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.

"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.