Selling your home or an investment property in Australia can be one of the biggest decisions of your life, not only financially but also emotionally. You want it to be a smooth process and crack a fair deal with a qualified buyer. The good news is that there are a few things you can do to maximize your property’s appeal and have a profitable closing.

Here is a step-by-step guide to making that seamless sale:

1. Prepare your property

Preparing your property is the most important and foremost thing to do. A well-maintained home helps you make a solid first impression on buyers, so fix all the necessary maintenance issues like plumbing, flooring, paint, etc. to make it look appealing to the buyer.

You can also prepare a single-property website for listing your property which can give the user all the information they’d like to know before contacting you, for example, estimated selling price, location, photos of the property, neighbourhood, etc. A selling property website will ensure that your property listing stands out from the cluttered multiple listing websites.

2. Set a timeline

The time between deciding to sell your property and the actual sale could be time-consuming – maybe 4 to 6 months. It might get extended if your paperwork is not in place or you discover any much-needed repair work later in the process. So, consider all the buffer time needed and set a timeline for your property selling goal.

You should also analyse the real estate market in Australia to determine the supply-demand ratio so that you can set a realistic timeline for selling your property at a fair price.

3. Get a pre-sale home inspection

Although optional, having a pre-sale home inspection done can be one of the best upfront investments to make. A detailed inspection report can identify any structural or mechanical problems before you list your home for sale.

It not only speeds up the selling process but also gives confidence to buyers while investing in your property. A home inspector will inspect the entire property including the attic, crawlspace, water heater, and garage walls, make sure all these are available before one of them visits your home.

4. Choose a real estate agent

Sure, you can go about selling your house on your own, but know that it’s going to be a lot of work and you may not even get a great deal because of lack of market knowledge and time.

You can ask your neighbours, friends, family for good licensed real estate agents in Australia that will help you make the sale. Be sure to ask about their fees and don’t be afraid to negotiate. And once you find the perfect agent, don’t forget to formalize an agency agreement with them covering all the obligatory details like rights, fees, terms, and other conditions.

5. Select a sales method

Two common types of sales methods in Australia are private treaties and auctions. While the private treaty method buys you more time to evaluate potential offers, you need to find the perfect price bracket for your property to crack a good deal. Whereas the sale price can be driven up in the auction method as it creates competition between buyers.

Your real estate agent can advise what works best for you depending on the local market conditions.

6. Set a realistic price

Setting a realistic price is a very crucial step in selling a house. While undermining the home’s valuation might leave your money on the table, pricing too high can upset the buyer, as buyers don’t want to pay more.

You can also take the help of a valuer, to get a true valuation of your property. You only need to set the things right for valuation and leave everything on the valuer to get an estimated value to your home.

7. Prepare the vendor’s statement

Here comes the paperwork! The vendor statement (aka section 32) is mandatory in some states. It is a legal document declaring important details like the mortgage on the property if any, the land’s subjection to drainage or rights of way, any restrictions for the owner, etc.

Hire a solicitor to ease the process and also help you with the contract of sale entailing the drainage diagram, title documents, and a current planning certificate.

These details may vary from state to state so it’s better to refer to the Australian government’s website to get all the updated information on selling properties.

8. The sales campaign

You can opt for a mix of marketing strategies like online listing portals, single property websites, signboards, newspaper ads, etc.

Once your property is looking good, do invest in getting professional photos and videos of the property. According to a survey of over 600 real estate agents in Australia, 99% of agents said that high-quality photos generate more interest among buyers and listing views which ultimately lead to a higher sale price.

9. Assess, negotiate, and secure the sale

You will receive multiple offers when you put up your property on sale, the right thing to do is to take your time to vet them. You must weigh in all the aspects of the offer including offer price, contingencies, deposit amount, due date, percentage of down payment, etc. After analysing which offer is best for you, try to negotiate to get the best deal out of it. Next, secure your deal legally in time.

10. Settlement

While closing a sale, remember to discharge the mortgage on the property if any.

The last step is to settle the deal which usually takes place six weeks after the contract of sale is exchanged. This is when you receive the pending amount from the buyer and pay off the real estate agent’s and solicitor’s fees.

Once that is done, you can give the possession of the property to the buyer.