Real Estate Advice

Advice to sellers

Approach your potential property sale with the respect it deserves. The pitfalls and possible financial loss can be traumatic if the people you rely on for advice are not experts.

1. Recommendations are a good start, but you should confirm the negotiator's company/ firm/ advertising/ showdays/ accompanied viewing and any other details that you think will give your home the maximum marketing advantage. Any professional, organised company should be able to provide you with a detailed marketing plan.

2 Remember when discussing your potential move and financial arrangements that the most common error made by all sellers is the assumption that it pays to attempt to find the "mythical buyer" who will pay over market value. Waiting for the "mythical buyer" jeopardises the chance of a sale in your opportune marketing stage - the first few weeks.

3 It never pays to leave yourself under pressure to sell either by committing yourself to another property without adequate time to sell your own home, or because you have refused to accept financial or personal realities.

4 Many older people often spend a disproportionate percentage of their dwindling income failing to maintain expensive homes they only utilise a portion of and only face the pressures of moving when forced to through ill health or reduced circumstances.

STEPS

1. Obtain a market appraisal from your chosen agent you have been recommended to approach.

Remember, the negotiator - who is most optimistic about value and the one you have a rapport with is the agent most likely to achieve the best possible price for you. Owners often attempt to equate similar homes in more expensive areas or roads when valuing their homes. This doesn't work. Remember that location contributes 70% of the determination of the value of your home.

It is important that you trust the agent you chose, enough to be honest with him. You are his client and he cannot act in your best interests if he is kept in the dark about your reasons or pressures you may be under. A reputable agent will consider confidentiality one of his most important duties.

2. Do your sums before you start looking for a new home or selling your own. Your agent will be able to advise you on the situation with regard to prospective or existing loans, Capital Gains Tax and what you should have to pay for the type of home you require. Don't forget the added expense of legal fees for transfer and stamp duty when you purchase a new home.

Clients waste considerable time and money by refusing to be businesslike in their approach to what is often the biggest major financial investment in their lives.

Your current Building Society should be informed as soon as you have definitely decided to sell - not only when you sign the Agreement of Sale or a 3 month penalty will be charged.

A seller must be aware that, 15% Capital Gains Withholding Tax for his principal private residence, must be paid prior to transfer at the Deeds Office. The remaining 5% will have to be paid at the end of the financial year.

4. The natural inclination to resent buyers and their inspections can be an expensive mistake. Agents themselves are well aware of the impact of restricted viewing times, hostile dogs, tenants or ex-spouses can have on the price they will achieve on your behalf. Considering the millions of dollars owners can loose it is truly amazing how often they refuse to take their agents advise or inconvenience themselves. An owner with the notion that buyers need constant attention and a high degree of pressure selling, from themselves if not from their agents, can prove equally expensive (to themselves) and are equally difficult for the agent to deal with tactfully.

Unless there are unusual circumstances that it is in the owners interests to grant a Sole Agency to his chosen company of Estate Agents.

Your agent will be happier spending time and money and will concentrate his efforts on these properties as they are most likely to earn him a secure return. If he has the integrity you have chosen him for, he will return your trust in his abilities by working harder on your behalf. Most firms are happy to spend a higher percentage of their budget allocation on Sole Agencies than on other properties.

5. Most keen active purchasers will have been to see other properties in the same area and price range as your home before it comes on the market. Foreign buyers with pockets bulging and more money than grey matter do occur, but contrary to gossip and public misconceptions you are likely to have aged considerably before one arrives to buy your home. In contrast in common belief, your foreign buyer is often the most careful and cautious of buyers. Wouldn't you be if you were buying property so far from home?

Studies have proved that properties priced correctly with a reasonable gap between the asking price and the market value, achieve a higher price and are sold faster than homes that are overpriced when first marketed. The most active and keenest buyers will view your home within weeks or even days of a correctly marketed home. Show Days are especially useful, allowing families to view the house together, in peaking their interest and their offers, if utilised correctly.

REMEMBER

a) Buyers buy by comparison.

b) You are the client's agent. He is legally and morally obliged to follow your instructions and act in your best interests.

c) Ensure that your agent is registered with the Estate Agents Council

d) Ensure that your agent fully explains any actions he undertakes on your behalf.

e) In Zimbabwe, you are liable for the Estate Agent's commission, that is why he must act and negotiate on your behalf.

f) You have the right to nominate the conveyancing attorney and the buyer is expected to pay any fees incurred in the transfer of title.



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