METHODS OF SELLING
YOUR HOME
There are essentially four ways to sell your home.
BY OFFER AND NEGOTIATION
Most homes are still sold this way, whether through and agent or privately. You set an asking price, put your home on the market and if a buyer is interested they make an offer. If you’re using a real estate agent and someone wants to make an offer the agent usually contacts other interested buyers in case they also want to make an offer - so you end up with several offers at once and can therefore compare.
Offers are usually more or less in standard format but unless you are using a reputable firm with years of legal experience and backing, it would be best to have a lawyer check it out. Property Netwrork contracts are recognised as being of the best in the industry and are regularly reviewed with top leagl expertise to ensure we remain to to the standard. If you want to accept, you just sign the form. But if you want to negotiate you go back with a ‘counter offer’ by putting your change on the form and then signing it.
If the buyer signs the change the deal is done - or they may come back with another counter offer themselves. This process is repeated until you and the buyer agree on the price and all the conditions - or you can stop at any stage. Your real estate agent will act as the go-between and undertake negotiations on your behalf – something they are well experienced in.
Once both you and the buyer have signed the form and initialled all the changes, the agreement becomes legally binding. Many offers are also conditional i.e subject to some or other event, such as the buyer obtaining a bond, you repairing the pool etc etc.
Most sellers prefer this method as there is no pressure on them and they can take their time to consider offers and wait for the right price. The seller can therefore negotiate until they get a deal that suits them.
SELLING BY AUCTION To Top
Not very popular in South Africa, auctions are mostly used as a method of sale by Banks and so on for repossessed properties or sometimes if a property is unusual or hard to value because it has extremely special features.
Significantly, whereas banks almost always used the auction route on distressed properties, they have now realised the benefits of proper marketing and have rather appointed agencies to market these properties for them.
The main advantages of selling by auction is that the sale is unconditional, however many sales are lost because the buyer does not have the opportunity to negotiate. Additionally, auctions are a common hunting ground for bargain seekers – not the kind of buyer you are looking for.
See the article on Auction Selling for further information. If you feel this could be your solution, remember that PROPERY NETWORK has built strong relationships with specific autioneers and we can offer you full auction services via this network.
SELLING BY TENDER To Top
Tenders give the seller a chance to see what interest there is in their home, without having to put a price on it. Tenders can also be useful if you have a set date you need to sell your home by, but they generally work best for special or unique properties.
Potential buyers are invited to submit written offers, usually by a set date. You are not obliged to accept any of the offers, and can choose to negotiate with any of the people who have made an offer if you wish. These offers are normally submitted to your appointed agent who will open them with a witness or alternatively, the agent might appoint independent auditors to do this on their behalf.
If your home is likely to attract a lot of interest, a tender may help you get the best price for it. This is because potential buyers don’t know what other people may offer and tend to put in their best price with few if any conditions. On the other hand tenders can limit the number of people who are prepared to make an offer - some are put off by the closed nature of the tender process.
If you feel you would like to use this option, please do contact us and we can discuss it further.
HOUSE SWAPPING To Top
This is a trend that has just not taken off as well as some expected.
Essentially, someone moving from Jhb to PE will advertise that thay have a 3 bed home with certain features that they wish to swop for a similar home in PE. If you have a match AND are moving to Jhb the two sales are then put together.
In practice, using a reputable agent in the city you are moving to, to find you suitable properties just works better as you have more options and better flexibility, as you are not bound by the sellers deadlines in relocation.
In short, swop columns do not work for large assets such as property.
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