Off late we hear more and more the question "how can I sell my home?’ Due to the recession an increasing number of home owners are finding it difficult to hold on to their homes due to job losses or mounting costs and interest rates.  People also sell their homes when they relocate, get divorced or lose the main income earner, when they are far behind in payments and so on. The other reasons to sell the homes may be due to bad tenants, judgments or inheriting a house that you do not need etc. Whatever be the reason, I have to be well prepared to handle the process involved in selling a home. To sell my home successfully and get a good price for it, I should be equipped with all the knowledge about various aspects of selling a house. In Australia the law and regulations governing property sales differ with each state. So I have to know all the information on the rules and the procedures involved in a house sale.

There are many websites dedicated to the sale of homes by owners, known as FSBO.  I can list my home in these sites to get the maximum exposure to sell my home.  This way I can sell my house really fast at a good price from the comfort of my home. The details I give about the house will be seen by all the potential buyers and I will be matched with the prospective buyers. There is no agent commission, but there may be a small fee for listing with some of the websites. I can have photographs of my house or even upload a virtual tour for the prospective buyers to get interested.  These sites are so helpful that they even educate the customers with the information on the property market, prices prevailing currently and all legalities and procedures involved.  I can even acquire skills in marketing and negotiating.  My house will be displayed on the internet 24/7 and will stay till it is sold.

If I want to sell my home really fast, I can use the services of companies who provide this specialized service.  They are not real estate agents as they are actually home buyers who invest in properties. So they have the ready funds and can close the deal within days as early as a week. They will take care of all the paperwork and relieve me of the stress of going through the process on my own.   ‘We buy homes’ companies offer cash payment for the houses which makes it even better. I will take all the steps to make my house look attractive to the buyers by de-cluttering, cleaning and carrying out repairs to fixtures wherever it is necessary.  I can determine the right price for the house by getting it valued by an independent professional. Setting a realistic price will help me to sell my house quickly and profitably. All said, the best way to sell my home is to get all the information, advertise it online, set a realistic asking price, preparing the house and follow the procedures carefully.

There has never been a better time for buying house in Australia as the prices of properties have stabilized creating a new buying interest in the property market.  The year 2009 is witnessing some increased activity in the real estate market due to the interest rate cuts announced and also the significant increase in the First Home Buyer’s Grant by the government of Australia.

Tips for selecting the best house to buy:

• The size and number of rooms and amenities should match the requirements of your family
• The house should be within reasonable distance from bus stops, rail station, schools, shops etc.
• If other facilities the your family need are available nearby
• Check if the house has garage space for all your vehicles
• The kitchen and bathrooms satisfy your needs
• The house’s pest and survey reports are in order
• The house valuation and other legal requirements satisfy the lender’s requirements.

Strictly following the above tips, you can avoid any future problem associated with buying of your house.

Different options of buying house

There are many different options with respect to buying houses in Australia.  You can choose the option that suits you the best. They are:

1. Buying through conventional method of private sale
2. Buying through the internet
3. Buying in auctions
4. Buying repossessed houses
5. Buying through real estate agents or company
6. Buying through non-traditional programs

The conventional way is to buy from a home owner directly using a private treaty. The other traditional way is to approach real estate agents in your area or a real estate firm.  They will charge a percentage of the sale price as the commission in addition to other charges depending on the services they provide you in the process of buying your house.   They will help you in negotiating and other steps involved in buying a house within a reasonable time doe a fair price as they have the expertise in negotiations and know the market in the area well.  The internet is the best place to look for houses to buy in your area as there are plenty of real estate websites offering you a wide choice of properties.  Both buyers and sellers of houses use them as it is simple, fast and convenient to use.

You an also consider buying repossessed house in auctions as they are sold for below market rates by the home loan providers to recover the outstanding loan amount through the sale of the property.  There are other houses also sold by auctions and you can choose the one that fits your needs. You should have knowledge of buying houses in auctions though.  So you should be ready with finance arranged if you are using a home loan to buy the house and submit the certificate to that effect to the auctioneer. The other method which is growing popular is to buy houses through non-traditional methods that are legal.  The ‘rent to buy’ or ‘vendor finance’ houses can be bought by people who want to purchase a home but do not qualify for traditional financing in one way or other. If you are in the market for buying a house, you can use one of the optioned explained above.

Buying a house in Australia is a fulfilling experience weather it is for own residence or for investment. The process of buying houses may involve different modes of purchase. The most common modes in which people buy houses are at open auction or through the private treaty.

Offer & Acceptance

Once you found the right property the next best thing is to make an offer, generally being the lower price in the market. If the offer is accepted you will be asked to pay a deposit with the seller. However, this doesn’t mean that the deal is over. It basically explains how serious the interested parties are in buying houses in Australia.  If someone else makes a better offer, then the seller should inform the buyer and has to refund the deposit.  If your offer is accepted by the buyer the next step is to exchange the contract. This contract will be legally binding on both parties.

Cooling Off – Period

A cooling off period is the period of five days when the offer and acceptance is made against a property decision between the buyer & seller in the process of buying houses in Australia.  If the buyer changes his decision and doesn’t want to buy the house, he should properly communicate this to the seller before the period ends to cancel the contract, by writing a letter to the seller. There will be a nominal fee that will be deducted from the deposit and the balance will be refunded.

Settlement of Property

The final important step in buying houses in Australia is the settlement. Settlement normally happens between 30-90 days from the day of acceptance of the agreement. The settlement period could be amended if needed, on the mutual agreement of the buyer and seller.

Buying Houses in Australia in Auctions

A popular mode of buying houses in Australia is bidding for the houses in the open auction. In general the property or house is sold to the highest bidder in the auction. In principle, the buyer is required to keep a deposit of 10% of the reserved price of the property and complete the settlement in 30 days and the cooling off period is just 2 days in the open auction.

In a nutshell, following are the 9 steps which are widely used as the guidelines for buying houses in Australia.

1. Getting a conditional loan approval from the banks or the mortgage institutions for the amount within the price range of your choice
2. Searching for the house and short list a few
3. Inspecting the short listed properties and make a final selection
4. Getting the contract of the sale of  house you’re interested in purchasing
5. Make an offer to the house through the private treaty
6. Organizing the formal financial approval, inspection of properties & searches
7. Bidding at auction for the property
8. Signing the loan, letter of offer & mortgage documents
9. Settlement of Property through the conveyancer

These 9 steps can serve as the user guide/manual to anyone in the process of buying houses in Australia.

More and more home owners decide to sell home privately as the cost of selling has hit the roof and the broker’s commission runs into thousands of dollars. It can go up to 6 or 7 percent of the sale value of your home. You need not deal with agents and can have full control over the selling process in addition to saving time and money. Having decided to sell home privately, you should set a realistic asking price for your home.  For this you should do some research on the internet to find quotes of similar homes in your area and compare the features and prices with your home.  Some agents offer value analysis of homes which can act as a guide for you to set the right price for your home.  Better still, you can hire a certified professional to value your property so that you get an accurate figure and set your asking price accordingly.  This will also save you trouble when your price is found higher than what is determined by the appraisal of the buyer’s lender. You may end up losing a buyer by setting the wrong price for your home.

There are many ways of marketing to sell home privately.  Most houses are bought by the people living in the same locality.  So it is very important to get the word out about your house being on sale to the local population first. You can spread the word through your neighbours and friends and have them take a look at your house and tell them the price.  You can also have a sign board in front of your home to catch the eyes of passers-by who may be looking for a home to buy. You can also distribute flyers with photographs and details of the house in the neighbourhood.  The other way to spread the word is to send postcards to your colleagues and business associates.  

You should meticulously keep records of callers and answer their questions when they call.  Learn some negotiation skills to handle potential buyers’ comments and objections.  Keep reports such as pest control report, mortgage payments, insurance payments, taxes, repairs to major appliances, and other utility bills such as electricity, water and sewage bills ready to show to the potential buyers. This can make an impression in their minds about the house’s good condition and will help in deciding the exact price.

You can also list your property in the sites dedicated to FSBO (For Sale by Owner) if you want to sell home privately. You will be connected to the potential buyers directly. These sites do not charge any commission but a small fee for listing your home which will stay there till it is sold.  They also allow you to upload photographs of your property.  You can also have a virtual tour of the house in some sites. You can get tips, advice and any other help form the experts from these sites to sell home privately. When accepting an offer, always ask the buyer to make it in writing. You can have a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the paperwork of the home sale.  This can ensure that all the procedures and legal requirements are followed when you sell home privately.

You have taken a good decision if you have decided to sell your house privately. More and more people have started recognizing the benefits of selling their houses privately.  With so much of information and support available online, people have realized that they can get the necessary support and tools to sell houses privately.  Technology and other support systems are encourage people to sell houses on their own and save thousands of dollars on agent’s commission and the trouble of dealing with real estate agents.  But there are many laws, regulations and procedures involved in the process of selling a house.

Selling your house privately is easy and convenient and puts you in total control of the process. To sell your house privately you need to equip yourself with the knowledge about the current real estate market in your area, the property prices, the process involved, negotiation tactics, legal procedures, documentation and the marketing tools etc.  You can also hire the services of a solicitor to prepare the sale contract of your house or you can purchase the Conveyancing kit and follow the directions in it.  You have to do a lot of homework to breeze through every step of the process.

There are several websites dedicated to private house selling. They provide you with the resources and help to sell your house privately. You can be assured that your house is marketed proactively and consistently in the professional way.  These sites will charge a small fee or sometimes it is free to list advertise your property. You will get direct responses from the interested parties. Your information is kept confidential so you need not worry about losing your privacy.  You can get advice about how to price your house and how to negotiate with potential buyers.  

You would do well to acquire some knowledge about the financing methods as buyers would need them.  Pricing your house is also crucial as too high a price will put away potential buyers and a price too low will give an impression that something is wrong with the house. You can determine the price of your house by checking with the sold prices of similar houses in your area. You can also get an independent licensed professional to evaluate the price of your house.

Prepare your house and present in a positive light to quickly sell your house privately. Giving a fresh coat of paint, mowing the lawns, clear bushes, clean the side walks and the garage to give it a fresh appearance. The interiors should also be made bright by allowing natural light, making the house look spacious by removing clutter, organize wardrobes and kitchen cabinets.  The leaking pipes, cracked walls and tiles and the squeaky doors and windows must be fixed. Clean towels in the kitchen and bathrooms will give the house a well maintained look. Change the worn out rugs, carpets and curtains.  Deodorize the entire house and vacuum the entire space to give the house appear spic and span look.

You can advertise the sale of your house though sign boards, flyers or newspaper ads to reach out to the local population. You can also advertise on the internet to sell your house privately as it gives you anonymity and quick feedback from interested parties. The above easy and simple methods will help you to successfully sell your house privately.