HOW TO SELL YOUR OWN HOME – EASILY!
by Neil Jenman
READING TIME: Apx 3.5 minutes
Something doesn’t make sense.
It’s a fact: 92 per cent of Australians do not trust estate agents. Yet the first thing that 99 per cent of Australians do when they want to sell their home is contact an agent.
Does that seem right?
Clearly, there is someone in whom home-owners have less trust than real estate agents.
Themselves.
How could you possibly trust yourself less than the typical real estate agent?
It doesn’t make sense.
It’s all because homeowners don’t know how easy it is to “sell” their own home.
But if only they did know. It’s so easy as to be almost ridiculous.
So easy that, yes, if all Australian homeowners knew how easy it was to sell their own homes, they would all be doing it.
Or, at the very least, they would give it a try.
Seriously, if you give it a try and you fail, what have you lost? Nothing. But if you succeed – which you are likely to do – you will save yourself thousands of dollars.
The main reason homeowners don’t try to sell their own homes is ignorance. And fear. They lack the knowledge. Worst of all, they think it’s complicated. They fear the unknown.
There is nothing to fear, honestly.
It is NOT complicated. Indeed, it has never been less complicated. It is easier now to sell your home than it has ever been.
Consider what happens with most typical agents today.
See if you feel you are capable of today’s easy three-steps to “selling” your home. It’s what most agents do. Indeed, it’s all most agents do. They earn thousands of dollars per hour.
You can do the same. Pay yourself about $2,000 an hour, that’s at least how much you’ll earn.
What a job.
3 SIMPLE STEPS TO “SELLING” YOUR HOME.
Today, when an agent gets a home for sale, what is the first thing most do?
The first step is this: Place an ad on-line.
Are you capable of doing that? Can you book an ad? Yes, of course.
The next thing agents do is hold an ‘open-for-inspection’.
In the advertisement, they announce the inspection time, usually 30 minutes per week, mostly on Saturday. The agent comes to your home and, as prospective buyers turn up, the agent invites them to look around. This is step two.
Do you think you could show prospective buyers around your home? Of course. Indeed, you’d probably do a better job than most agents. You know your home well. Better than any agent.
The third part is the “sale”.
This is the part that puzzles most homeowners. It’s one they fear because they don’t understand how it’s done.
Agents usually ask sellers to leave home during inspection times. They don’t want to reveal how little they do. It’s all part of the myth that they are somehow super-skilled and highly professional. They are not.
Please remember this next statement: Agent do not sell houses, buyers buy them.
Dwell on those eight words, please.
If you understand them, they are worth at least two thousand dollars a word to you. After all, the average commission to sell a home in Australia now is about $16,000. A lot of money.
Think about it: What could you do with an extra $16,000? You could buy a good quality used car. Buy you a lot of furniture. Pay for a much-needed holiday.
Agents do not sell houses. Buyers buy them.
Think about it.
What do you think happens at those open-for-inspections? Do you think prospective buyers say to the agent, “We hate it, it’s horrible?” and then the agent goes into ‘super-sell mode’ and turns hatred into love?
Of course not.
Buyers buy homes. Agents don’t “sell” them. There is no selling involved.
When buyers love a home, they are eager to buy it. You don’t have to “sell” them, they are already “sold”. Your lovely home “sold” them; the agent had nothing to do with it.
So, the agent has placed an ad on the internet and waited at your home for 30 minutes. They are the first two steps that most agents use these days when “selling” a home.
Are you capable of handling these two steps? Of course.
When it comes to the “sell”, the buyers will tell you if they want to buy. You don’t have to say anything. You don’t have to cajole them, you don’t need to pressure them, you don’t need to chase them up. Believe me, if they like it, you will know.
They will tell you if they like it.
They will say such things as, “It’s nice. Just what we have been looking for.”
And then they may say, “What happens now?”
In which case, you just ask them for their details and the name of their solicitor or conveyancer. And swap your details.
Some may say, “Are you negotiable on price?” in which case you just say, “Well, we have decided to sell it to whoever offers us the best price.”
That will sort out the serious buyers from the bargain hunters.
And please don’t believe that agents are “great negotiators” and get you a better price. That is not true. Most agents are hopeless negotiators. Think about when you bought your home. Would you have paid more? In most cases, yes. Most buyers buy homes below their maximum price because most agents are hopeless negotiators.
Honestly, today’s real estate industry – with a few exceptions – is a monstrous over-charging gravy train for people who are too lazy, too greedy and too stupid to learn their craft and offer great value to the home sellers of Australia.
Think about it: Most agents even expect you to pay their advertising costs. On top of their massive commission. Well, why would you pay an agent thousands of dollars to do what you can for yourself? You should not and you need not.
If you want to have a try at selling your own home – or, at the very least, checking it out in more detail – let us know. We will send you a book on how to do it for yourself. No cost, no obligation.
And what do we get out of it? Heaps. We get the satisfaction of seeing good, decent, and hard-working homeowners saving tens of thousands of dollars by paying no commission and getting the absolute best price for their homes.
Your appreciation, as we always say, is our best reward.
If you sell your home without an agent, Jenman Support will not receive a cent. And you are still welcome to call on us for support. If you wish to pay (we do not accept money direct from sellers), maybe you can make a donation to a great charity such as Hetty Johnston’s Bravehearts (protecting Australia’s children); but that’s it.
We are happy to help you for no financial reward.
So, as long as you are a genuine home seller (not an agent or a troll), contact us today with your details and we will mail you the information you need to save yourself thousands of dollars.
Give it a try.
What can you lose? Nothing.
What can you gain? Plenty?
Have the confidence to trust yourself, please. You are more trustworthy than the typical agent, surely?
If they can do it, so can you. Trust yourself.
Call us now on 1800 1800 18 or email support@jenman.com.au
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PLEASE NOTE: Our focus is upon helping consumers. Abuse from agents on our web site or Facebook page will be deleted, ignored or well publicised – it depends on our mood.
But one thing will never vary: We will never stop doing what we love most – helping polite and honest consumers get the best deal possible in real estate. And, of course, if any agents are serious about taking care of consumers, we’ll help you too. Thank you.
November 17, 2020 @ 8:20 am
Great article. I have sold our last 3 houses and the most recent sale during this pandemic. I even sold my friend’s house before she moved to NZ.
There is nothing to fear as long as you have a valuation, know the neighbourhood prices and have great photos. Nobody knows your house as well as you do, especially if you have made improvements. Show your house in it’s best condition, clean and uncluttered and the fire on if it’s cold.
If prospective buyers want to negotiate, you can always claim that you have already discounted the property price by deducting an Agent’s commission!
November 17, 2020 @ 8:59 am
Howdy.
I would really like to get the information on selling my own house.
As an aside, I had your book, Realestate mistakes and how to avoid them.
I would love another copy if it is still available.
Kind regards
Amos Botten
November 17, 2020 @ 9:44 am
Good info but I feel like you have missed the bit that people really dont trust themselves with and that is after the showing and negotiating a price. The contractual and financial aspects. You just give people a contract and they put an offer on it (or agreed price) and sign it, then you sign and the conveyancer takes care of the rest? I’m just unsure how much involvement the agent has after the contract is signed by both parties, dealing with the deposit and the final settlement etc.. Is that all normally just the conveyancer?
Would be interested if you have an opinion on any of the “hand holding” online companies sellmyplace.com(or whatever) etc which you pretty much pay to walk you through the process and for advice if things dont go as planned.. but again, is that the conveyancers role….
November 17, 2020 @ 10:37 am
Thanks Neil, yes I agree it is a great idea, now all I have to do is pluck up the courage to have a go.
Regards Bob Blyth
November 17, 2020 @ 10:52 am
Am I wrong in that web sites like realestate.com won’t let an individual list a property? We ended up paying over $600 to list with a sell it yourself mob which involved lots of complicated stuff. We ended up not selling and taking our house off the market due to a change in our circumstances. Cheers, Sue
November 17, 2020 @ 11:42 am
Thank you! Have been trying to convince friends about this. I sold our house and a block of land – and got better prices for both than the real estates agents were trying to sell them for. Organised photography through gumtree – great photos for reasonable cost (much less than R.E. charge).
I was committed to it and would hold 2 open homes on a Sat. or would arrange an open home when someone showed interest. Ended up and sold the house on an inspection done on Easter Sunday. Wasn’t keen to show them when they rang but I did and they made an offer that night. I think you know your home and area better than anyone and if you’re honest you can’t go wrong.
November 18, 2020 @ 7:32 am
The last home I sold cost me $12K for agents fees. I estimated the agent spent about 20 working hours with inspections, placing ads etc (and that was probably a generous estimate). This equates to about $600 an hour. I am widowed and was selling the family home to downsize after I lost my husband. I decided then to NEVER use a RE agent to sell my property.
November 18, 2020 @ 10:16 pm
I had “owner sold” a few of my properties in New Zealand 10 to 15 years ago. Those were times when online advertising was not readily available. All I did back then was to obtain a valuation from a registered valuer, place an advertisement in the local newspaper & put up a professionally made sign in front of the property. No problem selling.
Presently, I am in the planning stage to “owner sell” my property in Victoria but times are different. I must admit that as a retiree, I do have concerns about inviting strangers into my property and being with them by myself. Apart from recording a name, phone number and email which hardly counts for much, is there something else that one can do to maximise one’s safety?
November 19, 2020 @ 11:08 am
Hi Neil and team thanks for this motivating great article, your info is spot on if you are living in suburbia and you can place a for sale sign on front fence, in rural area with minimal flow through traffic,after much research, i have discovered sell your house package for $499 offers access to realestate.com,domain,etc whixh is needed for rural sales not sure if y can or want to mention specifics however sellers need access to online sites and this is the cheapest way to get access without agents,Im sure y already know this cheers to you all Janet
November 20, 2020 @ 10:03 pm
So which real estate sites actually let individuals place their house adds on?
Someone mentioned gumtree has better photographers than R.E. Who exactly do they mean and can you see the photos before and identify that they have actually taken them?
Where do you get the paperwork from for the contract? Do you approach a conveyancer or who and ask them to do up some paperwork?
November 30, 2020 @ 10:26 am
Dear Mr Jenman,
Years ago I had your book but alas no longer.
I will take your word that I am able to sell my home but, nowadays homes for sale ha e to de clutter putting belongings into storage, get in cleaners, gardeners, etc. and
pay advertising costs. Where does one get the money from if there are limited or no savings?
I hear your commercials on radio 2CH every day which has prompted me to contact you now.
Thanks so much
Kind regards
Anna