choosing a real estate agent

Selling a Tenanted Property

Selling a rental with tenants requires a number of additional requirements the owner and agent must abide by to ensure tenant rights under Legislation are met. While these requirements initially may seem onerous, by keeping a tenant “in the loop” with timely communication, any issues can be dealt with before they become insurmountable problems. There are pros and cons to selling a tenanted property:

Pros:

Rental income continues while the property is on the market.
Buyers benefit from purchasing a tenanted property – reducing costs such as letting fees and time vacant after settlement.
Potential buyers see the property as “rentable”

Cons:

Increased legislative requirements for notice to tenant
Reduced flexibility for opens
Possible lack of control over the standard of presentation of the property
Potential buyer pool – buyers after vacant possession may not be interested

A successful campaign of a tenanted rental keeps the tenant “in the loop” before, during and after the sale. A tenant who does not know what is going on, is uncertain of their future, or is kept in the dark with open times and notice will likely not be accommodating with access to the property for opens.

So, how do you do this?

Notice of Sale

It is a requirement before entering a residential tenancy agreement to advise a prospective tenant if owners have or intend to advertise the property for sale. A tenant can terminate a tenancy if the owner enters into a contract for the sale of the property within 2 months after the start of the tenancy agreement and did not inform the tenant of this intention.

Issue Correct Notices within Required Timeframes

On deciding to sell a tenanted rental property, an owner must advise the tenant with at least 14 days written notice they have entered into a sales agency agreement. Advertising the property or access to the property for the purpose of showing prospective purchasers cannot occur before this 14-day timeframe expires.

Once the initial 14 days has passed, the right of entry to the property for opens is outlined in the Act. These requirements include no more than 2 occasions within any 7-day period, at a time previously arranged with agreement of the tenant. If an agreement cannot be reached, at a time within normal working hours with reasonable notice. Reasonable notice is not defined, but at least 7 days minimum is advised.

Once the property is sold, the tenant must be advised in writing within 14 days or as soon as possible after the contract of sale is entered into of the name of the purchaser and the date from which rent is to be paid to him or her.

Remember, the tenant has a right to stay at the property during any open inspections, including on auction day. The tenant is also entitled to the quiet enjoyment of the property – continuous driving past or prospective purchasers walking around the property may not meet this requirement.

SA Listings tips:

Start an open and honest dialogue with the tenant as soon as the decision to sell the property is made.
All notices MUST be served in a timely manner, erring on the side of caution.
Provide the tenant with a complete schedule of inspections as soon as possible.
Any property manager MUST be in the loop with the decision to sell, plus the intended schedule. Consider combining routine inspections with other required access (such as photo sessions) in order to minimise tenant disruption.
Consider a small rent reduction throughout the campaign. This will show the tenant you are conscious of the disruption to the tenant’s enjoyment of the property.
Stay flexible. The tenant must not unreasonably refuse to allow access. However, be prepared and willing to negotiate access times.

SA listings will happily arrange for all of the above requirements to ensure your sale campaign runs smoothly. We also partner with experienced property managers who understand the needs of both tenants and landlords throughout a sales campaign.

Planning and preparation is needed. But if done, there is no reason the sale of a tenanted property should not go smoothly. Contact us for more information.

Justine Thomson

Exceptional Sale Results without Excessive Commissions

The results are in! SA Listings has selected our last 18 recent sales to statistically prove you get the same results, if not better from a fixed fee Agent compared to a traditional commission based Agent. The results also prove that brand does not matter when selling your home. SA Listings, a relatively new player in the Adelaide real estate market has successfully sold the last 18 properties with an average of 23 days on market, achieving an average of full Vendors asking price and savings in excess of $110,000 in Agent fees to boot!

SA LISTINGS – CLIENT RESULTS AND AGENT FEE SAVINGS
Property Address	% of Asking Price	Days on Market	Agent Fee Saved*
92 Folland Ave Northgate	105.24%	4	$7,312
72 Rapid Ave Lightsview	102.19%	7	$9,400
1/91 Myrtle St Prospect	100.00%	31	$4,590
11 Allen Ave Brooklyn Park	105.00%	11	$7,310
4 Paddington Ave Northgate	108.00%	9	$7,662
109/220 Greenhill Rd Eastwood	98.33%	49	$6,980
140C North East Rd Walkerville	99.11%	34	$6,320
140B North East Rd Walkerville	98.23%	31	$6,210
14 Epsilon Crt Woodcroft	100.00%	16	$3,250
14 Rapid Ave Lightsview	100.00%	52	$1,920
8 Welsh Rd Lightsview	108.70%	5	$7,750
14 Holmeswood Crt Para Hills West	98.00%	46	$3,680
74 Rapid Ave Lightsview	100.00%	1	$7,360
10 Rozells Ave Lightsview	100.00%	7	$7,150
2 Rivergum Cls Walkey Heights	97.00%	20	$6,860
13 Welsh Rd Lightsview	97.22%	21	$9,400
19 Rapid Ave Lightsview	100.00%	26	$6,540
21 Rapid Ave Lightsview	100.00%	43	$5,000
	Average Ask Price	Average Days on Market	Total Agent Fee Savings
	100.95%	23	$114,694
*Savings based on traditional Agent Commission in SA of 2.2% inclusive of GST

The savings in Agent fees is conservative, as it does not take into account significant savings achieved by our clients in marketing fees. Several of the properties listed above had no marketing fees at all as they were successfully matched to purchasers on the SA Listings buyer database. We have in fact, been told by our clients of well known brand name Agents charging additional fees of up to $2,000 for use of pre-market listing techniques, whereby, your property is listed on their website and database for viewing only by their registered subscribers, prior to listing to the general public. This is astounding! One would expect the Agent commission to cover the cost of the Agent actually matching the registered subscribers on their database to your property. Is that not their job? At SA Listings, we database match and contact all relevant parties we believe would be interested in your property. This service is incorporated in the fixed fee package at no additional cost to you, we believe our job as your Agent is to sell the property for the very best price at an affordable cost to you – without fee gouging!

Also as a consumer be aware, there are some new Agencies providing a low fixed fee but the package does not incorporate a full agent service. Please read the fine print and ask questions of the Agency selling you the packages.

Remember, SA Listings provides a full agent service for an affordable fee with the highest service from listing to settlement, to find out more visit www.salistings.com.au

Justine Thomson

Preparing Your Home for Sale

Pay attention carefully, this blog could add thousands of dollars to the sale price achieved by your home, with only a relatively small outlay, plus some hard work and elbow grease! How? Well, the formula is simple:

Fresh paint on walls: preferably a neutral or crisp white – it’s amazing what a coat of paint will do
De-clutter: everything packed away in boxes, except the bare essentials
Minimal furniture: key pieces only with modern soft furnishings and accessories
Well kept garden: fresh mulch, neatly cut lawns and healthy plants
Clean windows and walls
Clean pavers and driveway
Repair any noticeable damage to the home: patch holes in walls for example
Remove mould from bathrooms and refresh grout
Basically, present a clean sparkling home that smells fresh!

Clients often ask how the home should look for photography and opens. To help clients visualise what is needed, I can provide pictures of furniture to be showcased in each room, such as those shown below. Take note, while each room in your home will not look exactly like this, I want clients to take away from these pictures the number of furniture pieces in each room and the way it is styled with the soft furnishings and accessories.

The property image above, listed and sold recently by SA Listings, was styled for minimal cost and achieved a sale result of $46,000 in excess of Vendor expectations. Note the following from the photos:

Formal lounge includes 3 key furniture pieces: lounge, coffee table & cabinet
Bedroom includes 3 key pieces: bed and two side tables
Second bedroom includes 3 key pieces: bed, desk and chair
Kitchen: totally clean bench tops with exception of minimal accessories
Lounge includes 4 key pieces: lounge, chair, cabinet and coffee table
Meals includes 2 key pieces: kitchen table and 6 chairs
Outdoor area includes 2 key pieces: outdoor table with chairs
Front yard and rear yard: neat, tidy and clean

In addition to the key furniture pieces, the soft furnishings and accessories in each room really make it pop. Think eye-popping paintings, lamps, neutral toned rugs and fresh flowers, with a common colour scheme. For bathrooms, all you require are matching towels and a beautiful soap dispenser on the vanity.

A big mistake commonly seen in homes on the market, is overcrowding in each room with too many furniture pieces. This can have the impact of making rooms appear small and cramped. Whilst it may be difficult to live without these pieces, for the limited period it is showcased to market it is well worth taking the pain to achieve the gain.

We hope you found this blog informative and if the styling process is too overwhelming, SA Listings can assist you with professional styling. We offer a unique styling service with affordable styling packages. To find out more contact us at http://www.salistings.com.au/contact

Justine Thomson

Staging a Home for Sale

The whole world is a stage – but should your home be?

What is it buyers look at when visiting an open home? Frankly, ask three different people and you may get four different answers! While one may step back and take in the larger picture of the home as a whole, another may look at the same house through the eyes of the furniture, the art, or even the family photos on the wall, and yet another will simply cast a critical eye over the structural integrity of the home. It may even be that it is easier to answer what is it buyers look at by first ensuring there is nothing in the home that will turn them off as soon as they walk in.

Some examples? Tired, ratty old furniture that has seen better days, magazines or books in the loo, and whilst you may simply love your collection of every set of commemorative babushka dolls from the twentieth century – it may be many buyers will not.

Now of course, most people have some idea that in order to correctly present your home for sale you need to “de-clutter” and “de-personalise,” but what about the styling through out the home? This is where the services of a home styling or staging professional can help – with interior designing skills to make your home stand out that extra mile.

A home stylist will cast a critical eye over the home, and will be able to provide appropriately styled furniture and accessories to suit. For example, large furniture pieces may be comfortable, but they may be cramping the space available, making it look smaller than it really is. Changing them over for smaller, less intrusive pieces that match and compliment other pieces in other rooms creates a sense of space and style. Styling gives potential purchasers an idea of what the home could be for them, not what it currently is for the vendor.

A home stylist may also remove items that stand out and draw the attention of buyers, such as loud artwork or rugs. Again, a flowing sense of style throughout the home will help ensure the home appeals to as broad an audience as possible.

Remember, first impressions count. You want buyers to walk into your home and imagine living there with their family, inviting their friends over to a home they are proud of, a home that is up to date and on trend.

Not every home will require the expense of a stylist or staging. But in some cases, the outlay of a moderate expense may mean a greater return come settlement day.

Should you be interested in property staging, during the appraisal of your home the SA Listings’ team is able to discuss options that best fit your property and budget.

Justine Thomson

SA Homes Top Ten Wish List

I thought with 2016 recently ending and the New Year ringing in, it is an apt time to review the most common search words buyers use when seeking a property in SA, to assist any would be seller in 2017.

Many will be surprised pool is the number one search word when seeking properties in SA. For all those lucky enough to have a pool, the cost to run, maintenance and amount of times utilised often outweigh the benefits a pool can bring but at sale time this can be a bonus. A pool can be an attractive garden feature and for families a must have in our dry, hot summers. If your kids have flown the coop and you are thinking of ditching the pool, think twice, especially if you have plans to one day sell your home and downsize.

The old fashion granny flat is back in vogue! Statistics prove our kids are staying at home much longer these days and often do not consider leaving the family abode until in their late twenties or early thirties, sigh…. Grandparents are also becoming a part of the extended family, assuming a carers role for children when both parents work. To give extended adult families breathing space it is little wonder the granny flat is a highly sought after commodity. If you are fortunate enough to have a granny flat and are considering taking your home to market, it would be worth spending some coin on reinvigorating life into this space. If used as storage, clear out the boxes, de-clutter and style as you would a second home.

The corner block has always been a sought after find in SA but even more so since the State Government zoning changes. If you fall into the new zoning categories for higher density living, the corner block can be correlated to the golden goose who lays the golden eggs. Make sure you check with your council for current zoning requirements before putting your home on the market. The right zoning can add tens of thousands to your sale price. A good agent should be aware of the possibilities in your area when it comes to potential development or subdivision and should factor this into the market price.

Top Ten Property Search Words in SA

Pool
Granny Flat
Corner
Views
Beach
Shed
Esplanade
Cottage
Character
Investment

To maximise the return on your property consider the top ten search words and ensure your Agent takes full advantage of known characteristics your home has in meeting buyer needs.

If considering selling your home in 2017, we would love to hear from you and assist you in making the most of your properties attributes: salistings.com.au

Justine Thomson

Mum and Dad Home Loans

Christmas is fast approaching and we all appreciate the little gifts we receive from loved ones but is helping your adult child buy their first home a help or a hindrance?

It is not difficult to understand why adult children are turning to their parents for a step up on the property ladder. In a Parliamentary report titled, “Out of reach? The Australian housing affordability challenge” (8^th May 2015), there are some shocking statistics. Up until 2001 annual income grew in line with housing prices, since 2001 the growth in property values has dramatically outstripped growth in household incomes. NATSEM [National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling] data shows that house prices increased by 147 per cent compared to income growth of just 57 per cent between 2001 and 2011. In dollar terms, the median price of a house more than doubled from $169,000 to $417,500 while after tax income increased from just $36,000 to $57,000. Whereas in 2001 an average home price in Australia was 4.7 times the average income, by 2011 this had increased to 7.3 times.

This graph below (source: Master Builders Association), highlights the housing affordability issue in Australia.

The Housing Affordability Ratio is measured by dividing the median house price by the median income of the house purchaser. A ratio of 5 or less, below the green line, is considered affordable, a ratio of 7 or more, above the purple line is severely unaffordable. This horrific statistic can provide some insight as to why parents are assisting adult children fund their first home. Question is, should we be?

This can be a very difficult question to answer. Prior to gifting money to your adult child, funding their deposit or going guarantor on a loan, make sure you consider the following:

Will you have enough money to fund your own retirement if you assist your children?
If you go guarantor on the loan and your adult child’s circumstances change and they can no longer fund the mortgage repayments. Will you be able to meet these repayments? If not, there could be serious consequences for your own financial stability.
Should your adult child be in a relationship and live with their partner and things turn sour resulting in a relationship break up, watch the can of worms open up! If you paid the deposit or funded the home, the law may see it as a gift and the ex-partner walks away with half or more! Alternatively, if you are guarantor on the loan: What are the financial implications with the split?
Have you taught your adult child how to manage their finances on their own? If you are generous and assist them with their first home purchase they may not appreciate the value of a dollar. The best lesson in life when it comes to financial savings is delayed gratification. What you need to give up now to get something in the future can be a great value to instil in your child. If it is out of reach, then maybe it should never have been!
If the bank will not loan the funds to your adult child, the risk must be high. If you guarantor the loan you take on this risk.
Is your adult child willing to make sacrifices to invest in property? When I talk of sacrifices, I refer to their willingness to purchase in an affordable area that may be many kilometres from the city and to also manage their spending carefully.

This is not an exhaustive list but it does provide food for thought. If you do decide to assist your adult child it would be a good idea to ensure agreements are in writing and clearly understood. Life can often change course when we least expect it.

I have an adult child, still studying at University and living at home and understand the difficulty in wanting to provide for their financial future. Maybe times are changing and the reality of home ownership in Australia is now only a dream. Long term leases could pave the way for our kids into the future, so maybe you should be the one investing in another property!

Justine Thomson

Pinpoint the Perfect Agent

Deciding to sell your property can be one of the biggest decisions you make in your life. Along with your savings for retirement, the property you own would be one of the highest valued assets in your portfolio. The decision to sell and who to appoint to sell your property should be done with utmost care.

How do you know who is the right agent for you?

From experience, I would suggest interviewing a minimum of three Agents before appointing one right for you. If you are an employer looking for the right employee to fill a job role, you do your due diligence first before deciding on the right candidate. You don’t want someone who turns up late, cannot do the task at hand or is disrespectful. The same decision making process should be applied when reviewing Agents.

To sell or not to sell? A good Agent will consider whether now is the right time for you to sell your property taking into account market conditions, reason for selling and your needs. Securing the listing should not be their number one focus. The number one focus should be what is best for you.

The biggest brand or most popular Agent by size may not necessarily be the right Agent for you. Flashy cars, the largest billboards or designer suits does not make for a good Agent. A popular Agent can be working with many clients and may be spread too thinly. Professionalism, knowledge of real estate and the ability to negotiate are critical skills of an Agent. My partner and I many years ago had a number one Agent come to appraise one of our properties and all the person did was talk about themselves. No questions were asked about us and our needs. Once the Agent left the property, my partner made the comment, “Elvis has now left the building!” We looked at each other, laughed and agreed this was not the person we wanted to represent our property and us.

Referrals are important. A good Agent will have a list of positive client testimonials and with prior approval from their past clients, be willing to provide you with their contact details. It is always a good idea to call one of their past clients to get an understanding on how they perceived the service they received.

Licensed and professional memberships of the relevant State Government body and real estate organisations in their State. In SA, a Real Estate Agent must be licensed by the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs and carry their license on them at all times. A good Agent in SA would also be a member of the Real Estate Institute of SA or the Society of Auctioneers and Appraisers. Membership of professional organisations means they are interested in their own professional development. Be wary, if an Agent cannot show you their license, consider them to be Frank Abagnale, the guy who before his 19^th birthday successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a pilot, doctor then prosecutor. We recommend no license, no appointment!

Knowledge is often underestimated and can be difficult to determine from an interview. However, if you ask the right questions, their knowledge should be evident. Questions like:

What do you consider to be the market appraisal for this property?

What areas of improvement to the property will assist us in maximising price?

What is the current market like for property in our area?

What would be the best way to market this property?

How do you qualify a buyer?

What qualifications do you have?

A good Agent should not need to be prompted by you, they will impart their knowledge throughout the initial meeting. Use your intuition and watch their body language. A lot can be garnered by body language. Beware of dominant body language, this is when a person makes the rules by interrupting you, using inappropriate language and standing over you. We are not looking for a round with Muhammad Ali, we are looking for someone who can build rapport and knows their profession.

Fees are also an important consideration. At SA Listings we are of the belief a good Agent does not need to be incentivised to obtain the best price for your property, for this reason we charge a fixed fee, no matter the value of the property. The role of a good Agent is to negotiate the very best price and conditions for you. When comparing fees ensure you have information not only on commission but also marketing costs, Government searches and Form 1 preparation. To compare apples with apples you need the entire fee structure. For more on fees, please refer to SA Listings earlier blog: “Real Estate Fees – Friend or Foe?”

We hope this article has been informative and assists in ensuring your property journey is a successful one.

Justine Thomson