There will, says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties, always be one or two property sellers who, rightly or wrongly, think the commissions paid to estate agents are unjustifiable.
Such sellers, says Clarke, will be tempted to go the DIY route and to try to sell the property on their own.
'Let us, for a moment not discuss whether this is a wise move,' said Clarke. 'Let us instead assume the seller does go it alone '“ what advice can someone like myself give him?'
The first piece of advice, he said, is 'recognise that the private seller is targeting a different market'.
'The buyer who goes to an estate agent recognises that he will probably have to pay a market related price and is possibly up against other buyers.
'The person who seeks out a private seller will quite often be a 'shrewdy' '“ a bargain hunter. He may start by trying to get the price down on the grounds that the seller is not paying commission '“ and he will often think, probably rightly, that the private seller can be more easily 'talked round' than an experienced agent. He may well come armed with a portion of suspect market data '“ which the seller must be sufficiently clued up to be able to refute. Doing area research on prices is vital to the private sellers success'
Rawsons have proved time and again, said Clarke, that DIY sellers tend to end up agreeing to prices lower than an estate agent would have achieved for them '“ but certain sellers will always believe they will be able to negotiate a good price.
Although this may be difficult, the DIY seller must ascertain the financial position of the buyer: will he, in fact, be able to get a bond and, if so, for how much?
'A good agent, of course, will 'pre-qualify' his buyers '“ but it can be very hard for a private seller to do this - his questions may well be thought impertinent. Weeks can be lost while the buyer goes hunting for a bond, possibly with no success.
'It is absolutely essential, therefore, that the seller keeps his options open throughout this period and continues to negotiate with other possible buyers: he must never allow himself to be tied down to one potential buyer and above all he should continue to market his property, even though he has to pay for advertising. (Had he used an agency, this would have been for their account)'
Sellers, added Clarke, often have the difficulty in showing their houses. Without the 'discipline' of working through an agent, potential buyers may turn up at any time of the day and may feel free to wander around. This can be a security risk.
On show days all buyers inside the house should, said Clarke, be kept together and watched '“ call in the neighbours to help with this if need be '“ and all valuable should be locked away.
On show days, Clarke warned, the polite buyers may refrain from expressing his doubts and misgivings for fear of offending the owner. The less polite will insult the owner and this could lead to all possibility of negotiations being taken forward ending forthwith.
In addition, said Clarke, the seller should always remain conscious that the buyer, until contractually pegged down, can cancel his bond application and get out of a sale. This, too, happens regularly'
'When it comes to drawing up the sale agreement,' Clarke warns, 'the DIY seller has to negotiate a number of possible pitfalls. If he is sensible he will employ an attorney '“ for which he will have to pay several thousand rand. By contrast, of course, the estate agent will have the use of a tried and tested document but either way, he must protect himself'.
In conclusion, said Clarke, there are a handful of private sales taking place in micro markets but the seller always needs to weigh up the costs of paying a professional agent against doing it yourself.
For further information contact Tony Clarke on 021 658 7100 or email tony@rawsonproperties.com.
