Dealing with Clutter when Selling your luxury home

Lose the Clutter, Clean and Set the Stage to Sell! This advice applies anytime you sell a property but particularly when that property is falls in the luxury category (usually R10m and upwards).

When buyers are looking at a multi-million rand home, they expect to see something that looks like a million dollars.  They don't expect to see your clothes lying all over the place on the sofa and doors that won't shut properly.

Dealing with Clutter includes personal family photos. That photo of you and your favorite politician may be something you're proud of, but it may turn off a buyer who votes for the opposition. Rather put them away. It will give you an edge on packing up when your home is sold if you've already boxed the personal items.

Most luxury home owners have household help to keep their homes clean.  It's easy for someone who cleans a home to get into a routine that may skip some of the things a stranger (prospective buyer) will notice immediately. The surfaces get polished but do they get into the corners?  Buyers (especially if they really like the place and are considering putting in an offer) may open cupboards and look under sinks that you never notice. Don't let them find a collection of dust. Ask the household staff to give everything a thorough cleaning before you list, and keep it maintained in best condition during the viewing/selling period.

Take an honest look at your home and decide if it looks like a luxury home.  Would you be bowled over by it if you didn't live there?  If the answer is no, you may want to do a bit of staging. If you need more advice on staging, I have a professional home staging team who can help.

Tips for Buyers in a Sellers Market

A Sellers Market is usually a situation where there are many buyers but low inventory of homes for sale. What happens in this scenario is houses that are priced correctly will sell quickly and sometimes for more than the listing price. Prices will be on the rise until the point at which it would be cheaper to buy a brand new property (when the building costs per square metre are less than the price per square metre that the Seller wants for his second hand home).

In a Sellers Market, there are a few things the Buyer can do to ensure you get your dream house.

Have a deposit ready (down payment or earnest money deposit) Lending requirements change from time to time, but even where financial institutions may be prepared to loan up to 100% only half of Buyers who apply for home finance are actually successful on their Bond application. A Buyer who is able to put down even a small deposit has a greater chance of securing hone finance. If you as a Buyer can work to secure a pre-qualification from a Bond originator, you are more likely to be treated as a serious Prospect by an agent, and will be in a better position to make a successful offer.

Time is of the essence in a Sellers market. Don't wait for the weekend for a viewing appointment: the property you want could be sold.  If you waste too much time in making a decision to put an offer down on your "dream home" there may be a few Buyers after the same property and you could lose the opportunity.

Asking for favours. This us not the time to negotiate for the Seller to fix things or to repaint. Since there are many Buyers the Seller can choose a Buyer that does not have to put in a suspensive clause where they buy subject to the sale of their own property.

Safety tips for Sellers and Real Estate Agents

I was advising a client yesterday because we have had 3 incidents in the greater Johannesburg this year where an estate agent was tied up and robbed of valuables as well as their car stolen by criminals posing as Buyers. An important precaution is to identify and pre-screen Buyers before working with them. At the moment we are in a "Seller's market", which means one might quite possibly get hundreds of queries from interested "Buyers". A Buyer who isn't willing to work with you on these pre-screening requests may not be ready to buy yet or may not qualify financially to buy the property (or worse, may have criminal intent). All of these factors add to the reasons why I believe it is unwise for a Seller to contemplate a private sale, since estate agents are experienced at minimizing risks to themselves or the Seller.

A few tips:

• Always tell someone where you are going when showing a house and report back afterwards
• Let the client walk ahead (never behind or in your blind spot) when showing/viewing a property
• Before a private showing, scout the neighborhood and be alert to anything unusual or out of place, or for safety concerns
• Identify each of a home’s exits/escape routes prior to a showing or open house. Keep exit doors unlocked
• Take a self-defense class (Krav Maga is the best)
• Let your client follow you to the property in their own car
• Don’t wear expensive watches or jewels
• Maintain a professional image including clothing 
• Buy a personal security app for your cell phone, always keep your cell phone in your hands and lock another valuables (iPad, laptop) out of sight in the car
• Be ready to defend yourself. Travel with pepper-spray
• Trust your instincts, if something doesn’t feel right, remove yourself from the situation, don't  worry about offending a client