I could have done it online / through the post but I preferred to do the deal in person and pay by cheque rather than credit card. I am paranoid about giving my details and money online to people I have not met in person.
As it turns out, I need not have worried.
The only downside is that the initial enquiry from buyers has to go to the agents. They then send me the potential buyer's details via email.
They say that if we gave my details/telephone number on the ad, the websites could ban them from using the sites. Meant to be for agent's only, apparently. Domain will allow private user's to list but they charge $500/month. Monopolistic corporate vampires.
COST
I spoke to the conveyancer who acted for me when I bought the property who said he'll do the legal work for $750 + the cost of obtaining council certificates etc (around $120). The cost of going through agents for the website listings was $299 (for 3 months) + $44 for the 'For Sale' sign.
The sign they provided is just the corrugated plastic signage without the wooden stake needed to plant it into the ground. I had to go to Bunnings and found a 1.8 metre picket fence (for only $3.60) which will do the trick very nicely. I'll just turn the thing up-side-down, nail the sign into the stake and Baljindar is your great-uncle from your paternal-grandmother's side.
Total Cost: just over $1,200 as opposed to many thousands of dollars if I went through a Real Estate Agent.
The advertisements and pictures went up at 6pm on Thursday night.
Today (Saturday) I had 3 people through the property. One of them was an investor.
I think the 1st lady and the investor are really keen but the 2nd person was either not keen or didn't want to spend as much and won't be taking it further.
One advantage of doing this myself is that I have all the time in the world to show people around; if we are home, people are welcome to come through, any day of the week, any time of the day (or night).
Whereas a Real Estate Agent would only come through (and bring buyers) at his or her convenience. An impatient buyer or a buyer who refuses to tolerate a Real Estate Agent's strict timings would probably miss out and go elsewhere. And if the Real Estate Agent prioritises another property over mine (perhaps because there is a higher commission in it for him/her), then I simply have to wait (or worse miss out) on potential buyers.
I am confident that my 1 bedroom apartment is one of the best on the market right now, so I actually prefer people to go elsewhere and see for themselves what their money will buy on the market before they come here. We have made a lot of improvements since we purchased it.
Here is a list of what we did:
new paint
bamboo floors throughout (with more than adequate acoustic insulation)
small fireproof safe installed for keeping important documents and valuables
fly screens on balcony doors
drawers/cabinets installed to utilise space better and increase storage
Three things I didn't get around to were installing an air conditioner, a storage unit in the garage and another larger built-in wardrobe (there is a lot of wasted space in the bedroom).
The A/c would cost an extra $1,500, storage unit $2,500 or so and the custom-built wardrobe another $1,000. These would make the place more livable and further improve the capital value of the property. If we were staying I would have done all three by the end of the year.
So, it is now the end of the first day of showing/selling the property. Not that I had to do much other than be nice and talk to people and answer their questions and tell them about the property and location.
I'm looking forward to having more people through, and most importantly to some good offers coming in. I listed it as "Offers Above $439k". I would definitely sell at $460k. Lets wait and see if my wish comes true.
Meantime there is a $90 million Lotto draw on Tuesday.
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