Getting the Highest Possible Dollar for Your Home

We spoke with residential real estate agent, Derek Farmer; an agent with over 10 years of experience in the competitive Sydney market about how you can maximise your chances of getting top dollar when selling your home. Derek said the relationship between vendor and agent was key.

Derek Farmer: “In my years’ of working in real estate, I have found that most people make the decision to sell their home at around the exact same moment they find a real estate agent. Sure, they’ve been thinking of selling their property for a while, but it isn’t until they meet a sales agent who can quell their doubts, provide some reliable, selfless advice and a plan for moving forward, that an idea becomes a firm reality. They are selling their home.

However, just because you’ve found a sales agent who is capable and accomplished enough to sell your home, it doesn’t mean your role in the sales process is over. To sell your home successfully and for the best possible price, you need to be willing to work with your agent to achieve the desired outcome. Naturally, that means you’ll need to have a pretty good relationship with them.”

So we asked Derek, “How Do You Develop a Good Relationship with Your Agent?”

Derek: “Like all relationships, the one you have with your sales agent needs to be nurtured. Have a meeting with your agent earlier on in the sales process, say, even before the photography is done, to set and manage your expectations for how the sales campaign will proceed. During that meeting, make sure to discuss the following:

1. Communication:  It’s probably one of the single most important things you can do to ensure you have a good working relationship with your agent. I strongly recommend talking to your sales agent about how and when they will communicate with you about the progress of your property’s sales campaign, and I recommend you do it very early on in the sales process.
2. Improvements: Your agent may have suggestions for how you could improve your home before it goes on the market. Have a discussion with your agent to work out how necessary these improvements are, given your particular situation, and how not making them may affect your bottom line. You may find that these improvements will be brought up by potential buyers and, by not making them, you risk turning buyers off or reducing your final sale price.
3. Feedback: Your agent will get feedback from potential buyers during each open. It’s important to remember that it’s not likely that all of the feedback your agent will receive will be positive. In fact, buyers typically highlight the negative aspects of a property as part of their buying strategy. Don’t take this feedback personally and, importantly, don’t shoot the messenger!
4. Honesty: Much emphasis is put on finding an honest real estate agent, but honesty is a two-way street. Be upfront and honest with your agent at every point in the sales process. This sort of transparency will maintain the integrity of the relationship. Nothing sours the vendor-agent relationship faster than a vendor who’s afraid to express their feelings on a direction the campaign is taking, which eventually only turns to resentment or dissatisfaction later.”

So it seems that the key is to set expectations and to communicate those expectations clearly with your agent. Not every agent operates in the same way and no real estate agent can read your mind. 

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