he behaved quite ethically with regard to the vendors. He didnt reveal too much personal information. From what he told me, he also lost a few listings because he would not try and "buy" them - telling vendors a high sale price, etc

Anyway his details are:

Thomas Bechelli
BARRY PLANT REAL ESTATE
PH: 03 9459 8111
FAX: 03 9458 3198
MOBILE: 0413 181 461