Estate Agent Fees

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by: Glenn Murray

Follow a few simple guidelines, and marketing your own home can be easy. And it will save you thousands.

The recent property boom has a lot of people thinking of selling their home.

Unfortunately, the costs of selling can really eat into your profit. There's nothing we can do about stamp duty, but one cost we can avoid is real estate agent fees. By selling your house yourself rather than paying a real estate agent, you can save you around $20,000 on a $500,000 sale.

So what's involved in a do-it-yourself sale to avoid paying estate agent fees? The two main ingredients are time and advertising. A quality ad and a couple of hours each week fielding phone calls and managing inspections can mean the difference between a healthy profit and disappointment.

Many people are intimidated by the marketing aspect of selling their home, which is how the estate agents manage to make so much money. But there's really not that much to it. You just need to write a description of your property, organise photography, and place an ad. Simple!

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when organising your own sale is you're not selling a building - you're selling a home and a lifestyle. Here are 10 Tricks of the trade to get you started…

Tips to help sell your home yourself

1. Jot down your favourite spots in the house and what you like to do in them.
2. List your favourite local restaurants, cafes, and beaches - especially those in walking distance.
3. Note any pleasant fragrances - plants like jasmine and gardenia, or evening sea breezes.
4. Mention your favourite spot for a morning coffee, an afternoon snooze, or an evening wine.
5. Write about 150 words.
6. Don't include cars, garbage bins, or the road in your photos.
7. Tidy your house and remove any clutter before taking inside shots.
8. Capture colour both inside and out, but keep it simple.
9. Take digital photos and save to CD so you won't need a bureau for scanning and production.
10. Invest in a prominent newspaper ad and make use of the Internet.

Even if you don't feel up to the challenge of creating a masterpiece ad, you can employ the services of a professional for far less than the cost of a real estate agent. A professional copywriter will write an engaging description for as little as $250. Professional photographers do real estate all the time. Neville Prosser can give you all the captivating photos you need for just $330. You can get a glossy 1/8 page ad in the Central Coast Express Advocate for $628 or a ½ page ad $2514. And to advertise online at Domain.com.au will only cost you $165 for a full month.

Whether you do all the creative work yourself or employ a professional, you'll still save thousands. What's more, with great advertising, you'll interest more potential buyers and maybe even sell your house for more.

The most important thing to remember at every step along the way is…

• Average advertising conveys a building, but
• Quality advertising conveys a home.