Top 3 insider tips on how to sell your home

Selling a house can be one of the most stressful experiences you ever deal with for multiple reasons. Having to constantly ensure your house is kept tidy, arranging your own viewings for the property you want to purchase yourself, etc. But often the biggest worry about selling your home is being able to find a buyer willing to pay your dream price.

Brett Greensill is one of Brisbane’s leading real estate agents and has successfully sold properties of all shapes and sizes. We spoke to the McGrath agent and found out his top tips on how to sell your home!

3. Style, style, style!

The presentation of your home goes a very, very long way. Prospective buyers will walk into your property and, if they’re greeted by a myriad ornaments and objects (which may look lovely and mean a lot to you), they won’t be able to picture themselves living there.

“People are frequently paying large amounts of money for properties nowadays and with that, buyers’ expectations have changed,” Brett says.

“All of the last eight sales that we’ve made above $4 million were styled. You have to de-clutter, style and refresh the properties before they go to market.

“That includes things like replacing the carpets, polishing the marble, painting the walls and freshening up the garden. All of that has to be done so the buyer gets the impression that it could be their home.

“If the house smells like the vendor, the buyer won’t want to pay top price for it!”

So, have a clear out, freshen things up a bit and try to see to see your home through the eyes of a buyer.

2. Move out to sell up

With most people’s lives running at 100mph nowadays, the likelihood of last-minute changes and hastily arranged viewings is high. Therefore, it’s vital that your house is in tip top condition around the clock, which of course is easier said than done!

“Your house has to be immediately and completely available, which for substantial properties is very hard to do,” Brett says.

“When you’re selling your home, it’s no longer yours for that period of time – moving into a hotel for four weeks is better than having your house look like you still live there!

“For example, if someone calls me up and says, ‘Our schedule’s changed and we can get to the property to view it at 3pm’ and the seller is busy with friends over and isn’t ready to present the home, well, I’m sorry, but that was your qualified buyer and your opportunity to sell your home…”

The old saying, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ is one to bear in mind here. Make sure your home is ready to be viewed at all times and if you’re serious about selling, vacate during the sales process.

1. Keep the price under wraps

Listing your property with a price has its advantages and its disadvantages. On one hand it may weed out some time wasters but on the other it may result in giving a bit too much away, as Brett explains.

“I’m a very big advocate now of going to market without a price to begin with – you either set a date, an auction date, or set a price range,” he says.

“The reason we go to market without a price is because properties have secret admirers. People who haven’t identified themselves, but who think to themselves, ‘If that place comes up, I’m going to buy it no matter what’.

“They’ve been pining after the property without registering their interest with the agent, but they may be prepared to pay a very big premium to acquire that property, so we always start off with a no-price strategy – but that does annoy buyers!

“There may well be a secret admirer of your property and, if that’s the case, then we want them in the mix too!”

Keep your cards close to your chest and a secret admirer of your home may identify themselves…