Real Estate Articles Keep yourself informed in real estate. Discover what agents don't tell you.

DESTROYING MONEY IS ILLEGALby Neil JenmanReading time: 2.5 mins apxUnder the Crimes (Currency) act 1961, it’s a criminal offence to deliberately destroy money.Even if it’s just a pendant, the law forbids you from drilling a tiny hole in a coin. It’s illegal to damage or destroy money.But not to waste it. Or lose it though naïveté […]

And win more listings.by Neil JenmanReading time: 5 minsAgents know it – VPA is one of the worst scams foisted upon home sellers.If you’re a real estate agent with any sense of decency – not to mention respect for your clients – you will reject (or abandon) the nefarious practice of VPA.In doing so, you […]

Their way or your way. Your choice.by Neil JenmanReading Time: Apx 3.5 minsA critical factor when selling your home is ‘policy’.The way you choose the policy will directly affect your selling price. Plus, other prices, such as commission, marketing, staging, copywriting – and the whole gamut of mostly large and needless costs which sting most […]

Translating the language of agents – for sellers.by Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 5 minutesOne of the biggest reasons that homeowners have trouble with real estate agents is that owners do not understand the real estate language. They can’t speak real estate.For example, let’s say homeowners are selling.They call an agent who says,“Oh, your home is […]

A philosophy of rare goodnessby Neil JenmanReading Time: 7 mins apxWhen he was 90, the famous writer, W Somerset Maugham, was living in his glorious home at Cap Ferrat in the South of France.He told his nephew Robin Maugham, “All these wonderful things I have collected, this beautiful house, the fine art, the books in […]

How to make (or lose) a small fortune.by Neil Jenman  Reading time: apx 4.5 minsIn today’s real estate world the key to a good financial result is knowledge. Those who know the most are those who sell for the most. And buy for the least.Some people are adept at that often sought but rarely achieved […]

A classic mistake of many home sellersby Neil JenmanReading time 3 mins apxFamed psychologist (and lover of Ayn Rand) Nathaniel Branden, once wrote: “Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.”The same applies to home sellers.If you’re about to sell your home, don’t make […]

by Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 6 mins PLEASE NOTE: Although this article is directed at real estate agents, every home seller can benefit from reading it. Why? Because it will help sellers recognise the best agents. Nothing is more important to real estate agents than good listings. A good listing is a sure sale.To attract home sellers, […]

Another bitter truth of public property auctionsby Neil JenmanReading time: 2.5 mins apxLast week, 1,559 properties were listed for auction across Australia. Of these, 690 were sold.As any school-child will attest, this is a clearance rate of 44 per cent.The official (fake) clearance rate released to the public was 62 per cent – at least.In […]

IT DOESN’T GET MUCH WORSE by Neil Jenman Reading Time: Apx 4.5 mins There is no one more important in my life than my 90-year-old mother-in-law, Daphne. She’s a no-nonsense woman who, like many of her generation that grew up in a Depression followed by a world war, has an uncanny ability to spot dodgy […]

Especially for what you don’t want.by Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 5 minsLast week, my wife and I went for dinner at a Thai restaurant. It looked good from the outside. But appearances are not always reality.We ordered mixed vegetables with chicken.When the meal arrived, it was mixed vegetables with beef. Not a chook in sight.The […]

The more you lose, the more you pay! by Neil Jenman Reading time: Apx 4.5 minutes A few years ago, they barely existed. Now they are everywhere. Agents who help buyers instead of sellers. They are Buyers’ Agents. For centuries sellers have had agents to help them get the highest price (supposedly). And now buyers […]

Don’t let them take your money.by Neil JenmanReading time: 6 mins apxZac is a Sydney schoolteacher, one of the best. Zac cares about the children with whom he spends each day. Indeed, he cares so much that he takes extra courses (outside the school or Education Department) on how to be a better teacher. Given […]

How NOT to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.by Neil JenmanReading time: 8.5 mins apxTwo homes on Sydney’s North Shore. Next door to each other. A combined worth of more than $10 million ($5 million each).The first home sells for an extra $700,000.The second home under-sells by $500,000.How can this be? How can one owner […]

And avoid the downward real estate escalator.by Neil JenmanReading Time: Apx 3 minsWhen I was an agent, there was one promise I refused to make to sellers. I never promised to sell their home at a specific price.I did make two promises, however. First, I promised that the price I got for a home would […]