Blog

Except for real estate developers who carryout residential developments for commercial purposes, selling a home can be traumatic and an emotional drain. Having to sell your home because: the kids are all grown-up and the home becomes impossible to maintain; there is need to relocate to another country or state; or, some financial obligations that can only be met through sale of your home, can be quite difficult to accept. With such an important decision to make, you need to engage the services of a real estate professional to ensure that you get the right value for your home.

Before you decide on which agent to contact ask if they do all these:

1. Meet with the seller at his/her office or our office to assess the seller’s need and motivation.
2. Ask the seller questions about the home and themselves in a bid to provide a better service that meets the sellers need
3. Set up a meeting to preview the property.
4. Execute a second inspection to crosscheck any omitted details and to carryout internal and external measurement.
5. Encourage the seller to disclose any information that may be important for our marketing and that may be of interest to the buyer such as if there is a mortgage on the property.
6. Review all original copies of title documents as well as all relevant documents such as building permit. Duplicated copies are collected for our record.
7. Review the sellers expectations in terms of pricing and to advice accordingly based on Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report.
8. Review current Lease Agreement if there is an existing tenant in the property. A copy of the lease is collected and kept for record purposes and for prospective buyers to review.
9. Review all outstanding renovation/repair works that is required to put the property in a marketable state.
10. Obtain estimate for needed work and to encourage the seller to execute same for ease of selling.
11. Prepare and send a form to the seller detailing our marketing/listing approach and platforms for his perusal and subsequent approval
12. Attached to the form is a letter stating the details of our meeting especially the agreed price the property should be advertised. Only the minimum acceptable price (net price) is been published. We do not market asking prices. Also included in the letter is details of our professional/agency fee which is between 5% and 10% depending on the magnitude of the reserved price.
13. Request seller to make available an extra key in case of a vacant property or a contact person who will always be available to allow access for buyers to view the property.
14. Hold official meetings to discuss details and attributes of the property and the marketing format to adopt.
15. Take internal and external pictures of the property
16. Depending on the approved mode of marketing by the seller, all marketing medium including online marketing, direct mail, print media, National Dailies, Property Magazines, Flyers, ‘For Sale’ banners, and word-of-mouth, are employed.
17. Give guided tour of the property to prospective buyers and/or their agents.
18. Continually update the seller on market feedbacks as it relates to number of viewings per week and offers received.
19. Accept or counter offers received from the buyer and/or his agent.
20. Arrange a meeting where buyer has requested to meet with the seller to discuss Terms and Conditions of purchase and payment modalities.
21. A letter is prepared and sent to both parties containing details of discussions between the buyer and the seller with the agreed sale price.
22. Follow up with each party regarding the contingency or condition that must be met by each party and ensuring that the agreed terms and conditions of sale is observed.
23. Provide input on current financing activities that may affect the offer
24. In the case of a bank financing make arrangement for the bank’s appointed Estate Surveyor and Valuer to have access to value the property.
25. Provide all relevant details including copies of the title document which the Estate Surveyor and Valuer requires to carry out valuation of the property.
26. Make arrangement to have all the requirement of the bank or lender met in a timely fashion.
27. Review the contract of sale, sale agreement, and all related documents received from the buyer’s or his agent before passing it to the seller.
28. Encourage both parties to agree on an escrow account and process such that they know and perform what is expected of them.
29. Ensure that both parties sign the contract of sale, sale agreement, sale receipt, and all related documents.
30. Notify both parties on the applicable taxes and payment modalities.
31. Details of and modality for payment of the purchase price as well as the seller’s bank account details are collected and sent to the buyer via a written instruction.
32. Confirm if the seller has received value for cheque(s) received or payment.
33. Upon confirmation of receipt of payment by the owner, ensure that original copies of the title documents are retrieved from escrow account.
34. Arrange a handing over meeting/ceremony between the buyer and the seller and ensure that appropriate pictures are taken of the entire process.
35. Make arrangement for showing of the home to buyer’s family, friends, contractors, decorators, etc, where required by the buyer.
36. Letter is prepared and sent to the seller with details of payment for professional/agency fee.
37. Coordinate the change of utility account with the buyer and/or his agent where necessary.
38. Communicate with buyer 3days after family has moved in to confirm if there are no oversights.
39. Maintain loyal relationship with the seller

You can also view how to buy a property by clicking here and how to rent out a property by clicking here

Buying a home is probably the biggest investment you will make with long term financial ramifications. Such a decision would require an informed judgment and good advice from a real estate professional.

Before you decide on which agent to contact ask if they do all these:

1. Schedule a meeting with the buyer at our office or at the buyer’s office whichever is the buyer’s preference.
2. Ask the buyer questions on what he considers an ideal home and the features that the property must possess. We wither the list down to the non-negotiables.
3. Search our real estate portfolio to compare the client’s specification with available properties.
4. Where properties in our portfolio don’t meet the client’s requirements, we send mails to our most trusted agents and colleagues detailing all the buyer’s specifications.
5. Review all properties received and carryout physical inspection to ensure that they meet the buyer’s requirements.
6. Where possible, schedule a meeting with the seller to qualify the seller.
7. Verify the seller’s motivation for selling. We do this to be sure that there are no legal/ownership encumbrance, neighbourhood, government, structural, natural hazards, or other hidden issues with the property been offered for sale.
8. Check if the space, design, and building components of the property constitutes no health hazards nor safety issues for your kids while they play and enjoy the space.
9. Ensure that the buyer has at least three (3) and at most five (5) comparable and competitive properties from which to make a choice.
10. Research the age of the building and previous sales activity on the property in case of a fairly old house
11. Ascertain both internal and external measurement to help in decision making in case of two or more seemingly identical properties
12. Research and prepare CMA (COMPARATIVE MARKET ANALYSIS) in order to aid an informed negotiation process.
13. Ensure that all relevant documents are available for perusal and a full disclosure on outstanding documents that are either in waiting or not available.
14. Ensure that keys to the property are readily available upon scheduling an appointment for viewing.
15. Discuss financing options with seller where the buyer wishes to use bank loans or pay in instalment
16. Encourage the seller to carryout necessary repair works or to grant the buyer a discount to effect the repairs.
17. Research whether or not the property is prone to flooding during rainy season.
18. Assist the buyer to verify any outstanding bills like Land Use Charge, Service Charge, Residents’ Association or Communal Dues, Mortgage, and other government bills before transfer of ownership.
19. Check with the relevant authorities to ascertain if the building has a certified building approval
20. Once the buyer’s has decided on the property to buy we schedule a meeting between the buyer and the seller at our office or at the seller’s residence/office (in case of a seniour citizen).
21. Ensure that the seller presents original copies of the title documents for sighting by all parties at the meeting.
22. Once an agreement has been reached between both parties on the terms and conditions of sale we ensure that minutes and details of the meeting is recorded and sent to all parties by mail.
23. Copies of the title documents received at the meeting is used to execute title verification exercise to ascertain the legal state of the property.
24. At the instance of a good and free title report we send such report to the buyer.
25. Upon the transfer of the purchase price to the vendor we ensure that original copies of all relevant documents are received and handed over to the buyer along with the house keys.
26. After this we send a letter containing details of our professional/agency fees which is between 5% and 10% depending on the magnitude of the transaction.
27. Coordinate, organise, and assist in the registration of title documents with the state government.
28. We recommended our sister company ‘RELOCATIONS CONSULTING LTD. (RCL)’ or any relocations service provider of the buyers preference to assist in relocating the buyer to his new home. At the full payment of 10% as professional/agency fees, FIRST COLONY REAL ESTATE COMPANY LTD will be responsible for engaging the services of ‘RCL’ at no extra cost to the buyer.
29. Follow up with the buyer on regular basis to ensure there are no outstanding issues and where there are, to ensure that we give our 100% to addressing such issues and making the buyer comfortable.
30. Maintain a loyal relationship with the buyer.

You can also view how to sell a property by clicking here