This guide is intended for general information purposes only. The content does not take your personal circumstances into account. You should obtain independent legal and financial advice before undertaking any transaction involving real estate.
Harcourts uses reasonable endeavours to ensure the information in this guide is current and accurate. To the extent permitted by law, Harcourts makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness or currency of the information within this guide, and the use of the guide is at your own risk. None of Harcourts, its employees and any authors of the guide can be held liable for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the guide.
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Now that you have made the decision to sell with Harcourts we want to help you prepare for what comes next. From dressing your property for success, to the importance of holding an open home, and what happens after an offer is accepted. We’ll walk you through the process to ensure the sale of your home goes as smoothly as possible.
DRESS YOUR PROPERTY FOR Success
Harcourts would like to share some simple presentation tips with you, which may help to present your property in the best possible light. It is often the little things that can make the biggest impact. For example, first impressions really do count because it is estimated that over 50% of properties are sold even before the prospective buyer steps through the front door! These are just a few practical ways in which you can make an instant, positive impression, which will go a long way towards making a successful sale.
☐ A few well-positioned flowering potted plants can create a welcoming appearance
☐ Having the exterior washed and windows cleaned can make an enormous difference
☐ Paint or wash fences, gates, screens, steps and the front door
☐ Ensure your pets are secured so that they won’t pose a threat or annoy visitors
☐ Outside lighting is a must for evening inspections
POSITIVE FIRST IMPRESSIONS
☐ Your front door and entranceway are areas that can make a powerful first impression
☐ A newly decorated front entrance with attractive topiary shrubs either side can be effective
☐ Position an attractive plant or piece of art to add that final touch
APPEAL TO THE SENSES
☐ A general spring clean will freshen the look and the air
☐ Turn on sufficient lights when showings are being held to compensate for any dark areas
☐ Use odour neutralisers to dispel cigarette or animal smells. The delicious aroma of brewing coffee or freshly baked bread will convey the impression that you enjoy your property
☐ Place freshly cut flowers throughout your property
☐ Interesting knick-knacks, books or artwork in feature areas around your property can encourage visitors to linger
☐ Bathrooms should be gleaming. Repair any broken tiles and reseal around the bath and basin if necessary. A dish of scented potpourri or soaps adds a nice touch, but avoid overpowering scents
☐ Turn the radio or TV off, maybe in favour of restful music
☐ Make sure the temperature inside is comfortable – even light the fire in winter
IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT
☐ Attend to any small maintenance jobs such as sticking doors or windows, dripping taps, squeaking hinges, loose door handles, blown light bulbs or faulty switches
CREATE A FEELING OF SPACIOUSNESS
☐ Ensure your kitchen is spotless, the working areas are uncluttered with tidy cupboards and pantry
☐ Make sure closets are tidy – they’ll look larger
☐ Mirrors in smaller rooms can convey the feeling of more space
☐ To enlarge room size appearance, perhaps look at moving some furniture and ornaments into storage
STYLE TO IMPRESS
☐ Once clutter free, consider using a home stylist or home staging service. Home stylists will take a look at your space, and then loan you the furniture which is the size and style best suited for your home, which will make a space look bigger, comfortable and liveable
☐ Speak with your sales consultant who can help you organise a staging service
THE SELLINGProcess
The highest visibility – from the moment you list
Now that your property is listed with Harcourts it will be entered into our own listing system – Harcourts One. Harcourts One spans every single office in our group and enables us to match your property to suitable buyers locally, nationally and even globally. Our intelligent system will send an automatic notification to any buyers who have logged their buying criteria with us. We will also personally contact our existing buyers to inform them that your property is being launched to the market.
Of course your home will also be automatically listed on our website, VideoPunch, harcourts.co.nz, realestate.co.nz, oneroof.co.nz and trademe.co.nz. The comprehensive detail of each listing enables potential national and international buyers an ease of access that’s unparalleled. With just a few clicks of the mouse, a virtual tour of your property affords these buyers the opportunity to visit without ever leaving their computer.
OPEN Homes
WHY CHOOSE TO HOLD OPEN HOMES WHEN SELLING?
Open homes are one of the most effective ways of marketing a property and attracting interest from a wide variety of buyers. Some of the advantages are:
• You have plenty of time to ensure your property is tidy and ready for inspections
• You can control the viewing times
• Open homes can create plenty of activity, even in a slow market
• Interest and activity can trigger urgency with buyers
• Your sales consultant will have the opportunity to talk to numerous people about your property in a short space of time
• Comments from open home visitors can provide feedback on price, presentation, sales appeal, etc.
PREPARING FOR AN OPEN HOME
Buyers purchase with emotion rather than with logic. To enable your sales consultant to encourage a potential buyer to take emotional ownership of a property, we recommend that sellers are not present in the property during open homes.
The way your property is presented for sale will be different to the way it is presented when you live in it. The reason for this is we want to ensure buyers feel as though they can picture themselves living within the home as they inspect the property. That’s why it’s also recommended that personal effects are put away, such as photographs, mail, personal items on the refrigerator etc.
We understand it can be difficult to detach from your property, but try to think of your existing home in a practical sense when preparing for an open home and start to think of your next property as your new home.
SECURITY
During the open home, we will take the utmost care in looking after your belongings. We suggest that if you do have items of value, such as jewellery, money, electronics or small ornaments, that you remove these items from view or take them with you. 99.9% of people are genuine and honest but we do not want to chance a situation occurring at your home.
While we are at your home, we will turn all of the lights on and ensure that the doors and windows are open (weather permitting). Once we have finished the open home we will ensure that all of the lights have been turned off and any doors and windows that were opened at the beginning of the open home have been closed.
If a potential buyer or even another real estate sales consultant approaches you directly asking to view your property, direct them to contact us. This way we are able to coordinate all interested buyers on your behalf and ensure the selling process will go as smoothly as possible.
KEYS
To make the process as easy as possible, it is ideal to provide a spare key prior to the first open home that we can keep in our secure key system. That way we can access the home and lock up after each inspection and open home. We do prefer that we obtain a copy of the key prior to the first open home. Upon the successful settlement of your home, we hand over any keys that we have to the new owner. If your home is withdrawn from the market, we’ll immediately return the keys to you.
BUYER ACTIVITY AND HOW YOU MIGHT FEEL
Buyer enquiry and inspections will be at their highest when your property first enters the market. Current prospective buyers will always be quick to view a new listing and these first visitors to your property are of a very high quality as they consist mainly of people who are actively looking to buy now. They are financially prepared to act, are well educated on property values and some may have missed out on purchasing a property earlier so will not hesitate to make an early offer. If this does occur we will ask you to consider any early offers very seriously.
Once the initial rush of existing active buyers has passed, you may feel concerned or anxious as the level of enquiry decreases. Rest assured we will be staying in regular contact with all potential buyers and keep you informed as we continue to market to any new buyers entering the market.
KEEPING YOU Informed
Success in real estate begins with establishing strong personal and professional relationships.
OUR PROMISE
The Harcourts Promise is your absolute assurance of just how seriously we take our responsibilities on your behalf. It’s our way of being held accountable, and your way of knowing you will be looked after every single step of the way. Consider it our total commitment to working together to make the whole experience easier, less stressful and far more rewarding. And that’s a promise!
After every open home and private showing we will contact you to let you know how your property was received.
Each week we will provide you with a written report outlining our progress to date, buyer feedback, market activity that impacts your property and any recommendations for the week ahead.
Depending on your personal and work commitments, we would like to meet with you on a regular basis to discuss your campaign in detail and any pertinent points from our reports. These meetings are brief but essential and can occur at a time that is suitable to you. Transparency and open communication is key to our working relationship.
COMPLETING THESale
Receiving an offer
Our commitment to you is to bring you any offers formally in writing. We will ask interested buyers to sign a standard approved contract with their offer and any conditions of sale requested. We will then inform any other interested parties that an offer is being made and ask if they too would like to put in an offer. This system ensures it remains fair to all parties and hopefully provides us with a multiple offer situation where buyers are now acting quickly and competing to win your property.
As the seller, you can then accept the offer, reject it or counter-sign it. Counter-signing usually occurs when you are not satisfied with the price offered and/or conditions included and wish to subsequently alter them. The contract will then be brought back to the buyer for their consideration. If accepted, the buyer will initial your alteration and the property is under offer subject to any conditions that the contract may contain. Alternatively the buyer also has the right to counter-sign. We will continue negotiations between you and the buyer until you are both in agreement or until it’s clear an agreement cannot be reached.
After an offer is accepted
Once an offer has been accepted and all parties have signed the contract, the buyer will be asked to pay a deposit. This usually equates to 10% of the purchase price. Once paid, this deposit is held in a trust account until the contract is confirmed, i.e. becomes unconditional in all respects. Note this process is different depending on the type of sale i.e. a property purchased at auction will usually have an unconditional contract.
Settlement
Settlement generally takes place between you and the buyer and your legal/financial representatives. Officially, it’s where ownership passes from you to the buyer, and the balance of the sale price is paid to you or your financial institution.
As the seller, you would have set the settlement date within the contract of sale. Settlement usually occurs 30-90 days after the contract has been signed, depending on what has been agreed upon. On settlement the buyer’s solicitor will exchange the following with your solicitor:
• Monies
• Transfer documentation
• Keys to the property
Possession of the property usually takes place on the settlement day although you and the buyer can agree for these dates to be different.
Harcourts Complete
Once the sale of your home has settled, it’s now time to settle into your new home! When preparing to move there are always so many things to organise and remember. Often it’s the little things that make all the difference.
Harcourts is committed to providing a complete experience for you. Whether you’re buying, selling, renting or if we are managing your property you have access to our Harcourts Complete service. This service is free and provides all the relevant real estate services that you will require before, during or after your transaction. We can take care of a wide range of services including arranging your connections, conveyancing, home loans, tax depreciation and insurance.
Harcourts Complete also provides relevant real estate information that assists with moving and will keep you up-to-date with what is happening in your local market.
If you’d like help with any of the services we offer through Harcourts Complete, speak with your sales consultant or visit harcourtscomplete.co.nz
OUR COMPLETE MOVING
Checklist
REMEMBER TO CANCEL
☐ Newspaper delivery
☐ Telephone, internet and cable TV
☐ Gas, water and electricity (arrange a final meter reading)
ORGANISE FOR MOVING DAY
☐ Obtain supply of boxes (the supermarket can be one supplier)
☐ Get packaging tape and heavy marker pens
☐ Arrange for furniture removal (get quote, confirm time)
☐ Arrange care of your children on moving day
☐ Make suitable arrangements for any pets
☐ Arrange transit insurance, home and contents, and fire insurance for your new home
☐ Organise shifting times with the buyer of your old property and the previous owner of your new one
NOTIFY YOUR CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO
☐ Bank, credit card and charge card companies
☐ Post office for redirection of mail
☐ Elections registrar
☐ Registrar of motor vehicles and drivers license
☐ Tax department
☐ Insurance companies
☐ Hire purchase or finance companies
☐ Investment companies
☐ Local council
☐ Clubs and organisations
☐ Police (if you own and store firearms)
☐ Friends and relatives
☐ Magazine subscriptions
☐ Doctor, dentist, accountant, lawyer
DON’T FORGET
☐ Clean the stove and defrost the fridge/ freezer
☐ Tidy the yard
☐ Ensure that the chattels that have been sold with the property aren’t accidentally packed
☐ Disconnect all appliances
☐ Disconnect the TV aerial
☐ Return any borrowed items
☐ Throw out items that you don’t intend taking with you
☐ List valuable items for special care when moving
☐ Advise removal company of dangerous goods being moved (i.e. ammunition, petrol, spirits, chemicals)
☐ Securely pack all jewellery, money, special documents and papers (i.e. legal, tax, insurance etc)
☐ Set aside items you will need on the day of the move so you can take them with you (i.e. food, drinks, cleaning products)
☐ Pack each room leaving the boxes stacked and labelled with the room they are to be moved to. It is a good idea to write on each box a list of its general content
☐ Clearly label boxes containing breakables as ‘fragile’ and identify these items to the removal people
☐ Pot and pack away the plants and cuttings you’re taking
☐ Explain your packing procedure to the removal people and be at your new home when they arrive
DON’T...
☐ Put breakables or liquid filled containers indrawers
☐ Overload drawers and make furniture too heavy to move (too much weight can damage furniture)
☐ Move netting, barbed wire, timber, wood, coal etc without special arrangements being made
☐ Store perishable goods where they might be overlooked
MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO
☐ See your solicitor to sign transfer documents / mortgage discharge documents
☐ Enrol children in new school
☐ Coordinate the forwarding of any files from the children’s previous school to their new one
ORGANISE FOR YOUR NEW HOME
☐ Contact Harcourts Complete to connect your gas, electricity and telephone. Ask your sales consultant for details
☐ Newspaper delivery
☐ Telephone
☐ Internet and cable TV connection
☐ Gas, electricity and water
THE WEEK BEFORE MOVING
☐ Remind and confirm dates, times and locations for furniture removal company
☐ Confirm moving in/moving out details and key exchange with your Harcourts sales consultant
☐ Say goodbye to neighbours
ONE LAST CHECK
☐ Nothing left behind?
☐ No clothes at the dry cleaners?
☐ No gear stored away from your property?
☐ Electricity, gas and telephone disconnected?
☐ Water turned off and no taps left running?
☐ Windows and doors latched?
☐ Keys with solicitor (if appropriate)?
AFTER IT’S ALL OVER
☐ Have spare keys cut for your new home
☐ Make an insurance claim if any damage has occurred during the move
☐ Teach children how to get to their new school
☐ Enjoy your new home and keep in touch. We’d love to hear how you’re going
REAL ESTATE terms FROM A TO Z
Like any profession, the real estate industry has a language of its own. Many of these terms I’m sure you will already be aware of but there may be some you have not come across.
APPRAISAL
A professional property valuation carried out by a registered appraiser.
CHATTEL
Items that the seller is selling with the property, e.g. dishwasher, curtains. These items will be listed in the Sale and Purchase Agreement.
C.M.A
A Comparative Market Analysis report prepared by a real estate sales consultant that provides information about properties currently on the market and properties that have recently sold that are comparable to the property being analysed. It is used to help determine the fair market value of the property.
COMMISSION
The commission is paid by the seller to the real estate agency on the successful sale of the property. The commission amount is agreed upon by the seller and the sales consultant.
CONDITIONAL
A written contract that is signed by the seller and the buyer, but where one or more conditions need to be satisfied, usually within a specified time period. For example “subject to the buyer obtaining finance within 5 days”.
DEPOSIT
An amount paid by the buyer to the seller under the Sale and Purchase Agreement, usually 10% of the purchase price.
DUE DILIGENCE
A buyer may include a due diligence investigation condition in the Sale and Purchase Agreement that gives the buyer an opportunity to investigate the title, registered interests on the title e.g. land covenant, the property, neighbours, etc.
EXCLUDED ITEMS
Items that are excluded from the sale e.g. built-in cabinets. These items will be listed in the Further Terms of Sale in the Sale and Purchase Agreement.
FIXTURES
Items that sell with the home, i.e. carpets.
FREEHOLD
A freehold property has a clear title of ownership and is not subject to a lease.
LEASEHOLD
Property that is subject to a lease. The owner of the property leases to the tenant for a fixed rental sum for a fixed period e.g. 21, 99 or 999 years.
LISTING AGREEMEN
A contract between the seller and the real estate agency marketing the property.
OFFER
A signed Sale and Purchase Agreement, which includes the deposit, purchase price, terms and conditions of sale, signed by the buyer then presented to the seller.
POSSESSION DATE
The date the buyer physically takes possession of the property.
PROPERTY PROFILE
Each individual piece of property has a property profile, which includes descriptions of the type of title, its size, the name of the owner(s) and any encumbrances.
SETTLEMENT DATE
The date the buyer must pay the balance of the purchase price to the seller. The title transfer will be registered in the buyers name.
UNCONDITIONAL
When conditions in a contract have been satisfied, the contract becomes unconditional. The property is now sold and both the seller and buyer must settle on the settlement date.
UNIT TITLE
A property subdivided under the Unit Titles Act 2010 e.g. an apartment.
Belfast Office 03 323 6045 belfast@harcourts.co.nz 804 Main North Road, Belfast
Kaiapoi Office 03 327 5379 kaiapoi@harcourts.co.nz 154 Williams Street, Kaiapoi
Rangiora Office 03 313 6158 rangiora@harcourts.co.nz 15 Good Street, Rangiora
