Ethics Real Estate
Mistakes when Selling
1. Be Cautious of Unrealistic Sale Price Promises
Many agents provide an unrealistic estimated sale price to secure a seller’s business, while recommending a method of sale that does not include a clear price indication.
You should always ask an agent to support their estimated sale price with recent comparable sales data. This will help ensure you receive an honest and accurate assessment of your property’s current market value.
If your property is placed on the market at an unrealistic price, it may remain unsold for longer than necessary. This can result in additional advertising costs while promoting the agent and their agency at your expense.
The longer a property remains on the market, the more bargaining power potential purchasers may gain—particularly if the asking price is later reduced. A price reduction may also result in a lower final sale price than could have been achieved if the property had been accurately priced and marketed from the outset.
At Ethics Real Estate, we will provide you with a realistic estimate of your property’s market value following a physical inspection. During the inspection, we will also present relevant market research and recent comparable sales data to clearly explain where your property sits within the current market.
2. Review the Agency Agreement Before Meeting an Agent
Many potential sellers do not request a copy of the Agency Agreement before meeting with a real estate agent. This is the legal agreement between the seller and the real estate agency.
We recommend obtaining and carefully reviewing the Agency Agreement—including ours—before meeting with an agent from any agency.
The agreement sets out important information, including the commission payable, advertising and marketing costs, the agency’s appointment period, and the terms and conditions applying to both the seller and the real estate agency.
3) With many larger agency the Owners may be asked to waive their right to hear about all further offers once they have received an offer and have accepted it.
This is to stop disputes amongst sales staff. This waiver is written into the agency agreement that sellers are asked to sign prior to marketing their property.
This means that once an owner accepts an offer from one of the sales agents the sellers are not told of any other offers, even if they are tens of thousands of dollars higher.