Sell My Home Online

Over the past 10 - 15 years selling your home through online real estate ‘portals’ has become an integral part of the marketing process.

In fact smart real estate agents acknowledge that it is the first marketing avenue, with John McGrath of McGrath Estate Agents (Sydney's leading residential property group) being quoted as saying that 90% of buyers will use the internet as their main research tool.

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Having said that is is also interesting to note that most agents will market your property using just two or three of the most popular sites, even though there are thousands of websites offering to help you sell your home.

Posting your home online using one of the major real estate sites is as simple as choosing your state, typing in your suburb and choosing from a list of agents in your area.

You will find the agents are not listed alphabetically. They are ranked by their credentials and whether they are willing to pay for a better spot.

Priority placement is where, if two agents have similar profiles, the one that pays for ‘priority placement’ will be billed higher. They will also get a bigger ad, more photos, and their logo posted on the site.

It’s a good idea to watch your home online and check how prominent and how attractive it looks and where it comes up in the postcode search.

The Private Sale & Advertising Online

While real estate agents will most likely have a much bigger marketing budget than someone who is selling their home privately, selling online yourself can be affordable.

Major property sales site like www.domain.com.au and www.realestate.com.au give sellers a choice by putting them in touch with agents in their area or allowing them to ‘build’ an ad themselves using the tools on their website.

You will find all sites offer slightly different facilities.

Some offer a sales package for under $500 where you create your own ad from scratch using their online tools. Everything from address and description to uploading floor plans and photos is available.

Other sites, like www.homesales.com.au charge a little more for their packages but offer professional services like photography, For Sale signs and brochures.

This is probably closer to the style of marketing that an agent might do.

If you are successful you could save thousands.

A Typical Package may include

• Sales Brochures
• Unlimited free edits
• Customer service assistance
• An online property valuation
• Multiple photos

While this sounds like very good value for money for the private seller, especially when compared to an agent’s commission, you need to make sure the website is popular and is proven to have helped people buy and sell.

Don't Forget Safety First!

When you are selling privately, whether that is online or any other way, you need to consider your own and your families safety.

Just like an agent you need to find out about your potential buyers before you invite them for an inspection.

To find out who you are dealing with consider:

• Asking for a name and number and telling them you will call them back with a suitable time. That way you can call back and check if they are legitimate.
• Ask for references.
• Ensure you have someone with you when you hold an inspection or at least let your family and friends know when you should be finished so they can check in with you.
• Remember that you can cancel an inspection at any time should you have any doubts.

Finally, you will need to seek the help of a Conveyance Lawyer.

When you list with an agent, they will help guide you through the marketing, negotiations and let you know what the legalities will be.

You may find cheap conveyance services online, but be wary of a cheap legal service and here we definitely recommend you will not be better off meeting your lawyer face-to-face.

Find a local conveyance service, there are some times in life where cheap is not always best and this is one, you can still watch their charges and negotiate the fee with them up front, and make sure they stick to agreed fee.