E d wa r d s Wi n d s o r
RealEstateNews
INFORMATION TO HELP YOU WHEN BUYING OR SELLING | September 2014 |
In this
Issue:
page 1
Who Pays the
Advertising Costs?
By Gary Pittard
Who Pays the Advertising
Costs?
page 2
Letter from Editor
Renovating to Sell
Where will you be when
Santa comes?
page 3
Who Pays the Advertising
Costs? (continued)
7 Questions To Ask An Agent When Selling
page 4
Back into Business Sales
Both Leasehold and
Freehold
Real Estate Career
The way typical real estate agents
advertise is a waste of money. Make
sure it is not your money.
Advertising will rarely sell your property.
Too often home sellers make the mistake of
demanding advertising for their properties.
Many agents advertise to promote themselves,
and not your property. In the past twenty years,
real estate advertising has increased as much
as twenty times. In most areas, the number of
sales being made today is the same as twenty
years ago.
We advise you to not pay advertising costs,
but this does not mean that you should make
unreasonable demands upon your agent for
needless advertising. Be reasonable about
advertising.
Home sellers are often pressured to pay
thousands of dollars for advertising. This is a
needless expense because very few properties
are ever sold because of advertising.
Be reasonable about advertising.
Buyers who want to buy in your area know
the area. It is the area that attracts them, not
advertising. It is a waste of time, money and
energy to place advertisements in publications
that reach thousands of people who will not
buy in your area.
continued on page 3
EDWARDS
WINDSOR
Open 7 Days |  (03) 6234 5500 | www.ewre.com.au
letter
from
editor
Welcome to the September edition
of Real Estate News, the first for the
2013/2014 financial year.
In this edition we a have a few article to
assist when you are thinking of selling.
The first is on Who Pays the Advertising
Costs? and that should not be you,
in fact you should not pay an agent
anything until you are sold and happy.
You want to find an agent who can
market your property not advertise it,
there is a difference.
Secondly, to follow there is an article
on Questions to Ask an Agent When
Selling, an agent needs to be able to
substantiate the claims they make. An
Auditor never assumes that always ask
to see evidence so that they can verify,
you should always ask an agent to
verify their claims.
Also, we have an article regarding
Edwards Windsor entering back into
the business sales market and have
introduced you to our new Business
Broker, Andrew Duffy. So if you need
any advice with respect to business
sales then please contact Andrew.
Until next time,
Colin Fulton
Renovating to Sell
By Gary Pittard
Minor repairs
The value of major improvements
If there is any unfinished work inside the
property – such as skirting boards that
have been removed – fix these things.
If there are any obvious minor repairs –
such as door handles missing or broken
hooks – fix these too. Repair all irritating
things that are likely to catch the eyes
of buyers.
If you spend enough money in making
the property more attractive, you will
usually make it easier to find a buyer.
Be very careful if you do any painting.
Painting one dull room can suddenly
make other unpainted rooms look dull
too. Before you know it you have a major
painting job on your hands; this could
lead to replacing the carpets, even the
tiles in the bathroom. Suddenly you are
involved in a very expensive renovation.
Most major improvements are personal
and do not add the value you expect. An
example is a swimming pool. If you pay
$30,000 for a pool, the pool salesperson
may tell you this increases the value of
your property. But if the buyers don’t
want a pool you will not get back what
you paid.
The cleanliness and the mood are
most important but all expense needs
careful consideration. Will you get the
money back?
Most improvements often return
only half their cost upon sale.
Ask your agent’s opinion.
The best advice is to do all you can to
make your property feel like a home.
Make it sparkle without making it too
immaculate or clinical.
Some sellers create a show home. In
doing so, they create a cold sterile
effect. Homes with warmth are the most
attractive and appealing.
But you need to find middle ground.
It makes no sense if the cost of the
improvements is too high – often it
would be more cost effective to reduce
your asking price.
You may have to wait years to find a buyer
with the same personal taste as you.
If your property needs major renovation,
it may be better to avoid the expense of
renovation and instead select a lower
asking price.
Many buyers want to renovate a
property to suit their own taste. While
minor improvements can give you a
great return on your selling price, major
improvements are often a big mistake.
Either spend a little bit of money
to sell your property or spend a
lot of money and stay there.
Where will you be when Santa comes?
If you’ve been thinking about selling your house and perhaps buying
another, then, if you want to be happily moved and settled before
Christmas, you’ll need to start doing something soon.
Right now, in the Spring/Summer season, it’s traditionally the time of
high activity in the real estate market. There should be more properties
to choose from if you’re buying and many more buyers if you’re selling.
But the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be happily moved and settled.
At our agency we are gearing up for a frantic few months as we head
towards Christmas. If this year is anything like previous years, its almost
certain that we’ll need more properties to sell.
So, if you are thinking of selling before Christmas, please call us now and
we’ll be happy to give you a FREE MARKET OPINION
on the sale price of your property
Who Pays the Advertising Costs? continued from page 1
Buyers who want to buy
in your area know the area.
It is the area that attracts
them, not advertising.
The media your agent chooses to expose
your property in is also important. Many
buyers are now Generations X and Y, and
these people do not read newspapers
nearly as much as ‘Baby Boomers’
do. Agents who rely on newspaper
advertising are quickly becoming old
fashioned.
Your agent needs to be an expert in
Internet Marketing, and should not
necessarily ‘follow the crowd’ by
advertising heavily on third-party
websites, either.
Here is what your agent should be
doing to find a buyer for you:
• Y
our agent’s office should be open
7 days;
• Your agent should be sending email Home Alerts to thousands of buyers every week;
• Your agent should have large numbers
of signs in the area;
• Your agent should be an expert at
directing enquiry to his or her agency’s
website.
This will bring the best buyers to your agent
and your agent will then qualify the buyers
and bring the right ones to your property.
That’s how most properties are sold.
If your property is not selling there are
usually only two reasons: the agent is
incompetent or the price is too high.
If you keep advertising your property,
people may start wondering what is
wrong with it.
7 Questions To Ask
An Agent When Selling
By Peter O’malley - Author of Real Estate Uncovered
What evidence did you rely on when
valuing our property?
We are all susceptible to believing what
we want to hear. If an agent quotes a
high price for your property, it’s natural to
want to believe them.
However, if an agent cannot justify their
price to you as the owner, they will have
an even harder time convincing a buyer!
If the property sells below your
quoted price, do we still have to pay
full commission?
When you sign an agency agreement
to sell, the agent must provide a written
assessment of value. You, as the seller,
enter into the agreement, in part,
based on the written assessment of the
agent. If the agent fails to achieve their
promised assessment of value, you
should have an ability to penalise the
agent for getting it wrong.
By being firm on this point when
interviewing agents, you will flush out
what the agent really thinks your home
is worth.
How do you have an auction with one
buyer?
Auctions rely on competition i.e. multiple
bidders. Unique homes often require
unique buyers. In soft markets, you can
be fortunate to have even one buyer.
What happens if only one buyer attends
the auction? What if two buyers attend
the auction, one who absolutely loves the
home and one who is a bargain hunter?
The bargain hunter sets the price at
which the emotional buyer becomes the
highest bidder. Don’t sign with an agent
until they offer a plausible explanation on
how they handle a situation where they
only have one buyer at the auction.
What strategy will you employ to get
the highest price for our property?
Agents love to talk about ‘clearance
rates’ when selling and marketing their
firm. As a home seller, you want a high
price, not to take place in an agent’s
clearance sale. Focus on the agent
with the best strategy for achieving the
highest price, not clearance rates.
If you already have buyers, why do
we need to pay advertising upfront to
reach those same buyers?
It’s the greatest paradox in the market.
The agent claims to have readily available
buyers, then asks for advertising money
to find them. Why?
Who is the agent that will attend the
inspections with buyers?
Many lead agents will list the property and
then palm off the selling of the property
onto a junior or assistant. Get it in writing
that the agent you list with will be the agent
handling inspections and negotiations.
You don’t want the sale of your home to be
treated as a training exercise.
Can we have the names and numbers
of 10 previous clients?
Real estate agents sell houses to buyers
and services to sellers. The house is
tangible yet the service is intangible.
Judging the value of any service in
advance of actually receiving the service
is difficult. Speak to the agent’s recent
clients to ascertain whether the promises
match the delivery.
Edwards Windsor
Back into Business Sales
Both Leasehold and Freehold
Edwards Windsor have been considering entering back into the
business broking service for some years since exiting this service
over ten years ago, it was just a matter of finding the right person.
Now we believe we have found that right person and it is with
pleasure we announce the recent appointment of Andrew Duffy
as our new Business Broker.
Andrew brings a wealth of business experience having run his
own national retail business in Queensland and then moving on to
a national role with Beds R Us before relocating to Tasmania and
taking up position of Area Retail and Premium Client Relationship
Manager with Tote Tasmania.
With this extensive range of business experiences we believe
Andrew is well placed to understand your business, to maximise
the value of your investment and secure a sale within the
acceptable timeframe.
Andrew has been with Edwards Windsor for just over a month
and has already secured several business listings.
If you are thinking of selling a business or purchasing one, please
call Andrew at Edwards Windsor for advice.
REAL ESTATE CAREER
$77,000 secure salary and bonuses
• Our sales people enjoy the best in support, ethical training
and teamwork. One team sharing all the enquiry and 2 days
off per week.
• This is the way real estate should be - NO auctions, NO bait
pricing, high salaries and bonuses and enough time off to
enjoy a life outside of work.
selling experience, who own their own home and have a
proven history of stability.
• Qualifying period starts at $77,000 and bounses.
• If you believe you can sell and would like an income over
$150,000 within 12 months - we’d like to hear from you.
• Having earned “Approved” accreditation from the Jenman
Group we’re extremely busy.
Perhaps you too can join us for many years.
• We’re looking for mature minded people with no real estate
[email protected]
Please email your resume including a letter of introduction to:
Edwards Windsor | Hobart | (03) 6234 5500
EDWARDS
WINDSOR
Open 7 Days |  (03) 6234 5500 | www.ewre.com.au
Level 2, 89 Brisbane Street, Hobart | email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: It is not intended that the information and opinions in this newsletter be treated as advice professional or otherwise. Colin Fulton and Edwards Windsor Real Estate do not
accept any form of liability, be it contractual, tortious or otherwise, for the contents of this newsletter or for any consequences arising from its use or any reliance placed upon it. The
information, opinions and advice contained in this newsletter are of a general nature only and may not be applicable or appropriate to your specific circumstances. As there are many
pitfalls associated with buying and selling real estate it is important to get professional independent advice.