Getting ready to sell

Are you ready to sell? Here are some things you can do that will ease the process:

Get the paperwork together: How much do you owe on the bond? It's better to find out how much equity you have in your home before listing rather than getting an unpleasant surprise later. If your financing is with a bank there may be a 3 month cancellation clause with penalties, contact the bank to give notice. Some transfers can take less than 3 months, and you might not want to drag the transfer process out because this step wasn't thought out.

• Put all the built-in appliance manuals in a safe place (the new owner will want these). 
• Start interviewing to secure the agent with the best knowledge of the market.
• Pack away or cover valuable assets. You may not want that expensive art piece to be in the photos.

Use this opportunity to de-clutter and perhaps even start packing (boxes could be stored in the garage or storage room). Staging your home is an art in itself, there are some things you can do, but your agent might be able to recommend a staging expert. If your agent is going to use a professional photographer it becomes more important to have everything looking great for the photo shoot. Part of de-cluttering includes removing personal photos. Provide a neutral canvas that the prospective buyer can imagine themselves in.

Why good photos are important when selling your property

These days all home buyers start their search online.

They look at the photos and virtual tours of homes that interest them. This is especially important in the higher price ranges. In the starter-home market, a home might sell just because it's priced right and in a desirable location (close to commuter transport). In higher price ranges, professional photos are essential, as your buyers may well be from out of town or even living overseas. Luxury homes can have finishes like dark wood that do not show up well when photographed with a cell phone.
A professional photographer will capture the details of your home that are important to the affluent buyer. Luxury homes may need more than one photo shoot to capture the ambience and amenities at different times of the day.

Great photos and videos may be exactly what encourage an international buyer to fly in for a viewing of the property.

Questions to ask before listing your luxury home

It may be tempting to hire a friend or relative who just started out in real estate.  Your best friend may have a son or daughter at university trying to earn extra money selling houses on weekends. Although it is kind of you to help out, it probably isn't the best thing to do when selling your most valuable asset, or it may still be on the market a year later. A house loses value in the public perception if it doesn't sell: "must be something wrong with it".

Start interviewing your local luxury home experts. Ask what their marketing strategy will entail. How will they pre-qualify buyers? You don't want strangers walking through your house just to see "how the rich live" or worse, to see what they can steal.
How many other listings do they have in the area?
Do they have a blog giving advice for the luxury home market?
Do they have a website that ranks well on the search engines when using the terms "luxury homes in ________"? www.alexa.com gives rankings of various websites across many internet search engines. You know a brand's website doesn't have much reach if it doesn't even rank on there! Most people start their house hunting online, so it is important that you list with an agent whose website has great SEO.

An experienced agent is your best choice but you may want to consider a newer agent, in which case be sure to ask how they will market your property. It's crucial that they're prepared to spend money on professional photographs, ads and marketing. Ask if the office they work with has other agents who work in the luxury market? Can they call on those agents for advice? Do they network with luxury home agents in other areas? If the answer to those questions is yes, they probably already have a network of agents who may have the right buyer for your home.

Get your Luxury Home Sold

5 Tips for selling a luxury home (from a seasoned real estate agent):

Make the Right First Impression Enhanced landscaping, rearranging and staging existing furniture, are some of the ways to capture the interest of a buyer from the moment they arrive for the first time. Perfect home staging can be the very thing that ensures a successful sale.

Attracting the right market Use a luxury agent with a large network of high-end buyers both local and international. Effective marketing and advertising is key to any business transaction, not just in print or online channels, but since 95% of your buyers will be online it is important when selling a luxury home to be well versed in the way various social media channels work. Used incorrectly, these channels can have the opposite effect and sink rather than sell your luxury property.

Patience not Pressure Follow the lead of your agent, who has the experience to create and execute a successful selling strategy. Impatience can result in stress, putting off some buyers and worst of all can be detrimental to the sale and result in a lowered price.

Work With, Not Against, Your Agent From the outset, communicate your expectations. These may need some adjustment, the experience of your agent will assist in guiding you. Sometimes it may be necessary to face some hard truths about the property, or staging, or even the listing price. Remember that you employ a professional to be honest and set realistic goals. Good communication will help the you to feel empowered and understand what needs to be done to fulfill your expectations.

Consider Throwing in Extra Incentives Your imported furniture or hand-picked art pieces can become the leverage you need in order to motivate a buyer. It won't be the first time a buyer has made a decision to buy a particular home or even paid full asking price because a piece of furniture (or all of it) or an artwork was included in the deal.

"I’m going to list with the agent who has the lowest commission.”

You get what you pay for. Paying a low commission will often get you a "For Sale" sign on weekends and an Internet listing, perhaps a Newspaper ad but little extra effort from your agent.

Estate agents use their own funds to market and advertise your home, which costs money: the lower the commission, the less incentive there is for an agent to finance the marketing of your home.  For example: part of my funding goes to national TV ads with Remax: we don't use newspaper ads (they don't work), instead, we run national ad campaigns on DSTV which drive leads to our website. I have noticed that my Internet ad response increased dramatically (40 leads instead of 4 per listing) after joining Remax as a result of their strong SEO and recognized branding.

Incentive plays a key role in sales. An agent earning a full commission will often “drop everything” to handle any challenges that come along – an agent earning a small commission doesn't have that same incentive. Most agents will focus on those listings where they know the commission is not an issue.

Negotiating ability is an important skill in a listing agent. Are you willing to put your faith in an agent who can’t even negotiate his or her own commission? If they cannot do this, how can you expect them to negotiate the best price for your most expensive asset? An agent who is prepared to drop even 1,5% in their commission is effectively taking a salary cut of 20%. Would you be happy if the agent likewise reduced your profit on the sale of the property by 20% because they were unable to negotiate a better offer from the Purchaser?

Something to remember is to check if the commission excludes VAT.
7.5% plus VAT = 8.55%
7% plus VAT = 7,98%
6% plus VAT = 6,98%
Since I am an Independent Contractor with Remax there is no VAT applicable to my commission.

Any agent whose main bargaining tool for securing a listing is to reduce their commission is not likely to secure you the best price or be the best person for the job of selling your property.