People do not sell their houses every day, for some it may be the first time they have sold a house or for others it may have been many years. So in this video I will give you an overview of the process.

I’ll cover the 3 phases of selling your house – Preparation, the listing process and what happens after listing.

Minimise furniture in every room, but you shouldn't leave a room empty. Its not unusual to fill a whole double garage with clutter you have removed from the house. Remove personal & family photos from all the walls/shelves etc and replace with one or two generic pictures and/or mirrors. This helps the purchasers see themselves in the home instead of you.

Dents, holes, scratches and other minor damage builds up over time and can make your home appear worn and tired. This will be even more evident if you have removed a lot of furniture from a room. Get the walls cleaned and/or repair and paint them.

Bold colours and whites should be avoided. If you have any plain white or strong coloured walls such as feature walls or in the childrens bedrooms etc then you should
repaint them with neutral colours if you can afford the time. Any money spent here will be worth it in making your house more desirable. Buyers who have the vision to see past a ghastly colour scheme are few and far between.

If you have lived in your house for a while without Maria Von Trapp, then there will definitely be things that need cleaning. Anywhere hands touch on a regular basis like doors, door frames, hand rails, cupboard handles, kitchen cabinets etc. Some of this may be tough to clean off.

Make sure taps and plugs are in good working order ie easy to turn on/off. These are basic necessities in a house and if you haven’t got these in good working order then people will wonder what else might be wrong.
Also, shower pressure is often tested by serious buyers. It doesn’t need to be Niagra Falls in your bathroom but if you can’t get wet when you stand underneath it then you should get someone in to fix it. Building inspectors look for these problems and you may well be asked to fix them as a condition of purchase.

Similarly to your inside cleanup, you should also do outside even if you have a small area that is never used. Get rid of any old cars or broken down things the grass has been growing around. Mow the grass, trim the hedges and plants and edges. If you’ve a big pile of dirt from years of ashes and lawn clippings its best to get rid of this. Any old broken glasshouses sheds etc that are in disrepair should be demolished and removed. Mow the lawn. Even if your property is being sold as-is where-is without any insurance this is still important.

Increase light to rooms by ensuring curtains/blinds etc open easily. Remove net curtains (always remove net curtains). Fix all your lightbulbs.

If you are selling in winter, pop down to the hardware store and buy an outdoor lighting kit if you don't have one. Well-lit paths and outdoor areas in winter will make your home look far more inviting in the darkness of winter.

Now that your house is ready, its time to list it. Listing means finding an agent you can work well with and putting your house on the market with their assistance.

You should pick someone you trust, someone you have faith in but someone who will also be up front with you about any problems (this is probably not going to be your best friend). Remember there is a huge variety of salespeople, if you have worked with one under a particular brand you may find someone else working for the same brand works very differently. You should expect good communication, impartial advice and up-front fees without hidden costs.

In Christchurch you will need EQC and current insurance details covering policy numbers, claim numbers etc.
A complete EQC scope of works and EQC signoff are very handy and buyers often ask to see these up-front before making an offer. You can get hold of all of this by calling EQC on 0800-DAMAGE. If you squiggled on the ipad, you signed off the work even if the contractor said you weren’t doing so.

Building inspections are carried out by licensed building inspectors (typically someone who has been working in the building industry for a time). They take around 60-90 minutes and the inspector requires full access to all areas of your property. Most often, building inspections are carried out as part of the due-diligence a purchase goes through when buying your home.

If you have a house from the leaky home era (1990-2004) you may need to get a building inspection including a moisture test done so prospective buyers won’t be put off.

If you are going to sell at auction you should also get a building inspection done.

Fix what you can on the building report and keep hold of any evidence that the work has been done.

You will need a lawyer. In Christchurch our sale and purchase agreements for residential property are based on the Auckland District Law Society forms which are a standard in Canterbury and other parts of NZ. However every property is different and minor changes to these forms can have big consequences. Pick a lawyer who is familiar with the Auckland District Law Society standard sale and purchase agreement. Lawyers also handle the conveyancing aspects and ensure that on settlement you get the money for your house and the title is transferred to the new owner.

Chattels are items that normally belong with a property but are not permanently attached. You should know what chattels you want to take with you and what will remain and ensure these are correct in any paperwork. Don’t bother taking the dishwasher, fishpond, lightbulbs or heatpump. They’re worth nothing in comparison to the value of the property you are about to sell and removing these will only annoy a purchaser.

You won’t want to pay for extra advertising or the professional photographer. You should. We can tell you all the sources that bring buyers in, but we can’t tell you where the buyer for your home will come from.

Advertising is about outshining the competition. If the purchaser is worn out from working all week and has one Saturday afternoon to visit 10 open homes and they realistically will only be able to get to 4 of those and they’re arguing with their partner about which ones those are and how to drive to each of them, which 4 are they going to chose? They will chose yours because the photos look great and its advertised in the press and the bluebook which they are carrying with them and oops they’ve lost that list they made of other homes they saw on the internet. Advertising gets you buyers. The more buyers, the more likely your house will sell at a great price.

Where are you going to live after you sell your house? Maybe you have already bought a place, maybe you are going to travel around in an old van for a year, but think about a settlement date and how flexible you are. If a purchaser wants an earlier settlement and puts in a good offer are you in a position to accept that and move sooner than you wanted to, or later?

So your property looks amazing, you’ve listed it with an agent and its being advertised. What happens now?

A lockbox will go on your house that contains a key to allow us to bring people through easily if the property is vacant or if you are out visiting Aunt Melody in Oxford or taking your kids to the pool. Lockboxes are very secure, it is easier to break into your house than a lockbox!

A sign will go up. The sign will advertise your home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If the back or inside of your property looks fabulous it might be worth having a photo of that put on the sign.

Open homes will be scheduled and a bunch of strangers will come through your house. You should schedule coffee with friends or an afternoon at the park - purchasers are very wary of coming through a house when the vendor is there. Most people are respectful and your agent should keep the situation under control. Most interest will happen in the first 2-3 weeks of your home being on the market.

Living in the house will be difficult unless you have OCD. You need to keep it clean and clutter free for the open homes – it’s a bit like living at someone else’s.

You probably have a job to go to every day and may have pets and children to look after as well. You are human, your home will not stay clean. Don't fret, if you have a good agent they will understand. We do a spot-check of the house just to ensure you haven't left anything out that shouldn't be.

Pets will probably start acting up a little bit from all the strange people coming through the house. They may decide to mark their territory more thoroughly so be vigilant when checking. Refer to the previous point – your house won’t stay clean.

Receiving offers are the entire point of this exercise. People in the market know what is available for what price and never make stupidly high offers when negotiating a purchase. They will pay more for your house if you have prepared it well and maintained it. Don’t expect to get $80,000 more than Mary’s house down the street because your roses are better and you splurged on that expensive chandelier.

Accept a good offer. The best offer may happen in the first week and while that may seem quick for you, the buyer may have been in the market and looking for some time and is tired on missing out.

If you haven’t received an offer or significant interest in the first 2-3 weeks, seek advice from your agent about what can be done.

If you are selling at Auction (excellent choice by the way) then each bid is the equivalent of an unconditional offer (with terms & conditions you set). Competition in the auction room is clear and transparent for buyers so seeing someone bid a certain price increases their own comfort in bidding slightly more.

So if you have done all this correctly it should see you achieve a speedy sale for the best price in the market.

Sometimes the market may change while you are preparing the home for sale or even during the sale process as new builds come on the market or immigration or other economic factors fluctuate. Sometimes there are plenty of buyers looking for their first home however not so many looking for their 2nd or 3rd home. Consider this possibility and be prepared should it occur.

Ok, so what happens if you haven't sold? After about 6 weeks you will get tired of preparing the house for open homes. Fewer people will be coming through and you may be wondering if your house will ever sell or what can be done.

As relocating your property to a better area isn’t possible, your options are to improve the property or lower the asking price. Essentially, if you can’t sell it, its priced too high for the market.

After you price it right and advertise so that everyone knows the new price…..