Selling Tip #4: Fees and Charges

Let’s move on from choosing the right agent and assess some objective information about property management fees and charges. No doubt you’ve had this conversation with your agent already and know that the commission (i.e. your fee for service) is highly negotiable.

We aim to provide a sense of perspective around that. The industry standard fee for service is 2.5% of the final sale price – that’s what the agency gets paid. Some agents will add GST in addition to that, while others will include it. We recommend clarifying that point in the beginning.

We know it’s not the commission that will determine who you use. It’s the 3 C’s: the character, competence and chemistry, but it’s still stuff that you need to know.

So, as an independent company ourselves, we don’t charge the industry standard. We’re much less. The simple reason is this: we don’t have to pay a franchise fee to a parent company, allowing us to pass those savings on to you. That’s a major point of difference right there. We don’t want to beat a dead horse but these are some benchmarks that you need to know before you sign your authority.

Now some of the other charges associated with selling your home are things like: Are you going to have any newspaper advertising? If you do, a quarter page in the local paper is $442, which lasts all weekend.

You will need to be on RealEstate.com, the biggest, best internet provider that most people go to. That’s probably the single most expensive part of marketing. But RealEstate.com’s catch cry is so true. ‘If you’re not on RealEstate.com, you’re not on the market.’ You can’t fight that. If the vast majority of people looking for homes go to RealEstate.com as their first port of call, you have to position yourself in the public eye.

The other internet provider is Domain, then the company’s website (beyond that is a waste of your time). There’s a sign board and a professional photographer. Please don’t let the agent take their own photos, unless they are a truly talented photographer. Humans get one crack at a first impression and it’s largely visual, so when they look at the photos of your home, they’ve got to leap off the page. Taking shortcuts is not in your best interest.

So what’s a typical marketing package? It’s about $1000. If it’s a lot over $1000, you should be asking why. What are you getting for your dollars? If it’s much less than that, ask questions like: Do you take your own photos? Weigh it up. You’ll know what’s right for you, your home and your campaign.

There’s much more to share with you in the subsequent videos but that’ll do for now – we hope it helps. Talk to you soon!