7 Questions to ask your agent before you decide to Auction your Property

By Owen Chen

7 questions to ask your agent before you decide to Auction your property

7 questions to ask your agent before you decide to Auction your property There has been an increasing trend for owners to choose the Auction method for the sale of their property. Here’s some of the top reasons why: The right Auction program can create a sale result within 4 weeks (this is shorter than the average days on market in the area).

It leads to a virtually risk-free sale of your property (industry term: unconditional sale) (as opposed to a sale subject to multiple conditions where by the sale can fall through on finance, building and pest or any other conditions.)

The seller has the flexibility to sell before auction unconditionally should a good offer is presented prior to auction day.

A great way to maximize the price of the sale of your home by creating public competition.

However, if a seller does consider to use Auction as their selling method, the glue that holds everything together is the agent you choose to run the Auction program with. It is crucial to pick the right agent who has the experience and practical knowledge of Auction. Not every agent is the same, and the wrong choice of agent can cost you a lot of money, time and unnecessary stress.

Q1: How long and how many sales have you closed by Auction? When was the last property you sold at auction?

You need an agent who has the practical knowledge and has successful track record who can sell properties by auction as not every agent can handle the auction process correctly. Be sure to use an Auction Specialist agent. It is also crucial that they have done so recently and are aware of the current market conditions.

Q2: Can you provide your last ten auction results? What was the reserve price for each auction and what did they sell for? How many registered bidders were there at each auction? How many bids? Ask the agent if he or she can provide past vendor’s contact to do a reference check.

Reality check. A true agent would have no problem putting a past client on speakerphone in front of you. Nothing truly reflects an agent’s service than actual past experience feedback from a previous client. Don’t let them mislead you with falsified information or piggy back the success off another agent.

Q3: What is the most effective marketing plan to promote my property? What are the key marketing items that will attract my potential buyers? Ask for a list of the hot buyers that agents has accumulated in the past which the agent can access immediately.

An efficient marketing plan will help to maximise the number of buyers for your property. Make sure that your marketing plan has the maximum value for a reasonable cost. Don’t be fooled into spending more than necessary if the agent can’t justify it’s value to you. Quality is also a key, so be sure to research any past properties they have sold and the level of quality reflected in their marketing.

For instance, mobile phone quality photos can undersell your property and affect your sale price. Also, if the agent has a track record of quality auctions, they will easily be able to pull out a list of buyers who did not successfully purchase at recent auctions who will be ready to purchase elsewhere immediately.

Q4: If the buyer wants to purchase the property before auction, how will you handle this situation? Ask them to role play their answer.

There are certain conditions that the buyers needs to follow and meet if they want to buy before auction. A true auction agent will know exactly how they can generate an unconditional contract for the seller even before auction day.

Handle this situation incorrectly, and it can cost you a lot of money and time.

Don’t cancel an auction, only for the contract that was put on your property to crash, and then have to restart an entire campaign all over.

Q5: How do you answer a potential buyer if they ask you how much the seller wants for his or her property?

Ask them to role play their answer.

This is easily the most common question your agent will be asked. Answer the question wrongly, and they could cost you a lot or loose a potential bidder. The agent needs to know how to answer this question without scaring the buyer away but at the same time not under sell the value of your property.

Q6: If I don’t achieve my reserve price on Auction day, then what is plan B? Even in the event that an auction passes in, most properties will sell either straight after the auction or within 2 weeks. Make sure the agent has a plan of attack to close the deal in this situation.

Q7: How will you work with the auctioneer to stimulate and keep the buyers biding? What is the strategy if the bidding becomes stale?

The most important job of the auctioneer and agent at the auction day is to keep interested buyers to continue bidding with confidence, even when things have gone quiet. A skillful agent and auctioneer knows various techniques to create urgency. It might be favourable to interview the auctioneer if necessary, or attend other auctions called by the auctioneer.

Owen Chen | 0413 081 780 owenchen@eplace.com.au

Owen Chen 0413 081 780 owenchen@eplace.com.au

Place Sunnybank