FAQ

The greatest myth with auctions is that they are "the best way to sell". This is not true. Auctions are one of the worst ways to sell your home, no matter what area you are in or no matter what the market conditions are like.

Auctions tend to achieve lower prices because the starting point is a low price. On the other hand, skilled negotiation tends to achieve higher prices because the starting point is the highest price.

Agents are the big winners with auctions. Consumers are the big losers, because they are so easily caught by the deceit and the tricks. One of the greatest tricks is the "reserve" price. Agents will say that homes often sell above reserve. But the reserve is your lowest price. It is the minimum you will accept, under pressure.

Auction involves extreme pressure to sellers - "crunching" them to accept whatever price is offered at the auction. Many agents are taught to use auctions to "condition sellers". The Real Estate Institute of Australia published a book describing auctions as "the fastest and best conditioning method."

Very few people, other than agents, understand the scale of auction fraud. As one lawyer commented, "The auction system is just one gigantic scam and everyone in the industry, other than consumers, seems to be in on it." 

There are two big dangers with open inspections - first, they are a security risk and second, they can easily damage the value of your home.

Despite the warnings and the enormous evidence, many agents continue to allow hordes of strangers to wander through family homes. Most people who visit open inspections are lookers, not buyers. Thieves also visit open inspections and check the home for a future break-in. Your home is probably not insured from theft caused by an open inspection.

The purpose of open inspections is not to sell the home, it is to create the impression of activity and "condition" sellers to lower their prices. Sellers believe that the people looking at their home are 'buyers'. This makes them easy to persuade to reduce their prices. Sure, some of the people at the open inspections will be buyers.

But these agents rarely know who is a real buyer and who is a looker. The agents then say to the sellers, "See, it didn't sell. They all think the price is too high. " As with typical advertising, one of the reasons the home does not sell is because the real buyers wonder what's wrong with it. Hence the value is damaged and the price has to be lowered.

Open inspections are also used by some agents to find sellers of other homes in the area. This is one of the most common behind-the-scenes tricks in real estate.

Insist on your security. The best agents interview buyers before bringing them to your home. This is called "Qualifying". And that's all you want - genuine qualified buyers. These buyers should be able to inspect your home at any time (within reason).

You hire an agent to sell your home for the best market price, not to wave people through your home. You could do that yourself and not have to pay an agent.

Our office is in a very prominent Unley location (Unley Rd) and is open 7 days a week.

We have the contact details of the hundreds of buyers who contact us as result of seeing our press and internet advertising every month (and we are available after work and all weekend so buyers can easily contact us).

Every Walter & Irvine representative has an active client list of potential buyers.

Neighbouring properties owners are canvassed.

We have a large bank of past clients and investors.

Thousands of people all over Australia are ready to refer business to APPROVED Jenman agents such as Walter & Irvine.

For every property we sell we develop a tailored promotional strategy that targets interested buyers, not simply 'all people'. This ensures your property reaches its market in the most effective and efficient way, thus saving you money.

To reach interested buyers, our methods will usually involve:

• Utilising the extensive database we have and the details of the hundreds of interested buyers who contact us every month
• Local newspaper advertising
• Advertising in www.realestate.com.au

We thoroughly qualify the buyers before they are shown your property. Stickybeaks will not buy your home. Only buyers will buy. Therefore, only buyers should inspect.

When we advertise your home we also list the price. This price will be high for the market and is a starting point for our negotiations with buyers if none are prepared to pay that price. 'Starting high' preserves the value of your property (unlike auctions) and ensures that your property is sold for the maximum price of the buyer who is prepared to pay the most in the market for your property.

This is in contrast to auctions where the winning bidder only has to outbid the other bidders, not necessarily pay his/her maximum price.