Agents of doom, gloom and crunch..

Greetings all.

I am thinking of selling an investment property. I have sought advice from several agents, and there is so much spin and bravado, not to mention early soft-soaking with the price.

"Oh...wonderful property. I really think I can get you ..X$". "Let's get a marketing plan in place..." And so the blah and bull starts.

Agents have never been my favourite sales people, and after reading "Don't Sign Anything" ( Neil Jenman) I'm more confused, anxious and concerned. Before there is a possible howl, CERTAIN agents are worth their weight. But where are they?

Can anyone here advise me on how to avoid being" conditioned" for a setup by the agent, where slowly I'll be crunched to sell at a cheaper price -- forcing me, if you will, to sell possibly thousands below a fair sale price, while they pocket their skyward commission?

Is the Jenman System the way to go? Or, is there a seasoned approach in dealing with agents to safeguard a major life asset?

I'm all ears.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

 

Hi Sherriff

It can be confusing can't it? You want a local REA who is able to demonstrate both happy vendors and successful sales. See attached list of questions that might help. Look for experience, sales records and personal references. Best of luck!

 

Thank you so much. I appreciate your reply.

Best regards.

Sheriff.

 

Best way to avoid being conditioned is not letting them talk to you about what you place is worth. Just tell them to go do their job - sell you place and to not sell you.

I often just abruptly stopped agents talking when they started to focus on selling to me (ie conditioning me to lower my price expectations) rather than doing their job of finding the best buyer possible.

I recently finished settlement of my IP after taking it to auction and only getting $547,500 which we knocked back knowing it was worth more, which of course upset the agent no end - they just wanted the easy commission. Unfortunately that relationship deteriorated as he became more frustrated with our firm attitude, which resulted abusive phone calls, lying, avoidance etc.

http://www.invested.com.au/6/finally-selling-my-ip-36158/

At the end of the day we sold out place for what we always thought was fair value ($609,000), maybe even good value for the buyer (depending on your perspective). So we saved ourselves over $60,000 by telling the agent to **** off and go get a better buyer.

So at the end of the day it's about knowing the fair market price and sticking to your guns and waiting for the right buyer to enter the market and I truly believe value is in the eye of the beholder and if it isn't a crazy hot market then you have to be ready to wait a little longer to get a fair price. This involves not being desperate and being firm in your convictions in the face of agents telling you price expectations are unreasonable.

Also I recommend sticking it to them. Most of them need your business so make sure you set terms that are fair for you. Try things like letting them have an open listing and saying you won't engage other agents if they do a good job. Then see how they go. If they suck get another agent and just tell them they can keep advertising it if they want but they now have competition.

Anyway best of luck with it.

 

Thank you so much. Your advice has given me needed confidence.

Regards.

 

Sheriff,
Another option is to use a vendors agent.
They share the selling commission so make sure you take their advice within the context, but the higher the sale price, the better they do. It is no additional cost to you, in theory they vete the REA's, look at what is required to sell the property and work on your behalf.

In theory REA's do but like many, I have limited opinion on who they work for, mostly it is to maintain their flashy cars and appearance.

Why do you want to sell your IP?
It can be a costly option, are there better options available?

Greg

 

Don't forget about CGT when selling an IP - how much you're prepared to pay will affect your selling price.