Earlier this year we sold our family home. Not only that we did it within nine days with two families battling it out for our property. What a pleasant surprise it was to sell it so quickly! It was a surprising sale because our property, although extensively renovated, was quite old, on a very busy road, pretty small, and a high asking price.

So how did we do it? Well my husband, who is a very busy man, happened to be away with work therefore it was up to me to interview three realtors. I did some research and chose high profile real estate agencies that had consistent and high sales averages. (You’ll probably notice that I only interviewed males – this wasn’t intentional – they were the names given to me and available at the time).

I staggered the three interviews over two days and with each one, an appraisal was done of the property taking into account renovations and special features.

Realtor One when asked how much he thought the property was worth couldn’t give me a figure, not even a wild guestimate! Not only that, he sounded unsure and unmotivated about anything to do with our property (or anything else for that matter). I showed him around our house and pointed out special features, and all our renovations – still no response. When I mentioned what our asking price was the response was head nodding and not much else. I uttered a silent “You’re fired…next!”

Realtor Two said all the right words. He was a real go-getter, smartly dressed, clean shaven, innovative and energetic. He assured me that if I wanted the house sold and we had a firm asking and reserve price, then he would be the man to do it. Then he continued to talk – a lot – for a long time, using the latest buzzwords. It was difficult getting a word in. However, once the asking price was mentioned there was a pregnant pause. He slowly replied that my asking price was at the very top end of the market, and implied we’d be very lucky to reach it. Still, he’d sounded convincing…sort of…

Realtor Three listened attentively and nodded every now and again and paraphrased me, ensuring we were singing to the same hymn sheet. As before he asked what our asking and reserve price were. Just as before the asking price appeared to be surprising. I watched his face and could see he was mentally calculating and assessing the property’s worth. I showed him around the property as I did with the others, and he was genuinely impressed what we were offering. He became very motivated and made suggestions that made sense.

For several months we did nothing, still unsure of when we were actually going to put our home on the market.

The first and second realtors never made contact again. They’d left it up to us to contact them when we were ready. Realtor No 3 kept in regular contact with generic updates of the area and never pushed us to do anything. He simply signed off on each letter that when we’re ready, he’d be ready.

The first realtor was totally disinterested in anything from the property to us as people, and the other, although innovative and motivated didn’t exhibit empathy and curiosity about us – the owner’s, and no follow up. Connection is so important and although the first two were very nice individuals, it was something that was sadly lacking.

No 3 definitely got the job.

So why did he get the contract? Simply put, apart from keeping in regular contact, his knowledge and experience, and never aggressively trying to get our contract:

 He treated me (by this stage he was dealing directly with me) respectfully.

 He was always available to speak via telephone.

 He listened and understood what I wanted – nothing was ever a problem.

 He showed genuine interest in us as people. Conversations often turned to unrelated matters and we spoke of family and our travels.

 The one that clinched the deal was that he totally connected with us in the nicest way. We knew he had our best interests at heart.

There are many factors involved when selling property and choosing the right realtor. The main points I’d pass on are:

 Do your research – get to know your suburb if you don’t already, start reading the latest real estate material; speak to people in the industry – particularly the realtor’s you’re interviewing – you’ll get a feel of their knowledge and level of interest.

 Keep interviewing until you come up with someone that has strong people skills – not only are you looking for a connection, you’re also looking for someone who’ll connect strongly with prospective buyers.

Last but not least:

 Love the home you’re selling and others will love it also.

 Intuition is a great tool to have so when the time comes, use it.



Quick House Sale