How to Sell Your House Privately Online in Australia

Learn how you can:

Sell your house privately online anywhere in Australia
Save thousands in commission
Maximise your property exposure

Free Property Seller Guide for selling privately

Your True Savings, and the Process of Selling your own house through an agent or yourself.

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Selling Privately online with the For Sale By Owner Method with No Agent Property

No Agent Property provides you the opportunity to sell your house online and without paying commission. This is often known as For Sale By Owner (FSBO). Our gateway is the answer to having a professional marketing campaign to attract the right buyers and to get the best price possible for your home. It is easy to do, and with the help of the best technology available, you are sure to expect the best possible exposure on multiple websites and social media platforms to attract the right buyers. All done in one place, the No Agent Property gateway controls all your advertising and you receive all your enquiries for your house sale in the one place. This ensures consistency with your advertising – price consistency, any open inspections, and everything else required for a successful marketing campaign.

Before you make your decision on selling your own house

it’s important to find out and understand the difference between selling privately (for sale by owner) or selling using an agent. This page will investigate: Your savings Your rights Your obligations Your obligations

Your savings when selling your own house online

There is no doubt you will save thousands of dollars by not paying the hefty fees known as commission. An agent’s commission is often more expensive than you think. So, when you sell your home, an agent would charge anywhere between 2 and 3% of the whole of your selling price. In some states or regional areas, this can be up to 4 and 5%. This can vary and the more expensive your home, but in most cases, it often ends up being around $20,000 - $30,000. Considering Australia's median house price hit $809,349 late in 2019 (which can vary year to year or even quarterly), then the commission on this can be between $16,000 and $24,000. But to know your TRUE savings, we will break this down for you and show you the real percentage of your profit you are giving to an agent. But to know your TRUE savings, we will break this down for you and show you the real percentage of your profit you are giving to an agent. A. Take a note of your original purchase price and how long ago that was. Once you have established this, and for this exercise we will use Australia’s median house price, round it off to $809,000 and say it was bought in 2017 and is selling in 2020. B. Work out or look back in time at the amount of stamp duty you paid – here is a calculator for you to work it out - https://www.e-business.sro.vic.gov.au/calculators/land-transfer-duty a. In this case is was $43,610.00. C. So, the house has cost you the original purchase price ($809,000) + the stamp duty (43,610.00) – making it a total of $852,610. D. If you have done any renovations, then you will need to ad this to the equation, and for this exercise, let’s say you have spent around $30,000 over the 3 years you owned it (this is not unusual as most people who buy a home do some minor upgrades or changes to suit). So, now we have a total of $882,610 that the property has cost you (never mind the interest you have been paying on your mortgage, which we will exclude in our calculations!). E. So now it comes the time to sell. If we use the average Australian Capital Growth rate of 5.9%, then your property may be worth around $960,000. F. Using an average commission charge of around 2.5%+gst – making it 2.75% then you would pay 2.75% of $960,000 making it $26,400. So, now let us see the True Commission percentage you are paying… G. To do this, take your total cost of $882,610 away from your sale price ($960,000) then you are left with $97,390.00. You will have solicitor or conveyancing expenses too, which would be around $1,500. Also, agents often charge for the advertising of your property (online ads, your sign, your brochures etc.). The average cost is around $3,000. So, out of the $97,390, we need to take away the solicitor costs and the agents’ advertising fee, which leaves you with $92,890.00. H. Now you must pay the agent their commission, which $26,400.00. This works out to be close to 29% of your profit. That is the TRUE Commission you are paying. So, to sell without an agent is a far more cost-effective method.

Summary:

Considering the original price you paid, stamp duty, renovations, etc. and deducting both agents’ commissions and fees for advertising and other expenses, agents can end up taking close to 29% of your profit!

How Much Do I Save when I sell my house and sell without Agents?

So, let’s use the same scenario as above and work out the percentage of your profits if you are looking to sell your home privately. You will have the same costs for a solicitor and all you will have is your marketing fee with No Agent Property which can include a for sale sign and brochures, etc., but the cost ranges from $699.00 to around $1,000, depending on the level of your marketing campaign. Let’s say the cost is $1,000. So, the percentage of your profit here is less than 1%!

Agent’s Motivation

On top of the hefty commissions you would pay, the motivation from an agent to sell your home Is also in question. Why? Because an agent has multiple homes to sell and you only have one! When looking to buy a home, how many times have enquired and not even received a phone call back?! This is a common occurrence as an agent’s interest is to sell a property easily and not work too hard. They may also choose to show the buyer a different property, because the sale of either one means money in their pocket. As much as the agent should be working for you to get the best price possible, they will not be prepared to lose a buyer and push them too far. It is far easier for them to put pressure on you to reduce your sale price! In summary: You, as the owner are more motivated than an agent and will save thousands of dollars. So, by selling your own house and to sell without an agent, means you can use the savings and buy yourself a new car!

My rights with an agent VS when I sell my house privately online

Before signing any contract, it is always recommended to seek advice from a solicitor. Usually a contract with an agent has many clauses, some of which you may not even understand or realise. There are three types of contracts with an agent. So be aware of your rights. Exclusive ContractUnder an exclusive agency, a selling agent is entitled, on the sale of the property and in accordance with the terms of an agreement, to receive the agreed commission or other reward, whether or not the selling agent is the effective cause of the sale. That is the official wording used. So, this means once you have agreed and signed the contract you are bound to pay them the agreed-to commission, even if they didn’t sell it and your brother bought the house from you! This is the contract that you MUST be aware of before you sign. An Exclusive contract, means just that. It is EXCLUSIVE for that agent/agency to sell your home and locks you in for a period of time – usually 90 days (but also be aware of other clauses, that may mean longer). Before signing any contract, you should get advice from your solicitor or read every clause and know your rights. For example, you may not be happy with the MINIMUM price that an agent may say, and you are within your rights to nominate that minimum price. Australia is one of the only places in the world that has a contract that LOCKS people in without choices. Know your rights and remember you are the one that should be in control of the sale of your house Sole agencyThe only difference between an exclusive agency and a sole agency is the entitlement of the selling agent to receive an agreed commission or other reward on the sale of the property. Under an exclusive agency, the agent will be entitled to the commission agreed, whether or not the agent is the one who makes the sale. Where the agency is a sole agency, the agent would not be entitled to the commission if the seller is the one who makes the sale. But no other agents can be employed. Open listingWith this type of appointment, the appointed selling agent is entitled to be paid only if they are the effective cause of the sale. The appointment of the agent can be terminated by either the owner or the agent at any time. Multiple agents may be involved.An open listing is a written agreement entered between the owner and the selling agent under which the owner appoints the selling agent, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, to sell the property. Under the agreement, the seller keeps a right to sell the property themselves during the term of the agreement or to appoint additional selling agents to sell the property on terms similar to those under the agreement Your obligations In Summary: With No Agent Property there are no binding contracts. In fact, if you are under a Sole Agency Agreement or an Open Listing Agreement, you can still sell your home the for sale by owner way and list it online. So, when you ask yourself ‘can I sell my house’ – the answer is yes.

Your obligations when selling through an agent compared to selling privately

When selling through an agent you have obligations: You need to keep your place tidy and ready for inspection You need to leave your home during an inspection and trust that the agent is keeping an eye on everyone who enters You need to trust your agent that they will get the best price possible You need to wait out the term of your contract, even if the agent is not performing You cannot do any further advertising for your property sale and if you do, you will have to pay the commission anyway You must use their solicitor or conveyancer (most agents won’t let you source your own) You only have the agent telling you the results of enquiries or inspections (you have to trust them to be transparent) Be prepared to drop your price (even the price that the agent has agreed to sell it at) Pay for the advertising expenses (often blown out and many items are not necessary), regardless of whether they actually sell your property Pay them the commission you owe if they sell

Did you know…

…that an agent can take out all their commission (out of the 10% deposit) before settlement, if you request an Early Release of Deposit Authority? Under standard documentation, commission is payable by the Seller with a number of circumstances. Firstly, if settlement takes place. Secondly, if the Buyer defaults under the Contract and forfeits (loses to the Seller) their deposit money, the agent still gets the full commission from the deposit before you get anything! Finally, if the Buyer and Seller, for whatever reason, agree to simply release each other from the Contract and go their own ways. The seller is still obliged to pay the full commission to the agent as you the ‘seller’ have reneged on the contract.

Your motivation VS your pocket

For some people who think it’s time to “sell my house”, it doesn’t matter that they pay an agent commission to sell their property. But most people, when they ask themselves the question, ‘why should I sell my house myself’, there is a motivation because of the opportunity to save a lot of money. We have explained above how much savings there are. It is not always savings that motivates selling without using agents (for sale by owner). Some people have already tried selling their property through an agent with no success, so they turn to selling it online or, in fact, doing a whole new campaign that is likely to be more successful. In Summary: When you sell without an agent you do not have all these headaches. Using No Agent Property eliminates these stresses without any pressure whatsoever, with the backing of professional and experienced consultants to help. On top of that, it is completely transparent. You have the control in selling privately. You pocket the savings and you accept or decline any offers.

So How Do You Sell your home and why use No Agent Property to list my house for sale?

You have many choices with using our gateway: Online Advertising Only - includes major sites like RealEstate.com.au and Domain.com.au, plus many other portals that buyers go to, to find their next home Choose from our selection of For Sale Boards (basic ones through to large photoboards, professionally installed or self-installed) Get brochures, professional photography, drone photography, videos, etc. Get advice and a FREE property appraisal Have the advantage of all of your advertising and enquiries coming to one central place You only pay for the items you need Take advantage of the low prices available for many items So now you have it! To sell without agents is far more cost-effective, more transparent, with less pressure! Below we have some other helpful tips and information, so the next time you ask, “can I sell my house without paying commissions, or can I sell online?”, the answer is YES!