House selling help

IMO auctions are only good if you want a quick sell. We're looking at selling too. If you're not in a hurry to sell and looking at buying another house, you can buy on the condition that you sell your house before a certain date (is how I understand it). I've heard agents trying to push people to go to auction just because they want a quick sell.
Don't let agents push you into doing anything, sell your house the way you want to. We've had one out of three agents come through so far and he's been very good, given us a full overview of the current market and when he left last night he said 'you call me when you're ready'. He said he doesn't call people and hassle them which is great, just what we want. Don't want to be pressured into doing anything too soon.
Good luck!

The best case to have an auction is if your house is unique in any way, and thus it would be harder to set a price on it; or if the market was sky-rocketing and you don't want to set a price too low. The market at the moment really is a buyer's one, so personally I wouldn't go for an auction atm. It is normal to have a separate auctioneers fee, and sometimes you'll get charged for extra advertising also (which tbh really is necessary with an auction, as you want as much interest as possible).

If you're worried about a time limit, you could always do a tender? And then even if it doesn't sell by tender, you might have a better idea of what kind of offers are out there? If you start out by negotiation, you'll still have to set a price soon.

One tip: DON'T sign for sole agency for more than about a month or 2. You don't want to be stuck with just one agency if they're not doing a good job. Sometimes on the contract they automatically put in 90 days+ sole agency, but you can easily cross that out and pick a number you're happy with

In this market I wouldn't go for Auction, as you are only likely to get people looking for a bargain, unless you have to sell quickly or your house is unique compared to others around it, you better to go with price by negotiation or priced marketing.

Not all houses that go to Auction sell either.

The trend seems to be for Tenders down here. I also would not buy at auction and skip past those ads.

Peanut wrote: I work in the RE industry and there are 2 reasons that agents promote auctions - 1 is if the house is unique and hard to price as at an auction you will get market price for it. The other reason is if they are struggling as an agent as with auctions you are usually resposible for extra advertising etc so doesn't come out of their budget.

EEKK doesnt fill me with confidence for our agent then (or potential agent at the mo) as there is definitely nothing unique about this little place!

I hate price by negotiation, I don't even look at those houses. I want to know how much something is before I waste my time going to look at it. Buyers base of and offers over do my head in as well. But that's just me. I like to know up front how much someone expects for their house then I know if it fits into my budget.

I skip straight pass those up for auction as well, they don't even register with me when I look through listings.

Bizzy, what reasons did he give for auction? Did they bring a print out of other propertys that have sold in the area etc?

peachy wrote: Are you planning to sell and then buy again in the same market bizzy?

Not too sure yet. depends on what is out there for us.

we had it on the market just before eden was born but the market had just started to drop so we missed that boat!

i know that when i look at houses for sale i skip PBN and auction ones... and i don think we can really afford the $1400 up front auction fee anyway...

i want to see other agents, but my husband says he is fine with the one we saw last night. He is the same guy we brought this house through 6 years ago.

I think it's worth getting at least 2 or 3 different agents in to get a comparison.
Also, they HAVE to give you a list of properties for sale in the area, as well as properties that have sold in your area recently. Apparently this is compulsory according to my Dad's partner who works in the RE industry.

Also, another good tip for open homes is to put the coffee machine on or make some fresh bread, both smells are very 'homely'
Ugh there's nothing worse than going into a house with clutter. Puts me right off.

Hi, I also work in the RE industry and we haven't had an auction for a while. We are doing a few tenders at the moment though. With a tender you have a closing date but you can sell prior to the tender closing if you do get an offer in that you are willing to take. People generally don't like By Negotiation - people like to see a price on something. Its probably a good idea to have a few agents around and they can provide you with sales stats of the area so you can set a price. If you do sign you NOW have a 24 hour period that you can cancel the agency and the agent must leave with you the new REAA guides. What does the advertising include? We charge for ads in the paper - but not for loading onto the net and the net is a very powerful advertising tool. If advertising in print people like to see a main photo of the house (no house photo and people are wondering whats wrong), kitchen/living areas, outside back. Bedrooms and bathrooms aren't that great for print media. If you have a man shed - a great draw card for the guys. Goodluck.

Edited by hannibal