Preparing to sell
Five things to consider before you sell.
Before you call an agent or book a photographer, get clear on these five things. They decide more about your result than the listing does.
Deciding to sell is usually the easy part. What follows is a long list of choices, many of which have to be made before the home is ever advertised. Get these five right early and the rest of the campaign tends to fall into place.
1. Why you’re selling, and what comes next
Start with where you are going. Are you upsizing, downsizing, moving for work or school, or releasing equity? The answer shapes almost everything else: how quickly you need to sell, how flexible you can be on settlement, and how much you need to walk away with.
If you are buying again, decide whether you will buy first or sell first. Buying first means you know where you are going but can leave you carrying two properties, or relying on bridging finance, if your sale takes longer than planned. Selling first gives you certainty about your budget but puts you on a deadline to find the next home. Neither is wrong. Talk it through with your lender before you commit to either.
2. What your home is really worth
Every seller wants a high price, and it’s tempting to go with whichever figure feels best. But the market sets the price, not the appraisal. Ask for recent comparable sales close to you and look at them yourself: size, condition, block, street and how long ago they sold.
In Victoria, your agent must also give buyers a Statement of Information with an indicative selling price and three comparable sales, and underquoting is against the law. An honest price guide at the start attracts the right buyers in the first weeks, when interest is at its peak. An unrealistic one attracts the wrong buyers, or none, and a home that sits on the market loses momentum that is hard to win back.
3. What it will cost to sell
Work out your costs before you set your expectations. The usual ones are the agent’s commission, marketing (photography, video, online listings, signboard and printed material), a conveyancer or solicitor to prepare your contract and the vendor’s statement, and any repairs or styling before you list. Add moving costs, and any fee to discharge your mortgage.
Ask each agent for their fee and a marketing budget in writing, and check whether marketing is paid upfront or at settlement. If the property isn’t your main residence, or has been rented out, speak to your accountant early about capital gains tax. It can change the numbers significantly.
4. How you will sell: auction or private sale
Auction and private sale each suit different homes and different markets. An auction sets a fixed date, brings buyers to compete openly, and gives you an unconditional contract with no cooling-off period on the day. It works best when there is strong demand for a home like yours.
A private sale gives you more control over timing and privacy, and suits homes with a narrower buyer pool or a market where buyers are cautious. Private sales in Victoria generally carry a three business day cooling-off period for the buyer. A good agent will recommend a method for your home and your street based on what has worked locally, not on which is easier for them.
5. How to prepare the home, without overspending
It’s natural to want to fix everything before you sell. Resist it. Buyers often pay for the land, the location and the layout more than for new benchtops, and a renovation rushed for the sale rarely returns what it costs.
Spend on the things that change first impressions: a thorough clean, decluttering, a tidy garden and front entrance, fresh paint where it’s tired, and small repairs that would otherwise turn up in a buyer’s building inspection. Get the vendor’s statement, known in Victoria as the Section 32, under way early so the contract is ready the moment buyers ask for it.
Before you spend anything significant, ask your agent what buyers in your area are actually paying for. A walk-through with someone who sells homes like yours every week can save you a great deal of time and money.
Take your time with the first step
None of these decisions has to be made in a hurry, and most can be worked through in an hour or two over the kitchen table with the right person. The sellers who come out best are rarely the ones who rushed to list. They are the ones who knew exactly what they wanted, what their home was worth and how they planned to sell it before the first buyer walked through the door.