Selling your home in the 21st Century

There are a lot of things to consider when selling your home. The best place to start is by listing your property online. Unfortunately, for a lot of homeowners this is where the buck stops.

The key thing to remember is selling is your home is more than just listing your property online and waiting for the flood of enquiries to roll in. In most cases you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and put in some time to marketing your property correctly.

Now, not everyone has the time to spare putting together a fully fledged marketing campaign, so we’ve put together a simple guide to getting the most out of selling your home yourself.

Property Price

First things first – know how much your home is really worth. Do some research and visit homes in your local area that are similar to your property and compare them to yours.

You can also use the Residex price estimation report included in your homesales.com.au package. This report will give you detailed information about your property, your suburb and how your area is travelling.

Still not sure what price to list your property for? A sworn valuation by a registered valuer can give you an exact price of what your property is worth (contact us on 1300 291 914 for a registered valuer near you).

Presentation

Potential buyers are looking to make one of the biggest purchases they’re likely to make in their lifetime, so remember - first impressions count!

It’s important to make sure all those odd jobs around you property are finished and your property is clean and tidy.

A buyer needs to be able imagine their furniture in your property. Clutter and personal items can distract from this vision.

Legal Documents and Contract of Sale

Have all the necessary legal documents required by your state ready and available for a potential buyer if and when they ask for them.

Not having these documents ready could loose you a sale. While the buyer is waiting for you to get the paperwork ready they may move onto something else.

Documents can include a contract of sale which will be required if you wish to make any offer contractual.  A homesales.com.au representative can refer you onto a legal representative who can handle this for you. Contact us on 1300 291 914 for a legal representative near you.

Online property listings with homesales.com.au

The Internet is a great way to attract buyers to your property sale because it’s accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But the Internet is also a busy market place to it’s important to make sure your property stands out against the competition.

An accurate property description and professional photographs can go a long way to securing the attention of a potential buyer. If the first photo they see is of a dimly lit room it’s probably not the best representation of your property. Think about investing in professional photography for your property listing – these photographers use specialised equipment and have been trained to showcase a property to its fullest potential.

Marketing Exposure

You’ve gone this far so it’s important not to forget to promote your property to your local neighbourhood. Think about how often people in your area drive past your property – without a signboard you could be missing out on a quick sale!

Open for Inspections

Probably the most important process of selling a home is the open for inspection.

All too often people will only allocate one day a week to conduct inspections of their homes, so make sure you take full advantage of the time you set aside for potential buyers to visit your home.

Publicise your open for inspection with directional boards temporarily placed on street corners to show buyers the way to your property. Be sure to check with your local council that you are permitted to do this first.
 
Another great idea is to hand out brochures at the inspection so the buyer has something to take away with them. To make this quick and easy, you can print out A4 colour brochures from the property brochure tab on your homesales.com.au listing.

June 2010