“Makes you realise what a numpty you’ve been in the past letting agents do it for you.”
Read Sally’s interview below to find out how the process went for her selling ‘for sale by owner’ in Western Australia.
What services did PropertyNow provide, that assisted you most?
I think the ability to list on the big real estate sites without being an agent is number one. Practical help with a for sale sign – obvious but vital. Phone help with how to use the website too. The whole thing assisted us to pocket at least 15K which is pretty special. I wish more people would give it a go
Were you hesitant before trying private selling? What made you decide to give it a go?
I was hesitant, Brett wasn’t. I thought there was more to it than there actually is. We’d both seen features on tv that made it look easy and we’re always up for a go at most things
When you sold your property yourself, how did it feel? What are you going to do now?
Very empowering, we are very pleased with ourselves! Makes you realise what a numpty you’ve been in the past letting agents do it for you. The last house we sold, we used an agent and aid him best part of 20K for the privilege. Assumed it was difficult to do but its so not. Weve bought in a new area to us by the sea
What do you plan to do now that you’ve sold, how will the sale benefit you?
We have bought elsewhere and the proceeds of the sale pay out our new house
If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice before selling your own home, what would it be?
It was just as expected. watch some reno shows on the TV. Spruce up the paint, we did new (cheapish) carpets, some flowers in the garden, declutter and pop into Kmart for throws, cushions, plastic plants etc to stage the house. Never sell it without furniture in. Fix all the little niggly things. We were on top of all that
What was the hardest part for you personally and how did you overcome it?
The negotiation, you just have to grow a pair and say if the offer is too low. We went back and forth a little asking for more money with our sale.
How did buyers react when they found out you were selling this way, without a traditional agent?
Buyers were all interested to hear it was us selling it and all thought it was a good idea. The others all assumed we were real estate agents
Is there anything else you think people should know?
PropertyNow provides a brilliant service – I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you. One thing you could emphasise more is that it is literally just accepting a written offer and that everything else is done by the settlement agent. I assumed there would be more paperwork but not so in WA anyway. I phoned REIWA and they had an offer and acceptance form for 15$ that they emailed me, we printed it and filled it in – Ta da!
We did have old O&A forms we could look back on to see what we were meant to do but anyone with half a brain could do it. We’d never use an agent again to sell but its unlikely we’ll move again anytime soon, this new house is a keeper!!