How not to do it
I do not like to be negative about anything in my life, but I cannot stand by and watch properties being mishandled without saying something about it.
I have followed the progress of a property being sold and I was appalled at how it is being handled and cannot help but think that had it been handled professionally it would now be sold and sold at a good price.
I will try to cut a long story short:
The property is put on the market for tender at $850,000 plus. It is vacant and has no ambiance whatsoever, not even the windows had been cleaned. The ads in the paper do not stand out as the agent is not from the area and does not have a presence in the paper. The tender day comes and goes….. no sale. Now bear in mind that there was an offer made by a buyer in writing at $875k on a 12 month settlement on the condition that he would rent it first. The buyer was told that another offer of $900k had been made and he would have to pay $950k to get it! He declined.
It is then put up for auction at $750,000 plus. This time furnished – but badly. What I mean is that the furniture was not used to enhance the space and make the rooms look more livable and larger. The living/dining was furnished with only a lounge suite and the living/meals area had only a large dining setting that makes the area look very small. If the living/dining was set up with the dining setting as well then the living/meals area could have been set up as such with a small kitchen table plus a couch etc. The ads once again do not stand out and what is worse is on auction day the agent is late for the the open for inspection. Apart from the neighbors there are few buyers there. The auctioneer starts the auction and as there are no bids makes a vendor bid for $750k. No bids, except an agent supposedly speaking to a buyer on the phone. Then a break to talk to the vendor and then re-open the auction, still no bids so another vendor bid at $800k and still no bidding then an apparent bid by the buyer on the phone at $810k. That’s the end of the auction and the property is still for sale.
At 4 pm on auction day the buyer that made the offer of $875k was contacted by the agent and asked whether he would re-submit his offer!
What a muck-up. With a guiding hand of a Vendor’s Advocate, who would have chosen the right agent and the right method of sale and the right advertising this would not and could not have happened.
