There is no denying that competition for property sales is fierce and, like any good opportunity, when it comes to selling your property you must be prepared.  Shannon Davis say that when it is time to say goodbye many people struggle to let go of the memories.  He has a hard but compelling solution.
Transcripts:
Kevin:  There’s an excellent blog article on PropertyTv.IO, check it out. It’s written by Shannon Davis who joins me again. Shannon, of course from Image Property. Good day Shannon, how are you doing?
Shannon:  Good day Kevin. Good, thanks mate.
Kevin:  Yeah, I was taken to this article because I think it gives us five excellent points, If you’re thinking about selling your property, what could actually turn people off? The last thing you want to do is turn an agent off, the last thing you want to do is turn a buyer off from buying your property. Research before you do it. In other words, no one really wakes up and just says “I’d like to sell my home today.” Well, if they do they’re crazy, because there’s so much work you’ve got to put into just understanding where you are in life, Shannon.
Shannon:  Yeah, definitely. It’s not an exercise to be undertaken lightly.
Kevin:  Okay. Well let’s walk through some of the areas. You say you’ve gotta look at your goals, your finances, and the market?
Shannon:  Yeah, definitely. Begin with the end in mind. I think one of the first people I wanna talk to is my accountant just to see how I’m gonna be off in a tax sense, and what the property owes me, and perhaps where I wanna move to, what do I need for that sort of thing. So one of the most important people to start with and begin with the end in mind is to actually talk to your accountant about what sort of proceeds you’d need, and then if that’s possible in the market.
Kevin:  Yeah, we talk about researching the market too and its not just about where prices are going, it’s where when you list your property, who are you going to be in competition with? What are the features of your property that make it stand out compared to the other properties that you’re going to be competing with? This is all very important research before you call an agent in, Shannon.
Shannon:  Yeah. Attend a few local open homes and remember this one thing, that it’s prices achieved not prices advertised. So, usually there’d be 3 months that lags before the prices are updated into portals if the vendors have access to that information. It’s not the prices advertised. There can be a discrepancy there of say ten to twenty percent and it gives some perspective and there’s a full sense of confidence.
Kevin:  Another point too that you make in your excellent article is that small problems can actually deter buyers. My advice to anyone who’s looking at putting their property on the market is to walk around with a clipboard and look at your property through a buyer’s eyes. In other words, what are they going to notice that you’ve probably overlooked that really needs repair? It’s very easy to turn buyers off, Shannon.
Shannon:  Yeah, definitely. A lot of buyers out there just want to move in turn-key sort of thing, and if you want to go 1 step further, actually invest into a building and pest inspection yourself so you’re aware of any potential deal-breakers before they arise and can make sure that you’ve attended to those things. If a prospective buyer is looking at things, they’re always going to round up the amounts they need to repair a wall, or a garden, or a retaining wall. All they’re going to do is put that into the offer and it’s going to end up in some low balling.
Kevin:  Another thing too when we’re talking about buyers and turning them off is that buyers have the luxury of searching for properties. They can look at them online. You’ve got to be very aware of what that first appeal. You never ever get a second chance to make a good first impression.
Shannon:  No, definitely. I talk to prospective vendors, making sure that curb appeal really stands out because you’ll have lots of drive-bys from local purchasers. They need to be incentivized to get out of the car. Really cut back and clear out, and get everything shiny from the front and make sure you’re not losing prospective buyers there.
Kevin:  If you think that buyers don’t make up their mind before they get into a property whether they like it or not, you are wrong. I can tell you from real experience that people have been in the car with me and they’ve said, “No, I don’t even want to look at this.” I’ve said, “Look, please, you need to have a look on the inside, don’t judge it from the outside.” And they’ve ended up buying it because … an agent needs to get them into your home, so do not run the risk of ruining that first impression.
Kevin:  Shannon, the next point I want to make is a point you make in your article is one of the hardest things for a seller to do and that is to remove themselves emotionally from the property. When they list it, it’s no longer their home, it just becomes an asset that’s going to go up for sale.
Shannon:  Yeah, definitely. That’s part of the process of decluttering. You actually are in the mood to sell. You’re going to drive past that for sale sign every day. You’re going to make yourself scarce for inspections. You might as well get on with the job of starting to put things into storage and remove them so prospective buyers can see themselves in the dwelling. You always think they can see past a few things, but in my experience it’s much easier to make them imagine themselves in the surroundings.
Kevin:  The 5th and final point you make in your article is a very important one too, and they’ve got to understand that we’re in competition with a lot of other properties, but by the same token it’s who represents us. The agent is actually going to make the difference. I’ve seen really bad agents wreck sales because they were such bad agents. The importance of getting an agent … The point you make, is an agent you can trust.
Shannon:  Yeah, definitely. Trust is what we need in all relationships and that person, he or she, is going to be your person in the room. You need to be able to trust them in that negotiations that they have your best interests at heart. They don’t have commission breath, they’re actually trying to get the best amount of dollars for you, and that comes down to trust. Never tell an agent what your bottom dollar is. You’ve just got to always keep that information in house so that this person is working to get the best result for you in the shortest amount of time, in order to move you on to where you want to be. That’s going to take a lot of trust, perhaps multiple meetings and making sure that you feel comfortable with that person.
Kevin:  Yeah, absolutely.
Kevin:  Great stuff. Shannon Davis, from Image Property. It was good talking to you, and you can catch all of Shannon’s great articles. The blog articles, you’ll find them at propertytv.io. Thanks for your time, Shannon.
Shannon:  No worries Kevin, any time.