10 Most Recent Articles

CHOOSE NEGOTIATION SKILL!

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:45:25 +1100

If you have spent a lot of time interviewing real estate agents, you may have noticed that they talk endlessly about the advertising they do, but few talk

about the one thing that is most important to you-their negotiation skill.

POOR NEGOTIATORS CAN COST YOU A LOT OF MONEY.

Negotiation skills are vital to ensuring you get the highest possible price.

A good negotiator can achieve up to an extra ten percent on your selling price. This can mean thousands of dollars.

If you have an attractive property you don't need a salesperson as much as you need a negotiator.

Ask you agent to PROVE his or her negotiation ability to you. Most won't be able to do so. these are the agents you should avoid.

CHOOSE SKILL, NOT OPINIONS

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:17:47 +1100

Some agents tell lies to win your business.

Be very careful that you do not choose the agent who tells you the biggest lie about how much "you will get" for your property. This is called "buying the business".

Unless the agent is prepared to buy your property, his or her opinion is irrelevant.

If you choose agents based on the selling price they quote you- their opinions- you may be badly disappointed, and may even wind up in financial difficulty.

If you suspect that an agent is attempting to buy your business with an inflated sale price estimate, insist they give you their estimate in writing.

Insist, also, that they charge you nothing if they sell for less than the price estimated. This will identify the agents who are enticing you with false quotes.

CHOOSE SKILL, NOT THE CHEAPEST

Cheap agents get cheap prices. Be careful choosing an agent based purely on their fees.

If agents give their own money away what do you think they will do with your money?

It may be better to pay an extra one percent for a selling fee than to receive ten percent less on your selling price.

Good negotiators rarely give big discounts on their fees. If they get you the best market price, they are worth a fair fee.

FIND AN AGENT YOU CAN TRUST

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:41:09 +1100

If you don't trust the agent, don't hire the agent. A major ingredient in any relationship, business or personal, is trust.

Before you choose your agent, ask many questions, check references, test their negotiating skills and ask yourself a BIG question:Do I feel comfortable with this person handling the sale of (possibly) my greatest financial asset?

If your answer is "no", do not hire the agent.

Once you decide on an agent, give the agent your trust and confidence. Do not interfere.

Allow the agent to make decisions and get on with the job of finding the right buyer for your property.

The best agents are worthy of your trust. They won't let you down.

DON'T AGREE TO PAY ADVERTISING COSTS

The way typical real estate agents advertise is a waste of money. Make sure it is not your money.

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.

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

Advertising will rarely sell your property. Too often home sellers make the mistake of demanding advertising for their properties.

The previous hint for selecting an agent advised 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.

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.

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 do "Baby Boomers". Agents who rely on newspaper advertising are quickly becoming old fashioned.

Your agent needs to be an expert in Interent 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:

* Your 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 you 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.

Choosing & Working With An Agent

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:08:37 +1100

Choosing the right agent is crucial if you want to get the highest price for your property with the least amount of stress.

Your agent should be skilled, selling the positives of your property and, when necessary, selling the negatives of properties that are

listed with other agents.

This does not mean your agent should mislead people. It means that your agent works for you and not for the other home sellers or their agents.

Be sure your reason for selling is confidential. No-one, other than the agent you trust, should know why you want to sell.

If the buyers know you have a pressing reason for selling, this could be used against you.

It is enough for buyers to know only that you want to sell. The reason is your business. Revealing it could weaken your position when you receive an offer.

The best agents will tell you how to give your property that special feeling that wins the hearts of buyers.

With the right agent, and with your property looking its best, you will always get the highest price.

The advice contained in this booklet may be contrary to the advice you receive from many real estate agents.

The greatest problem facing home sellers is lack of information. Some people only sell a property once or twice in their lives. Even those who sell more often rarely have the experience or the information to know how to get the best price with the least risk.

Following are some things you should consider when selecting a real estate agent. You will, it is hoped, notice that in none of these ways is it suggested that you select an agent based on who charges the lowest fee, or on who quotes the highest selling price to you.

This is the most dangerous way to select a real estate agent.

Thinking of Selling?

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:52:06 +1100

If you are like most sellers, the thought of selling your property can be daunting.

Working with your agent and showcasing your property in its finest light are the two things that, more than others, will optimise your chances of success.

GIVING YOUR PROPERTY THAT EXTRA SPARKLE

You rarely need to spend thousands of dollars to make your home attractive. Buyers are attracted by the appearance of your property and, when they inspect it, they are influenced by its atmosphere. The right appearance outside, followed by the right mood inside, gives you the best chance to get the highest price.

The first thing we notice is the outside. If the property is clean and neat and welcoming, we are interested. If it is scruffy or dirty, we are turned off.

Buyers often say they "just want to look from the outside." They want to see if they are attracted by the appearance.

For this reason you need to be careful how your agent markets the property. Advertising an address, and opening for inspection a property that might not be attractive from the outside, can lose many buyers.

To make your home look its best, attention to detail is crucial. When you live in the property, you can overlook its little faults. It is now time to have a fresh look.

Stand in the street and look at your property as if you were seeing it for the first time. Try hard to pick faults. It is better that YOU find the faults while there is time to fix them, than the buyers finding the faults. The challenge is to make your property as attractive as possible without spending too much.

First impressions create permanent opinions-so create a positive mood for all prospective purchasers.

THE VALUE OF MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS

If you spend enough money in making the property more attractive, you will usually make it easier to find a buyer.

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. 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.

Most improvements often return only half their cost upon sale. 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 that 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.

Article courtesy of Gary Pittard

Mt Martha Yacht Club

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:01:28 +1000

MOUNT MARTHA YACHT CLUB

The club sails every Wednesday evening through summer as part of the twilight series and provides great racing on Saturdays and Sundays as part of its Club championship through January and on every Sunday from October right through to the end of the season in late April. We offer sail training classes in November/December and also in January/February for juniors and adults. If you would like to know more about this great club including:

*Membership

*Sponsorship

*Classes sailed

*Sail Training

Or if you’d like to assist us on race days, please visit us at our new website for further details:

www.mmyc.org.au

Mt Martha Bowls Club

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:00:45 +1000

MOUNT MARTHA BOWLS AND SOCIAL CLUB

Mark down Sunday October 23 between 10 am and 12 noon in your diary, and come down and Try Bowls!

Just come along to the Mount Martha Bowls Club in Watson Road and try your hand at lawn bowls. Get on the green and afterwards enjoy a sausage sizzle and light refreshments. Come by yourself, bring a friend and/or the family, and wear a pair of flat soled shoes or come in bare feet.

Mt Martha Life Saving

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:59:01 +1000

MOUNT MARTHA LIFE SAVING CLUB

Mount Martha Life Saving Club is proud to announce the support of Warlimont and Nutt Real Estate in their ongoing sponsorship of our ever popular Nipper programme.

Every Friday night at Mount Martha beach from November until March around 230 Nippers begin their 2011/12 surf lifesaving training. Nippers not only helps develop water safety in young participants it also encourages a development of swimming and surf life saving skills that kids will have for life. Warlimont and Nutt underpin this programme and without their support it would not be possible each year.

“Thank you to Warlimont and Nutt Real Estate for their continued support. It would be very hard to run the program that we do without their continued involvement,” John Harvey MMLSC Club President.

Selling by Stealth

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:45:31 +1000

Is it the way to go?

What is selling by stealth? It is when you sell your property without any marketing or open inspections other than selected buyers being handpicked and introduced by an agent. The first your neighbours know of your intention to sell is when you tell them it is sold. However, is it the best way to sell your property for the maximum price? The answer is “it depends”.

It depends on the circumstances and context of the sale. Stealth selling is not a recommended universal selling strategy for all properties. But when the scenario arises to do so, the results can be fantastic. Going to the open market is most often the best strategy for the majority of properties. Indeed, to sell a property with broad market appeal in buoyant market conditions by stealth would be a mistake.

Fergus Nutt from Warlimont & Nutt P/L said there had been numerous instances in 2010 where the sale price exceeded both the agent’s and the seller’s expectations. If any of those sales had been conducted without full market exposure, there was a great risk of underselling.

“Interestingly enough, underselling is most common in a strong market. The difference between a good price and a great price can be overlooked in the excitement of selling.” Fergus said.

Three Scenarios

Stealth selling works best in 3 scenarios. The first being the property has previously undergone a marketing/auction campaign that has failed to produce the desired result. A property that is left languishing on the market is a poor look. Buyers begin to ask that dreaded question, “What is wrong with it?” In this situation, withdrawing the property and getting an agent to handpick buyers is quite often the best way to go. It protects the value of the property and avoids it being turned into a lemon.

The second scenario where stealth selling can deliver a great result is when the agent has a buyer that really needs and wants to buy, but has been unable to find anything suitable. They may have sold their property and are working towards a deadline, they may be time poor and frustrated after missing out on a number of properties or have a unique criteria of what they desire in a property. In a lot of cases, the agent will get a sense of whether these buyers are prepared to pay the right price to secure the right property. To finalise the property search, the buyer will quite often pay a premium market price.

Fergus pointed out, “If you have the right property for a highly motivated buyer, you are quite likely to receive a premium price without the need to go on the open market.”

“Warlimont & Nutt recently sold three properties in Two Bays Crescent, Mount Martha for prices between $1.42m and $3.38m, with only two buyers having inspected each home. The success for the owners was not about the prospects that inspected the homes before a sale was achieved. It was a success in that non-buyers did not inspect the home. The owners were not interested in multiple non-buyers and lookers passing comment on their family residences of up to 40 years. We were under strict instructions to only show qualified and financially capable buyers.”

In other examples, Warlimont & Nutt has assisted in the sale of a further 5 acres to the successful Balcombe Grammar School in late 2010 without even going on the market. The transaction was simply concluded between two neighbours. A campaign offering the property to the open market was unlikely to have resulted in a superior result.

Thirdly, sellers of unique properties can be well advised to sell by stealth. Why? Unique properties often appeal to unique buyers. Unique as in the features they require in a property. Unique is a greatly misunderstood word in real estate. Unique is neither positive nor negative, it is neutral. Unique does not mean the property is worth more or less, it is a rare kind. Many have made the mistake of equating unique into priceless.

Indeed, the more buyers that inspect a unique property and don’t buy it, the more pressure increases on the owner to revise their price expectations.

Commercial properties are a great example of unique. This is why commercial properties can take longer than residential properties to sell and/or lease when they go on the market. Often, the property can be priced right but have no takers. The right buyer, one who would see value in the unique features of the property may not be active in the market. A concentrated expensive marketing campaign may well promote the property to a lot of non-prospects. It is a simple matter of waiting for the right prospect to enter the market.

The same principles can apply with unique residential properties. Selling by stealth can alleviate the pressure on owners as they attempt to establish the right buyer at the right price.

The right buyer

Many people who are interested in selling hold off due to the process of selling rather than the act of selling. If there were a buyer ready to go, they are more than happy to sell. The thought of risking advertising money, stress, time and the energy of monitoring a campaign forces the sale onto the back burner.

Fergus advises such clients to get a Section 32 Vendor Statement prepared for their property by their solicitor in case he or any of his team members come across the right buyer. The property is unofficially on the market but a “would sell for the right price...” proposition. 49 Legacy Drive, Mount Martha sold for $1million in 2010 without ever going on the open market. It was only ever promoted as a silent listing.

“Even though there was no effort on behalf of the seller, the buyer was keen to secure a property. The relaxed attitude towards selling left the seller holding the Aces.”

Fergus Nutt
& Peter O’Malley

Why isn't my place selling?

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 17:58:35 +1000

When properties are taking longer to sell, serious sellers start asking this question:

“Why isn’t my property selling?”

Three reasons why properties don’t sell include:

PRICE

Everything sells-it just comes down to price because there’s a buyer for every property. Properties on busy roads, under a flight path, backing onto a railway line-they all sell.

Properties listed 10 per cent above what they’re really worth will miss at least 50 per cent of buyers. Forget presentation and marketing, if you don’t get the price (or the expectation) right, your property won’t sell.

PRESENTATION

Good presentation will sometimes help sell a moderately overpriced property but a well-presented property, priced and marketed well, will increase competition and the chance of achieving a premium price.

MARKETING

You can’t sell a secret. Even the best priced and presented property won’t sell unless buyers know it’s on the market. Sellers need to be involved in the marketing and take some responsibility for how, when and where the property is marketed.

If your property isn’t selling, here are some suggestions:

Sit down with your agent and review price, presentation and marketing.
Be honest with yourself and ask your agent to be frank.
Look at your property through the buyer’s eyes. What are they seeing?
Pay for a professional valuation-the cost for this is usually $400 to $500.

At the end of the day you’ll likely discover that it’s the price because in most cases people present their properties well and are prepared to invest money into marketing.

Kevin Turner