Selling

 

Preparing to Sell

The process of presenting your home for sale is an important one. For some it is an event that may be regular due to a desire to add your touch , capitalise on opportunities or generally changes in circumstances. For others it is a very rare event.  Whatever your motive for selling, the process can either be stress free or tense and disappointing. Never fear however, you have the ability to choose and remember, it costs no more to engage a top performer. grant@soldby.co.nz

 

Presentation

Dress your house for success.  Every home has lots of good points and most have aspects that would benefit by improvement. With a little thought and energy, you can make the positive aspects more memorable than the negative. You don't, of course, have to follow every recommendation on this list. But the more you do, the more likely you are to achieve a successful sale.

Tidy up for maximum street  appeal

First impressions count. It's estimated that over 50% of houses are sold before the buyers even get out of the car. Mow the lawns regularly and weed the gardens. If you have the time, plant some 'instant colour' to create a cheerful feeling.

A little touch-up goes a long way

We're not asking you to redecorate every room of your home before you go on the market, but faded wallpaper and worn paint work can put buyers off. Do what you can to fix problem areas.

Go on a cleaning spree

Give your home a top to bottom spring clean and you'll be popular with the buyers. It will also save you having to do it when you're actually moving. Try to keep up the good work throughout the marketing period.

Have a general tidy-up

While you're cleaning, think about each room and what furniture really needs to be in it. Rooms look smaller when they're crowded with sports equipment, excess furniture and general family clutter. Clear out what's not needed to create a feeling of spaciousness. By the way don't forget your cupboards - keep them neat and not too full, to show that you've got plenty of storage space.

Put on your handyman's hat

Now's the time to get those irritating little maintenance jobs out of the way. Sticking doors and windows, dripping taps, broken light fittings and other minor problems can detract from the appeal of your home - buyers tend to overestimate the cost of these minor repairs.

Pay special attention to your kitchen

Often it's the kitchen that sells your home. Everyone who comes to view your property will be looking long and hard at your kitchen. Try to make it look tidy and functional, with plenty of work and storage space. Tidy up the pantry, reorganise the shelves and cupboards. Create extra bench space by cleaning away appliances.

Keep your bathrooms sparkling

The bathroom is another area that comes in for close scrutiny. Keep yours clean and shiny at all times.  Consider keeping aside some good "show" towels that you can put in place when there's a buyer on the way.

Make your bedrooms look spacious

Keep your bedrooms tidy at all times - including the wardrobes. Even small bedrooms can look spacious if they're orderly. Decorative pillows or flowers in a bedroom add a special touch.

Don't clutter the airwaves

When you know there are buyers coming round or if you're out all day leave the stereo on softly with a mellow CD playing continuously.  Music enhances the feeling in the home.

Dogs aren't everyone's best friend

An inspection is a good time for both of you to go for a walk. Keep your pets under control, and preferably outside.



Methods to sell

Because no two properties are the same and market conditions are constantly changing, there is no one method of selling a property.

 

Exclusive Listing

When you list exclusively, you put your trust in one organisation and that agency takes on sole responsibility for the sale of your home. When you list exclusively with Grant and Harcourts it ensures you get the best marketing for your home. An exclusive listing with Grant includes:

  • Grants 15 years experience in the service industry
  • Approximately 65 sales consultants will view your property when it first is placed on the market. This team inspection ensures all consultants are familiar with your property.
  • Your property it is marketed in the Harcourts Blueprint ( Hamilton's only Full Colour Glossy Real Estate Publication ) on a regular basis, delivered with the Waikato Times every Friday, and again on Saturday for all point of sale papers, and has a print run of  44,000
  • A photograph and narration about your property is displayed in 4 of our 5 Harcourts offices across Hamilton City.
  • Your property is marketed on the World wide Internet with a photo and details on the REALENZ site for the entire period of marketing.
  • Your property is showcased on Grant's personal web page (www.soldby.co.nz) and includes 6 photos of your property.  
  • A sign out the front of your property. This is the only thing that will be working longer hours to sell your home than Grant! They are optional .but remember, you can t sell a secret!
  • National Referral Network with Harcourts national offices we can be in touch with people transferring from one end of the country to the other.
  • Local Mail drops Grant arranges for a flyer about your property to be delivered to households in your area. Sometimes your home s biggest fan can live next door or be a friend of your neighbors.
  • Approximately every 6 weeks Grant has a database of 550 clients who receive a mailout and an update of his current properties for sale.
  • Open homes on your property can be conducted if it is part of the overall marketing strategy. 

     

 

Auction

What s in it for you?

Auction is a method of sale where there is a real opportunity for you to get more for your home than you expect, or to perhaps obtain a premium that everyone would like.

One of the greatest advantages of the Auction process is that it removes the price from the equation so no-one can be put off because the property is too expensive. Another advantage is that you set a deadline for the sale of your home and during the first two stages of the process this is on your terms and conditions.

Marketing by Auction is a three stage selling process it is one of the few methods of sale where you get not one, but three opportunities to sell your property.

Stage 1 Auction Marketing

The lead up period when high profile marketing will highlight your property and produce the greatest exposure to ensure a high inquiry level. Any offer in this period must be unconditional and be accompanied by a deposit. The other bonus is that it is on you terms and conditions.

Stage 2 The Auction

The Auction is the shortest part of the process but presents the best opportunity to stimulate competition. The greatest value to you is that the buyers are focused on establishing the maximum they will pay rather than working out how low their offer should be.

The Auctioneer will put the property up for sale and either call for an opening bid or may start the auction with a bid. Bidding advances until the reserve is reached at which time the property is on the market for sale to the highest bidder.

Stage 3 Post Auction

This stage can produce a whole new range of buyers. Those who may need to sell another property or arrange finance before they can commit themselves unconditionally.

The advantage of entering Stage 3 is that you know what the market is saying about the value of your property and the exclusive listing and marketing can commence with the property being correctly priced to a whole range of new buyers.

General Auction Information

Auction creates an orderly programme. Marketing and open time times/dates are established at the start of the process. The timeframe is normally a 3 to 4 week marketing campaign, prior to the Auction date, with high profile advertising, full color signboards, Prime TV exposure and other marketing tools.

When selling your property, regardless of market conditions, it is reassuring to know that there is a way to be satisfied that your property is sold for the maximum price on the day. The buyer you want is the one who loves your property the most and in the face of competition perceives its greatest value.

Contact Grant for a full overview of the Auction process and its success grant@soldby.co.nz

 

Tender

Tender is another way of marketing your property without stating a listed price. Prospective buyers have only one opportunity to put forward their most competitive bid. With the Tender process it is similar to an Auction campaign in that the property is marketed with a high profile in a condensed time frame targeting a closure date for Tenders to be received.  

Unlike the Auction process, purchasers are now able to put forward conditional offers in a Tender on their terms, not yours! Also, Tenders do not have the benefit of creating an open competitive situation as the Auction process does. 

Whilst the Tender method is not widely used in Hamilton for residential real estate sales, certain Premium homes are best marketed using this method and Grant can provide examples and Testimonials of previous homes he has sold using this method. 

 

Price by Negotiation

Another method of exclusive marketing without a price. By negotiation properties are marketed without a fixed price but within a price range.

 

General Listing

A whole crowd of salespeople from different companies all trying to sell your home might sound great, but ..the reality is, however, that your property becomes everyone s listing but no-one s responsibility. Because there is no-one in charge, nothing tends to get done and the seller gets confused as to who to listen to when they may be being told several different stories. Most real estate consultants will devote the greatest amount of time, effort and resources to the sellers that have exclusively entrusted them with the sale of their home. Then they know they will be rewarded when the property sells.