Advice greatly appreciated

[armada]

Hello,

I own a two bedroom, two bathroom, student accomodation in Unitec at Mt Albert, Auckland.

May I seek some advice on how to proceed if I wish to sell the apartment?

Thank you all.

[Monid]

Um contact an agent?

Sarcasm aside make sure it looks the best it can, Do some independent research about what its present value might be, and be prepared to deal with the tricks of the trade from the Agent...

[xris]

Engage a good agent.

[Aston]

Hi,

Make sure that the apartment is presented at its best and invite several agents to give you an idea and of its current market value. Presentation is VERY important. The agents of course will be from different companies and you won't have them all there at the same time!

The agents will also discuss with you their strategies for best marketing your property. You can then select the Company who will best meet your requirements to market the place.

I usually select an Agent who dislpays energy and passion for his/her job and one also who is positive about my property and one who can quickly see the positive aspects of the place. If he/she is too quick to point out any negatives of the place then I wont deal with them. I very rarely will select an agent who quotes the highest value unless he/she also holds the above characteristics.

Regards,

Aston.

[wildwest]

Hi Armada

You might also like to think about other options for sale if you want to minimise your costs.

Real Estate agents do get a healthy chunk of your money by way of commission, however the benefit is a wider more recognised distribution network, and of course their expertise.

BUT, if you are not in a hurry, there are another couple of options

www.trademe.co.nz is becoming very popular for people searching for property, in fact that's where I get the best response for my IP's.

Private sale is also an option with a number of companies providing services for a cheaper price, like:
www.prosale.co.nz
www.homesell.co.nz
www.privatepropertydeals.co.nz
www.privatesale.co.nz

Also, make sure you follow Aston's rule for presentation of your property, because no matter where you choose to market it, presentation / good photos / clean & tidy e.t.c.....is what attracts the purchaser.

Good luck

[cube]

Get a number of agents to give you a selling range, and advertise it in the Commercial forum here for free!

[armada]

Um contact an agent?

Sarcasm aside make sure it looks the best it can, Do some independent research about what its present value might be, and be prepared to deal with the tricks of the trade from the Agent...

Thanks Monid.

What are the tricks of the trade may i ask?

[JohnL]

One major 'trick' is to 'buy' the listing. Obviously, if they don't get the listing, they don't make any money. So agents sometimes quote a possible sale price above what they really expect to get. Once they have the listing, then in two or three months time, they start to 'lower' your expectations.

That is why Aston's advice to get several opinions and going with the agent who likes the property and has high energy is more important. If they don't like the property, then subconsciously this can still come through with prospective purchasers.

You can also run through local sales data via QV Online to see what recent sales have really been (or ask the agent to give you that data).

John