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DON’T FOCUS ON FAULTS
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 […]
REAL ESTATE SELLING
What “selling” means to most agents.by Neil JenmanReading time: 3.5 minutes.One of the many fallacies of the real estate industry is that agents sell houses.Real estate agents do not sell houses. Rather, buyers buy houses.Despite agents commonly saying: “I sold that house for $X dollars,” they didn’t. There was no “selling” involved.Think about that ubiquitous […]
HOW REAL ESTATE AGENTS CAN WIN MORE LISTINGS
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, […]
REAL ESTATE COMMISSION RATES
The best agents get the best prices.by Neil JenmanReading Time: Apx 3 minsWhen Audrey from Glen Waverley in Victoria was selling her home, she did what many homeowners do – she called three agents. She asked each agent the same two questions most budding home sellers ask: How much and how much.How much will you […]
AUCTION LEMONS
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 […]
ROBBING ELDERLY HOME SELLERS
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 […]
DON’T PAY ANYTHING
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 PROBLEM WITH BUYERS’ AGENTS
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 […]
LAZY REAL ESTATE AGENTS
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 […]
DANGEROUS REAL ESTATE
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 […]
GET A GOOD PRICE IN A BAD MARKET
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 […]
SUPERMARKET SALLY
Maybe it’s time to give decency a chance. by Neil Jenman Reading Time: Apx 4.5 mins This is a real estate story that almost breaks my heart. It’s an all-too-common story that applies to agents in every area of Australia, mostly the rookies. Meet just one of them. Sally. There’s one word to describe Sally […]
HOW TO FIND A HOME TO RENT
10 TIPS to help you secure a good rental property.by Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 6.5 minsIf you’re trying to rent a home today, it’s bad news. Rental costs soaring with available homes vanishing. Stories of greedy landlords, dreadful properties and heartless agents.In many parts of Australia, trying to find a home to rent is so […]
HOW REJECTED AGENTS BECOME ENEMY AGENTS
HOW REJECTED AGENTSBECOME ENEMY AGENTS by Neil Jenman Reading time: Apx 3.5 mins If you’re about to put your house on the market, you’ll have no trouble attracting agents. The mere scent of a big commission will attract dozens of agents. And if you enjoy being harrassed by agents promising you all sort of miracles, […]
LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR
How to sell or buy betterby Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 2 minsIt was a British sitcom. It was quoted in the Bible. We are told to “love our neighbours”. Yet many of us never think of neighbours.In real estate, there are two big ways neighbours can help you.ALWAYS MEET THE NEIGHBOURS.First, you should always meet […]
HOW REJECTED AGENTS BECOME ENEMY AGENTS
HOW REJECTED AGENTSBECOME ENEMY AGENTS by Neil Jenman Reading time: Apx 3.5 mins If you’re about to put your house on the market, you’ll have no trouble attracting agents. The mere scent of a big commission will attract dozens of agents. And if you enjoy being harrassed by agents promising you all sort of miracles, […]
LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR
How to sell or buy betterby Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 2 minsIt was a British sitcom. It was quoted in the Bible. We are told to “love our neighbours”. Yet many of us never think of neighbours.In real estate, there are two big ways neighbours can help you.ALWAYS MEET THE NEIGHBOURS.First, you should always meet […]
PROPERTIES I’D NEVER BUY
8 POINTS TO HELP YOU STAY SAFE AND PROSPERby Neil JenmanReading time: 3 minutesImagine owning a property that even agents don’t want to sell.That’s what happened to one owner recently. Four years ago, he bought an apartment off-the-plan from one of those expert “investment advisers”. He paid $550,000.Today, he’d be lucky to get $400,000.In the […]
HOW VULTURE AGENTS CRACK ‘TOUGH NUT’ SELLERS
by Neil JenmanReading Time: Apx 7 minsIn the real estate world, a “tough nut” is a home seller who wants too much money.To some degree, most sellers are “tough”; they want a great price. That’s okay, it’s just human nature. It doesn’t matter what we are selling – from a car to a home – […]
THE TRAGEDY OF THE 18 STAIRS
When home owners do NOT want to be home sellersby Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 5 minsLike many real estate stories, this one has touched my heart.Alf and May have lived in their home since they fell in love and got married in 1968.That’s 55 years.May was 19 when Alf, at 22, carried her up the […]
12 HIDDEN FACTS ABOUT ‘OPEN-HOUSES’
MAKING SENSE OF NONSENSE IN REAL ESTATE. by Neil Jenman Reading time: Apx 5 mins To the average consumer, there is so much about real estate that doesn’t make sense. But agents say, “This is the way we do it.” So, most consumers just shrug and sign-up with the agents. Big mistake. For those who […]
THE HIGH PRICE OF NOISE
Most sellers fall for this one.by Neil JenmanReading Time: 7 mins********************************************Warning: This is a thinking person’s article. If you skim it, you’ll risk skimming the price of your home when you sell. Read it slowly. Read it carefully. Think about it. Feel welcome to comment or ask as many questions as you wish. Your family […]
DO YOU DESERVE A DISCOUNT?
Another look at real estate commission.by Neil Jenman READING TIME: Apx 3.5 minutesMost real estate agents are massively overpaid.Never mind what they tell you, it takes the same time to sell a unit for $300,000 in Bundaberg as it does to sell a home for millions of dollars in a big city.The agents getting paid $100,000 […]
CINDY’S CHOICE
How unethical conduct is now compulsory.by Neil JenmanReading time: Apx 4 minsCindy is a nice young lady. We always liked her, especially when she started in real estate. She was so enthusiastic, so keen to do the right thing. An honest and decent young lady, the sort of person the real estate industry needs.But, sadly, […]
HOW TO SELL YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT A TYPICAL AGENT PART 2
by Neil JenmanThis article should be read after reading Part 1 on the same topic. Please CLICK HERE.Reading Time Apx 14 minsThey call them “JAFAs.It’s a derogatory term that applies to 90 per cent of today’s real estate agents.J-A-F-A stands for ‘Just Another Foolish Agent.’In Part 1 of this series on how to sell your […]
How To Sell Your House Yourself
Don’t be scared. It’s so easy. You can do it.by Neil JenmanReading Time: 12 minutes(Worth every second!)PART 1 – JULY 6, 2023Part 2 released week commencing July 10,2023In these two articles, I will show you how to sell your home without using an agent. Provided, of course, that not using an agent, will give you […]
HOW MUCH COMMISSION SHOULD YOU PAY AN AGENT?
by Neil Jenman Reading time: Apx 4.5 mins When it comes to paying commission (and costs) to agents for selling homes, most sellers get it wrong. Here are the 7 factors you should know regarding commission. PAYING BEFORE SELLING. No matter what agents may tell you, no matter how convincing they seem, the ‘Golden Rule’ […]
RICHARD HAYDEN SENTENCED TO JAIL
Comment by Neil JenmanReading time: 10 mins apx On Friday, June 16, 2023, in Victoria’s County Court, former estate agent Richard Hayden was sentenced to a year in prison plus a two-year community corrections order. He pleaded guilty to two charges of causing a deficiency in his trust account and one charge of using $770,000 in […]
REAL ESTATE’S MOST COMMON CON
Avoid it and save thousands of dollars! by Neil Jenman Reading Time: Apx 1.5 minutes The common con in the real estate world today is the “premium advertising con”. It may also be called “platinum”. It depends on the website on which your home is advertised. Most agents con sellers into using more than one […]
HOW TO SELL YOUR HOME TO YOUR BEST FRIEND
Or your relative or your neighbour or your colleague.by Neil JenmanReading Time: apx 3 minsImagine this.You have a lovely home, and you decide to sell.You choose an agent and sign the paperwork.Later, you are chatting to your neighbour. They would love to buy your home. They want it for their parents who are getting on […]
